stung; and as she was a very honest
person, there is no reason to doubt her word.

The hives stood at some distance from the house, at the end of the farm
garden, and there were beds of lemon, thyme, sage, mignonette, and other
sweet flowers near the hives for the bees to feed on; and a border of
tall sunflowers along the garden path seemed to be very much appreciated
by them too.

Mrs. Shaw was very much pleased by Blanche's interest in her bees, and
she actually gave an invitation to the two girls to come again when it
was time to take the honey, and she would tell them all about it. This
was a most unusual action on her part, for, although she was always
ready to receive visitors, she was seldom known to invite them. Peter's
face wore a curious smile as he heard the invitation given and
accepted.

But they must pass the bees and go on to something else. Mrs. Shaw led
the way, remarking to Peter,--

"Miss Forester wishes to see the pigs; we'll go to them first."

Peter's smile broadened into a grin, and he stole a glance at Blanche
which caused her to laugh outright. Marjory joined in, and, wonderful to
relate, even Mrs. Shaw smiled. Blanche tried to explain.

"Mrs. Shaw asked me what I would like to see, and I could only think of
pigs just then," she said, blushing and laughing.

"'Deed, then, an' Mrs. Shaw's pigs are a bonnie lot, I can tell ye, an'
worth seein', Miss Blanche," said Peter.

They soon arrived at the sties, and although they were all that they
should be--and no doubt the pigs were well-bred and well-conducted
animals--Blanche did not take to them with much enthusiasm, except in
the case of one perky little black-and-white fellow, who seemed to be
the life and soul of the family party.

They next went to the poultry-yard, where there were many varieties of
fowls, and one or two families of charming little yellow balls of
chickens promenading the yard with their proud mothers.

It was getting near milking time, and the sleek, well-fed cows were
sauntering one by one into the yard. They scarcely needed any driving:
a man stood at the yard gate, whistling a long, peculiar note, and the
animals knew what to do, though they never hurried themselves in the
doing of it.

Blanche had never been quite so near to cows before, and it must be
admitted that she felt a little frightened of them; their horns looked
so very large and pointed, now that they were so close! Marjory, of
course, was quite acc