outside
in the rain with him."

It rained harder and harder, and the poor little butterflies grew
wetter and wetter, so they flew to the white lily and said: "Good
Lily, will you open your bud a little so we may creep in out of the
rain?"

The lily answered, "The white butterfly may come in, because he is
like me, but the red and yellow ones must stay outside in the storm."

Then the white butterfly said: "If you won't receive my red and yellow
brothers, why, then, I will stay out in the rain with them. We would
rather be wet than parted."

So the three little butterflies flew away.

But the sun, who was behind a cloud, heard it all. He knew what good
little brothers the butterflies were and how they had kept together in
spite of the wet. So the sun pushed his face through the clouds and
chased away the rain, and shone brightly on the garden.

He dried the wings of the three little butterflies, and warmed their
bodies. They ceased to sorrow, and danced among the flowers until
evening. Then they flew away home, and found the door wide open.

ANIMALS

WHY PETER RABBIT WEARS A WHITE PATCH[2]

The Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind had been tumbled out
of her big bag very early one morning. Indeed, they were hardly awake
when Old Mother West Wind shook them out on the Green Meadows and
hurried away to her day's work, for she knew it was to be a very busy
day.

[Footnote 2: Copyright, 1913, by Little, Brown and Company.]

The Merry Little Breezes had watched her go. They saw the great
windmill in Farmer Brown's barn-yard begin to whirl as she passed.
They saw the million little leaves of the Green Forest shake, until a
million little drops of dew, like a million little diamonds, fell down
to the earth. And then Old Mother West Wind disappeared on her way to
the Great Ocean, there to blow the white-winged ships along their way
all day long.

The Merry Little Breezes stretched themselves and then began to dance
across the Great Meadows to kiss the buttercups and daisies and to
waken the sleepy little meadow people, who hadn't got their nightcaps
off yet. But no one wanted to play so early in the morning. No, Sir,
no one wanted to play. You see every one had something more important
to do. They loved the Merry Little Breezes, but they just couldn't
stop to play. Finally the Merry Little Breezes gave it up and just
curled up among the grasses for a sun-nap. That is, all but one did.
That one k