Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER in. ON THE WATER-PARTING. "Behold the rocky wall That down its sloping sides Pours the swift raindrops, blending, as they fall, In rushing river-tides! "Yon stream, whose sources run, Turned by a pebble's edge, Is Athabasca, rolling towards the sun Through the cleft mountain ledge. " The slender rill had strayed, But for the slanting stone, To evening's ocean, with the tangled braid Of foam-flecked Oregon." — Holmes. " Here you are, little squirrels, bright and early," babbled the brook, next morning. " But where is our pretty friend Bunny ? " Ah, there he comes, hopping along. And here comes Robin Redbreast, too." The little wild-flower nodded its round head, and the squirrels shook their bushy tails. That is the way they said good morning to Bunny and Redbreast. Bunny's Home "Did all the raindrops sink into the dark soil?" asked Chip, as soon as they were ready for the story. " O no ! " rippled the brook. " Shall I tell you what became of the others, and what they saw on the hillside ? " " Please do!" chimed the whole party, and so the brooklet began. " We all felt very sad when we parted from our brother raindrops on the hilltop. But some were on one side of a low ridge, and some on the other. We could not climb over, for raindrops can only run down hill. "' Good by !' cried our tiny brothers. "' Good by!' we answered sadly, and we have not seen them since. Perhaps we shall all meet again when we go back to the sea, — but who can tell ? " Just then, two silver bubbles came wriggling up from the bed of the brook. They looked like teardrops, and we thought the pretty pebbles must be weeping at the sad story. But the brooklet chattered on. " The same day that we fell on the hill, a teacher came with a' class...