THE MERRY GREENWOOD 



**01d nurses do not tell children about the 

 grass, but about the fairies that dance on the 

 grass; and the old Greeks could not see the trees 

 for the dryads. ' ' --^Gilbert K. Chesterton, 



I.— The Wood-Nymph 



NCE upon a time there was a forest 

 that stretched for many miles over 

 mountain, valley, and plain, the 

 trees bound the soil with the strong 

 chain of their interwoven roots, and with their 

 interlacing branches formed a shelter for the 

 wild bird, a haunt for the deer, and a shade for 

 the sons of earth. 



And there were other inhabitants of the for- 

 est—little wood-nymphs who dwelt within the 

 trees, like good thoughts in kindly hearts. The 

 clear-eyed Indian must have seen them— for 



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