old, bare little feet of the Eskimo
children who ran and shouted on the cliffs above!"

THE SANDPIPER[1]

Across the narrow beach we flit,
One little sandpiper and I;
And fast I gather, bit by bit,
The scattered driftwood bleached and dry.
The wild waves reach their hands for it,
The wild wind raves, the tide runs high,
As up and down the beach we flit,--
One little sandpiper and I.

Above our heads the sullen clouds
Scud black and swift across the sky;
Like silent ghosts in misty shrouds
Stand out the white lighthouses high.
Almost as far as eye can reach
I see the close-reefed vessels fly,
As fast we flit along the beach,--
One little sandpiper and I.

I watch him as he skims along,
Uttering his sweet and mournful cry;
He starts not at my fitful song,
Or flash of fluttering drapery;
He has no thought of any wrong;
He scans me with a fearless eye.
Stanch friends are we, well tried and strong,
The little sandpiper and I.

Comrade, where wilt thou be to-night
When the loosed storm breaks furiously?
My driftwood fire will burn so bright!
To what warm shelter canst thou fly?
I do not fear for thee, though wroth
The tempest rushes through the sky;
For are we not God's children both,
Thou, little sandpiper, and I?

--Mrs. Thaxter.

[1] Used by permission of and special arrangement with Houghton,
Mifflin & Co.

THE CIRCLING OF CRANES

One autumn day ages and ages ago, the cranes were preparing to go
south. Cranes always dreaded the cold and flew away to the summer-land
at the first glitter of the frost.

The crane leader had a loud, hoarse voice, and he called and called to
his flock to hurry. The cranes came from all directions at the call of
their leader. The father and mother cranes came. The old cranes came
and the young cranes came. Even the babies, whose feathers were scarce
grown, came flying at the call of the leader.

All the cranes were happy, for they were going to the summer-land.
They were glad to go, for already the frost jewels sparkled on the
brown grasses and the cold winds were beginning to blow.

"Come! come!" cried the crane leader, and his voice was hoarse with
shouting. "Come! It is full time we were off!"

Young and old spread their wings for flight. They waited a moment for
their leader to take his place. As they waited the cranes glanced down