d in her trembling hands
her little prey. Petrea cried for delight, and shouted to her mother and
sisters, who--could not hear her.

"Oh, thou little most loveable creature!" said Petrea, endeavouring at
the same time to kiss her little captive, in return for which that most
loveable little creature bit her by the chin. Surprised, and sorely
smarting from the pain, Petrea began to cry; yet for all that would not
let go the squirrel, although the blood flowed from the wound. Petrea
ran forward, wondering that she never came to the great trellis-gate,
through which she knew she must pass in order to reach home. Whilst she
thus wondered with herself, and ran, and struggled with her little
untractable prisoner, she saw a gentleman coming towards her. It never
once occurred to her that this could be any other than her father, and
almost transported for joy, she exclaimed, "Father, I have seen the
Wood-god!"

Greatly astonished to hear himself thus parentally addressed, the young
man looked up from the book in which he read, gazed at Petrea, smiled,
and replied, "Nay, my child, he is gone in that direction," pointing
with his finger towards that quarter whence Petrea had come. Imagining
at once that he meant the Candidate, Petrea replied with anxiety and a
quick foreboding that she was on a wrong track, "Oh, no, it is not he!"
and then turned suddenly back again.

She abandoned now all thoughts of running home, and was only desirous of
finding those whom she had so thoughtlessly left. She ran back,
therefore, with all her speed, the way she had come, till she reached
where two roads branched off, and there unfortunately taking the wrong
one, came into a wild region, where she soon perceived how entirely
confused she had become. She no longer knew which way to go, and in
despair threw herself into the grass and wept. All her ambition was
gone; she let the squirrel run away, and gave herself up to her own
comfortless feelings. She thought now of the uneasiness and anxiety of
her mother, and wept all the more at the thought of her own folly. But,
however, consoling thoughts, before long, chased away these desponding
ones. She dried her eyes with her dress--she had lost her
pocket-handkerchief--and looking around her she saw a quantity of fine
raspberries growing in a cleft of the hill. "Raspberries!" exclaimed
she, "my mother's favourite berries!" And now we may see our little
Petrea scrambling up the cliff with all her might