under were heard, and the valley had that air of
expectation which often precedes a storm.

Fatigued by the child's restlessness, the forester's wife looked out at
the weather, and said to Jack,--

"Come, Master Jack, it does not rain; and it would be very kind of you
to go and get me a little grass for my rabbits."

The child, enchanted at being of use, took a basket and went gayly off
to search in a ditch for the food the rabbits liked.

The white road stretched before him, the rising wind blew the dust in
clouds, when suddenly Jack heard a voice crying, "Hats! Hats to sell!
Nice Panamas!"

Jack looked over the edge of the ditch, and saw a pedler carrying on his
shoulders an enormous basket piled with straw hats. He walked as if he
were footsore and weary.

Have you ever thought how dismal the life of an itinerant salesman
must be? He knows not where he will sleep at night, or even that he can
obtain the shelter of a barn; for the average peasant always regards a
pedler, or any stranger, indeed, as an adventurer, and watches him with
distrustful eyes.

"Hats! Hats to sell!" For whose ears did he intend this repetition of
his monotonous cry? There was not a person in sight, nor a house. Was it
for the benefit of the birds, who, feeling the coming of the storm, had
taken shelter in the trees? The man took a seat on a pile of stones,
while Jack, on the other side of the road, examined him with much
curiosity. His face was forbidding to a certain extent, but expressed so
much suffering in the heavy features, that Jack's kind heart was filled
with pity. At that moment a thunder-clap was heard; the man looked up
at the skies anxiously, and then called to Jack to ask how far off the
village was.

"Half a mile exactly," answered the child.

"And the shower will be here in a few moments," said the pedler,
despairingly. "All my hats will be wet, and I shall be ruined."

The child thought of his own memorable journey, and he wished to do a
kind act.

"You can come to our house," he said, "and then your hats will not
be injured." The pedler grasped eagerly at this permission, for his
merchandise was so delicate. The two hurried on as fast as possible; the
man walking, however, as if he were treading on hot iron.

"Are you in pain?" asked the child.

"Yes, indeed, I am; my shoes are too small for me; you see my feet are
so big that I can never find anything large enough for them. O, if I
should ever be rich, I wou