They work in groups, they work in pairs,
But each one has his little airs:
R runs and romps, and so does S,
And Z is full of foolishness;
H always smiles, and A is jolly;
G's somehow sort of melancholy.
Q sticks his tongue into his cheek
And always waits for U to speak;
D's fat and lazy; so is C;
And O makes funny mouths at me.
Among the pleasant alphabet
It's hard to pick and choose--and yet,
When all is said, I can't deny
(You'll understand), my choice is I!"

FEBRUARY

_II_

_FEBRUARY_

[Illustration: _Pisces_]

They went to the February place:
'Twas fashioned, with curious art,
Of colored sugar and paper lace,
With a front door shaped like a heart.
A trim little, slim little maid within
Was rolling out cookies crisp and thin;
She blew them a kiss through the window wide,
And bade them step inside.

[Illustration: _They went to the February place_]

The little valentine girl in the February house was very sociable; but she
talked so much, and there were so many clocks striking all around, that
she was always getting side-tracked into a rhyme.

For example, she was just about to describe a jolly party she went to one
day last year, when a clock struck six, and she was obliged to say,
instead:--

"One day last year, with hems and haws and sidelong steps and
nervous caws, the crows came mincing forth to mail gay valentines,
you know. The post box was a hollow tree. They did not know,
unluckily, that squirrels had gnawed the floor away, and owls moved
in below.

"The crows went flapping off with glee. They said, 'Our woodland
friends will see that, though we dress so solemnly, we're sociable
at heart.'

"The valentines came hurrying down, came scurrying down, came
flurrying down, and waked the owls, all fast asleep, and gave them
quite a start.

"'What's this, my dear, amiss, my dear?' cried Father Owl.

"'Oh, bliss, my dear,' said Mrs. Owl. 'A shower of mail for us. How
very fine!'

"The daughter owls were full of joy, and quick the little owlet boy
ruffed up his feathers roguishly and seized a valentine.

"Excitement reigned among those owls; but, being such nocturnal
fowls, they could not read the valentines at all in broad
daylight. They blinked a bit and winked a bit, but found them not