er come near enough for you to touch them?" he asked the twins.

"No, March hares are very timid," the twins said. "They are terribly
afraid of meeting the March lion at a sudden corner," the yellow-haired
twin added. "That is on their minds a great deal."

"The very best way to get close to a March hare," said the black-haired
boy, "is to take a reserved seat at the annual March-hare ball."

Then the two brothers told this tale; and Amos and Ann saw no reason for
not believing it:--

"Maybe nobody's told you
(For very few people know)
What happens down in the meadow brown
At the fall of the first March snow.

"A flute-note sounds on the midnight,
Blown by a fairy boy,
And the rabbits rush from the underbrush,
All nearly mad with joy.

"Round and round in the wild wind,
Faster and faster they prance;
The moon comes out and looks about,
And laughs to see them dance.

"Cold frost covers their whiskers,
But never their hind legs tire,
And whenever a hare feels a flake on his ear,
He leaps a full inch higher!

"Harum-scarum and happy,
They frolic the whole night through;
Maybe you'll hear them dance, this year
(Though very few mortals do)."

APRIL

_IV_

_APRIL_

[Illustration: _Taurus_]

The April house was near a pond;
It was made of reeds and of rushes,
All helter-skelter and out of kelter,
And ringed by gooseberry bushes.
The April Fool on the chimney sat,
In pointed shoes and a pointed hat,
And welcomed the three with a tee-hee-hee--
Fair and funny and fat.

[Illustration: _The April house was near a pond_]

The owner of the house bowed pleasantly as the visitors approached.

"I'm delighted that you happened to come on the first of April," he said.

"But this isn't the first of April," the children began, astonished.

J. M. pinched their elbows. "Don't contradict him," he whispered. "He
really doesn't know any better, you see."

"Have you heard the latest news? [asked the Fool]
Cows, this year, wear button shoes;
Dogs will dress in pantaloons;
So will monkeys, minks, and coons;
Cats go gay in capes and shawls;
Robins carry parasols;
Bossy calves and nanny-goats
Skip in scalloped petticoats;
Molly hares and bunny rabbits
Look their best in jumping-habits;
Babies are to dress in bearskins
(