V 
Atalapha, a Winged Brownie * 
*I have always loved the Brownies so much, and so earnestly 
wished to believe in them, that I have taught myself to do so, and 
T want others to have that same pleasure. It is worth your while 
looking up some good old books (not new ones) to learn, if you 
wish to do so, just what a Brownie is. I think you could find 
that all the good reliable authorities like Grimm, Andersen, etc., 
agree that the Brownie is a shy two-legged elfin wearing a fur 
cloak, standing about a thumb high in his silent stockings, 
though he never does stand that way. 
He is distinguished from other two-legged dwarves by his 
sharp-pointed ears and his sense of humor. He gets his living 
by dancing over the treetops in the woods on moonlight nights 
and differs from other fairies in being quite friendly to man. He 
dwells in a cave or hollow tree, hiding all day, and either sleeps 
all winter underground or steals away to some warm country; 
though without feathers, he is blessed with marvellous powers of 
flight. Besides which, he can talk without making a noise, 
is invisible at will in the moonlight, and has many wonderful 
powers that we children understand perfectly, but are beyond the 
comprehension of our wisest grown-ups. 
THE TWINS 
HE Beavers had settled on the 
little brook that runs easterly 
from Mount Marcy, and built a 
series of dams that held a suc- 
cession of ponds like a wet stair- 
way down the valley, making a 
143 
Wil 
