as a beautiful, simple-hearted, amiable child, the daughter
of English parents, residing in India. Some months previous to this
winter morning she had been sent to England, on account of her delicate
health, and confided to the care of her mother's sister, Mrs. Graham,
the Rector's wife. Her name was Margaret Pelham; but she was called
Meggie and Meg, Peggy and Peg, and various other odd nicknames by her
English cousins.

Little Margaret's chief playmate at the Rectory was her cousin Archie,
a boy only two years older than herself, but feeling ever so much
bigger and wiser; for he was an only son, a clever and rather conceited
young gentleman. He was good-natured, and loved his cousin; but he
loved better to tease and hoax her. Having lived all her little life
in India, Meggie was exceedingly ignorant of customs and things in her
new home, and was continually making laughable mistakes, and asking the
most absurd questions. This "greenness," as he called it, gave Archie
immense delight, and he was never tired of mystifying and hoaxing the
sweet-tempered little girl, who never resented his quizzings and
practical jokes. Of course it never occurred to the silly boy that he
was just as ignorant about India as Meggie was about England.

This morning, the children being left for a time alone in the nursery,
he was having a rare time at his favorite amusement. Meggie had never
before seen snow, and was full of innocent wonder and admiration. "O
Cousin Archie!" she said, "the pretty white clouds we saw yesterday all
fell down in the night! Did you hear the noise?"

"Clouds!" cried Archie, with a snort of contemptuous laughter; "why,
you poor little Hindoo, that's _snow_, and it came down so slow and
soft that nobody heard it."

"O, is that snow?" said Meggie, laughing good-humoredly at her own
ignorance. "How beautiful it is! so soft and white. It looks just
like my little dovey's feathers. I think, Archie, the angels' beds
must be made out of snow, aren't they?"

"O yes, of course, it would be so warm and comfortable, you know."

"Yes, it looks nice and warm. I think God must send it down to keep
things from dying of cold. He puts the grass and flowers to bed so,
don't He?" said simple and wise little Meggie.

Archie could not stand this. He shouted and clapped his hands, and
even rolled on the carpet in an ecstasy of boyish fun, crying out, "O,
how jolly green! how jolly green!"

"What?" said Meggie, "