a week's
cruise in my yacht. I am really very anxious, Bertie Rivers, to know
what good reason you could have had for that very strange decision of
yours. Were you afraid of offending your Uncle Gregory?"

(_To be continued._)

ALL ABOUT SNAILS.

[Illustration]

German country children have a quaint little rhyme to ask the snail to
put out his horns. Translated, its meaning is like this:--

"Snail, snail, your four horns show,
Show me the four, and don't say 'No,'
Or I shall pitch you into the ditch,
And the crows that come to the ditch to sup,
Will gobble you up, gobble you up!"

In some parts of the south of England the children invite the snail out
still less politely. They chant over and over:--

"Snail, snail, come out of your hole,
Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal!"

This sounds very cruel, but they can't mean it, can they? Near Exeter
the country children have a more fanciful rhyme:--

"Snail, snail, shove out your horns,
Father and mother are dead,
Brother and sister are in the back-yard,
Begging for barley-bread."

The snail's parents and relations are meant, not their own. This reminds
us of what the little brown Italian children say in Naples; they sing to
the snail to look out and show his horns, as the snail-mamma is laughing
at him because she has now a better little snail at home. In some parts
of the south of Ireland there is a prettier rhyme than any of these, and
it asks him to come out to see a great visitor:--

"Shell-a-muddy, shell-a-muddy,
Put out your horns,
For the king's daughter is coming to town,
In a red petticoat and a green gown!"

The children who sing these rhymes think that if only they sing them
often enough, the horns will be put out at last. They have picked up the
snail, and he has tucked himself into his shell. After awhile, when his
first fright has worn off, perhaps he puts out his head just to see
where he is, or to look if the big live thing that startled him has gone
away.

The four snails in the picture have come out for a walk by the light of
the moon; they like to go out on fine dry nights, because when the
weather is dry they have been all day hidden in some corner of a lane or
garden. On wet days in summer weather they go out at all hours, always
carrying their little shell-houses on their backs, and ready at a
moment's notice to tuck themselves in, horns and all. One notices the
two lo