SPEING 



During the night the rain beat down 

 in heavy showers and the following 

 morning the woods had changed as if 

 by magic. Not only was this to be 

 seen upon entering them, but was 

 apparent from some distance. The 

 delicate buds of yesterday were now 

 unfolded in perfect young leaves of 

 darker green, having fewer silver hairs 

 upon them. New flowers had sprung 

 up in the night. Anemones or wind- 

 flowers appeared where only violets 

 grew yesterday. The creek, now swol- 

 len by the rain, ran in many eddies and 

 small channels in the creek bottom, 

 forming numerous tiny islands between 

 its banks. Each isolated bit of land 

 seemed to favour some one kind of 

 flower, for here the violets took posses- 

 sion of one and there the mandrakes 

 completely hid another, while near the 

 shore the tall red wake robin bravely 

 faced the rising flood. 



By the great elm stump now sur- 

 rounded by water a pair of muskrats 

 were enjoying their morning meal of 

 grass and vegetable roots. They swam 

 energetically from island to island, 

 33 



