viii PREFACE 



indiscreet excursions to the middle of swift streams. 

 And the crickets, bees, wasps, and ants have been 

 our boon companions for many a happy summer and 

 autumn. 



" The Story we love Best " was published in the 

 Saint Nicholas magazine in June, 1889. "The Perfect 

 Socialism," "Pipers and Minnesingers," and portions of 

 " Two Mother Masons" and "A Sheep in Wolf's Cloth- 

 ing " were printed in different numbers of the Cliautau- 

 quan during the year 1898. "A Tactful Mother" and 

 " A Dweller in Tents " were written for the young 

 readers of the Observer in 1897, and " Hermit and 

 Troubadour " appeared in the Cornell Nature-study 

 Bulletin for June, 1899. 



I wish to acknowledge the courtesy of The Century 

 Co., of Dr. Theodore L. Flood, of Dr. Edward F. Bige- 

 low, and of the Cornell University Nature-study Bureau 

 for cordial permission to reprint these several stories. 

 I also wish to acknowledge the helpfulness of Mr. W. 

 C. Baker and Mr. 0. L. Foster in obtaining for me 

 suitable illustrations. And I wish to express my thanks 

 to Miss Mary C. Dickerson for the use of Figs. 21 and 

 26, and to Miss Mary E. King, whose direct assistance 

 has enabled me to prepare this volume for publication 

 at the present time. 



ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK. 



Ithaca, N.Y., April, 1903. 



