A STROLL IN THE FROST KING'S REALM. 



The rain of the night before had turned 

 into a heavy sleet, followed by blustering 

 weather. All day the sun was hidden by 

 gray clouds, accompanied with fitful 

 snow showers ;but at last the clouds were 

 dispelled and the following morning 

 dawned clear and cold. 



As the sun slowly rose above the hori- 

 zon he added dazzling brilliance to the al- 

 ready lovely landscape. 



The mercury was very little above zero 

 as I sought the woods to reap the full 

 benefit of this wonderful transformation 

 of Nature. Just two days ago she wore 

 her usual garb of neutral tints ; but what 

 a magical change the Frost King had 

 wrought in this time! The earth was 

 now covered with a white mantle of snow 

 and every tree and shrub had on a glitter- 

 ing armor of sleet. A few minutes' brisk 

 walk over the crisp snow brought me to 

 a corn field, and by wending my way 

 along a path through this field I arrived 

 at a strip of woodland. Here the path 

 merged into a narrow wagon road cut out 

 of a steep bluff. The entrance to this 

 road introduced me to a land of enchant- 

 ment. 



On either side the face of the bluff was 

 covered with a tangled growth of shrubs, 

 briers and weeds, while above were trees 

 whose over-arching branches sparkled in 

 the sun, showing all the colors of the 

 rainbow. Every branch and twig was 

 decked with gems — rubies, sapphires, 

 emeralds and diamonds everywhere — and 

 diamond dust formed a carpet under- 

 neath. The low bushes at tne base of the 

 bank where sheltered from the wind's dis- 

 arranging blast, were wrapped in finest 

 ermine. Just in front of me, to the left, 

 was a wild rose, a fountain of purest 

 crystal, the effect heightened by its scar- 

 let hips. A little further on was a small 

 tree draped with a tangled vine with clus- 

 ters of pendant fruit, like crystallized 

 grapes. On the other hand were rasp- 

 berry canes, the livid red gleaming 

 through the dazzling frost, and all around 

 was goldenrod, more resplendent than 

 when its golden blossoms lighted the way 

 in autumn, and the asters shone like 

 jewel-rayed stars. 



A barbed-wire fence, as far as the eye 

 could reach, was converted into endless 

 strings of pearls. I gazed upon this vis- 

 ion until, becoming dazzled, I turned from 

 the sun to rest my eyes, and in the back- 

 ground saw trees that formed pearly sil- 

 houttes against the dark blue sky. Was 

 any enchanted land more entrancing? 



Turning again, I resumed my walk to 

 the foot of the hill, and, by the aid of the 

 bushes and saplings, scrambled up its pre- 

 cipitous face and pushed onward through 

 the underbrush, parting the interlacing 

 branches as I went until I reached a ra- 

 vine. 



I continued onward, recognizing the 

 familiar trees everywhere ; though divest- 

 ed of foliage and incased in crystal, each 

 variety has its distinctive form and bark. 

 A musical tinkle accompanied every 

 movement as I brushed the twigs and 

 grasses along the way. 



One not accustomed to the study of 

 Nature in her various moods might sup- 

 pose that such a landscape would be de- 

 void of animation. But this was not the 

 case. A very pleasing feature of the 

 scene was the animal life that abounded. 

 A rabbit snugly concealed beneath a 

 bunch of grass started up, bounded away, 

 and was soon lost to view in the thicket. 

 Small flocks of snowbirds and chickadees 

 were flitting gaily about. A crow sat in 

 the top of a majestic oak and cawed lus- 

 tily in answer to one that was faintly 

 heard in the distance. A pair of cardinals 

 flew about the border of the woods, and a 

 single woodpecker was high up on the 

 trunk of a tree, while another, whose 

 form could not be detected, was hammer- 

 ing away. All these were suited to the 

 environment, but not so was yonder lone 

 blackbird, doubtless a straggler from a 

 flock which had settled in the tree of the 

 yard in the early morning. 



Lured by the pleasant, mild weather of 

 the preceding week, they had arrived 

 only to encounter snow and mid-winter, 

 and would doubtless retreat to more con- 

 genial surroundings and absent them- 

 selves until the true springtime should 

 herald the approach of summer. 



Addie L. Booker. 



73 



