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valleys where our home is, you would not wonder 
that we are unhappy here, under this stone wall. 
“I was born far away across the water in a 
country called France, where a very little snow 
falls in the winter, which we can easily pierce the 
first warm day in spring. We are not obliged to 
struggle there with such heavy crusts as have 
penned us up in this cold place. Yesterday 1 
heard your little brother’s merry voice in the gar¬ 
den, and thought he was surely coming to find us, 
but presently a thundering sound over our heads 
nearly stunned us all. Some of my sisters fainted, 
and a large ball of snow that came rattling down, 
broke the stem of one, and we are afraid she will 
die. I was not able to think again till this morning, 
such was my terror, but now I suppose it must 
have been your little brother running over our snow- 
house. When we heard you coming we were very 
