46 Twelve Months With 



earth and heaven. Maeterlinck in his "Life of 

 the Bee" says : "We conclude that we stand on the 

 topmost pinnacle of life on this earth ; but this be- 

 lief, after all, is by no means infallible." 



As our little planet is probably the illimitable 

 universe of the ants, is it not quite as reasonable 

 to suppose our universe to be merely the little 

 world of some super-creature that we know not 

 of? The animals in "Alice in Wonderland" 

 seemed to regard Alice as an inferior because 

 of her diflferent physical form. 



I am quite sure the ants and many other tiny 

 creatures regard us as very awkward, clumsy, 

 elephantine, foolish folk, following after many 

 strange gods, and wholly missing the real pur- 

 pose of life, which is not to gain, but to be 

 success, — merely to let life flow through us, in all 

 its fullness, in the same simple manner that the 

 flowers grow and the birds sing. 



Emerson expresses this sentiment in "Musketa- 

 quid": 



"Canst thou, thy pride forgot, like nature pass 

 Into the winter night's extinguished mood? 

 Canst thou shine now, then darkle, 

 And being latent, feel thyself no less?" 



And Van Dyke prays for this power to live 

 naturally: 



"By the faith that the flowers show when they bloom 

 unbidden, 



