12 THE OPEN AIR. 



rowing ships men's ships and came right up into 

 the land ever so far, all along the river up to the 

 place where the stream in the ditch runs in; just 

 where your papa took you in the punt, and you got 

 the waterlilies, the white ones." 



"And wetted my sleeve right up my arm oh, I 

 know ! I can row you, old Wheat ; I can row as well 

 as my papa can." 



"But since the rowing ships came, the ploughs 

 have turned up this ground a thousand times," said 

 the Wheat ; " and each time the furrows smelt 

 sweeter, and this year they smelt sweetest of all. 

 The horses have such glossy coats, and such fine 

 manes, and they are so strong and beautiful. They 

 drew the ploughs along and made the ground give up 

 its sweetness and savour, and while they were doing 

 it, the spiders in the copse spun their silk along from 

 the ashpoles, and the mist in the morning weighed 

 down their threads. It was so delicious to come out 

 of the clods as we pushed our green leaves up and 

 felt the rain, and the wind, and the warm sun. Then 

 a little bird came in the copse and called, ' Sip sip 

 sip, sip, sip,' such a sweet low song, and the larks 

 ran along the ground in between us, and there were 

 blue-bells in the copse, and anemones ; till by-and-by 

 the sun made us yellow, and the blue flowers that 

 you have in your hand came out. I cannot tell you 

 how many there have been of these flowers since the 

 oak was struck by the lightning, in all the thousand 

 years there must have been altogether I cannot tell 

 you how many." 



" Why didn't I pick them all ? " said Guido. 



