86 STORIES OF EARTH AND SKY 



the poker, and instantly King Coal quivered and 

 little rivulets of flame ran down his sides whis- 

 pering strange words. Anne listened to catch 

 their meaning, but they spoke swifter than the 

 Winds' Voices, and murmured more confusedly 

 than the leaves to the raindrops. While in the 

 smoke that went up the chimney she saw strange 

 scenes and shapes that vanished, until a puff of 

 smoke driven back by the damp chimney made 

 her choke. 



" Dearie me ! ouf-ker-chew ! If the gas that 

 coal breathed in to make itself was as bad as what 

 it breathes out in unmaking, I don't wonder it 

 took Heart of Nature a long time to pack it all 

 away to bake in the ground and give the sky a 

 good cleaning. 



" Oh, there is the sun ! How much nicer the 

 old dear is than the grandest hearth fire ! 

 Waddles, Waddles, wake up ! It has cleared off 

 and Lumberlegs is whining outside. Come out 

 and play 'snatch bone.' I'll get you a fine 

 rib from yesterday's beef if you'll let me play 

 too, and I'll only growl and run without snatch- 

 ing." 



So Anne shut the cover of the wood box, 

 pocketed her half-whittled clothespin, and shook 

 the shavings into the fire, leaving the Kindling 



