CHAPTER XL 



THE CHILD WANDERS IN THE WOOD. 



THERE is a very delightful old story which 

 used to be given to children, though I have 

 not seen it for a long time in the hands of any 

 children. It was called " The Story without 

 an End." A child wandered among the 

 flowers, who talked to him. That is the 

 whole story. There were coloured pictures 

 in it. The story began without a beginning, 

 and it came to a sudden stop without an 

 ending. 



It is perhaps upon a reminiscence of this old 

 story that Jefferies has based nearly all his 

 own. They are very delightful, especially the 

 shorter stories ; but they seldom have any 

 end. There is sometimes, but not often, a 

 story ; there is generally only a succession of 



