stood with
her mother at a cottage gate, staring with might and main, cried:
"Them's all mad, be'nt them, mother?" "No, little girl!" said Puff, with
great dignity. "We are wild beasts going to a menagerie!" And the
carriage whirled away leaving the child not much the wiser.

Now they turned into a lovely wood road, when the trees bent down over
the carriage, and whispered in the mice's ears. But the mice did not
understand, as usual; they only rubbed their ears and said the leaves
tickled them. Uncle Jack stopped the horses, and told the mice to tumble
out, which they did speedily.

[Illustration]

One took a basket, and another a bottle, and all went trotting down the
mossy path that led to the lovely glen, while Uncle Jack stayed to
unharness the horses, and then followed with the "biggy-wiggy basket,"
as Downy called it. Indeed, it was a pretty sight to see those little
creatures, playing about like so many fairies in that lovely green
place. You should have seen the little flower-spirits start up to look
at them, as they frisked about among the trees. Little Primrose threw
kisses to them, and Violet offered them a dew-drop in her deepest purple
cup; but the merry mice thought nothing of the flower spirits and
neither saw nor heard them.

"Oh! the brook! the lovely brook!" cried Brighteyes. "We _must_ take off
our shoes and stockings and wade in it. Mayn't we, Uncle Jack?" Uncle
Jack nodded, and off went four pairs of shoes, and four pairs of scarlet
stockings. Oh? the little white feet! how pretty they looked, shining
through the clear water, that looked so brown in the still pools, and
sparkled so white over the rocks and the tiny rapids.

[Illustration]

That was fine sport, certainly. Fluff fell in, of course, but nobody
seemed to mind it much, and Fluff herself least of all, for it was a
very warm day, and Mrs. Posset was not there to lament the "ruination"
of her white frock.

Suddenly Brighteyes exclaimed: "But where is Nibble?" Sure enough, where
was that famous horseman? nobody had seen him since he had galloped
away up the avenue. "Oh, dear!" sighed Fluff, "perhaps he played wild
beast, and somebody took him and put him in the Lunatic Asylum! Do you
think anybody did, Uncle Jack?"

"I don't think he would be likely to play wild beast all alone. My fear
is that _Jose_ may have been playing, and----but see!" he added, looking
back towards the path by which they had entered the glen, "here comes
th