PATH THROUGH THE CORNFIELDS 133 



Meantime the children have secured another 

 dandelion. 



One, two, three. 



Without any act or wish of theirs, the third 

 blow clears the disc. So quick is the passage of 

 time in these early years ! The long shadows cast 

 over the straw colour by the lime trees might have 

 told them that, had they cared to look. 



" It's three o'clock ; what will mother say ? " 



Not that they fear; for they know that the 

 blame will fall on the elders. 



Bright are the hats, careless the minds, and 

 innocent the spirits of these country maidens as 

 they pass homeward along the path between the 

 cornfields. 



