gray Granddaddy-long-legs in a little mushroom chair.

"The table was a toadstool with a spider-woven cover;
The fare was served in rose-leaf plates and bluebell cups a-ring--
Sweet honey from the latest bloom, and last night's dew left over,
And a crumb of mortal cake for which an ant went pilfering.
A mockingbird within the hedge sang loudly for their revel;
A lily swayed above them, slow, to keep the moths away;
So they laughed and buzzed and chattered till the shadows
lengthened level,
And Miss Katydid said sadly that she must no longer stay.
Then all arose and shook their wings, and curtsied, every one,
'Good-night, good-bye, Miss Butterfly, we never had such fun.'"

Little Ann looked wistful when she heard all the butterfly tale.

"I do wish I might go to a party like that," she said.

Amos reflected. "I don't know but what I'd be afraid of stepping on the
guests," he remarked.

"That's true," Ann agreed. "Just think how it would seem to have Miss
Butterfly say to you, 'Oh, you've crushed Mrs. Ant,' or 'Excuse me, but
you seem to be sitting on Colonel Grasshopper, Sir.'"

"Tell you what _I_ wish," Amos went on. "I wish--Oh, there goes a clock--I
wish--I wish--

"I wish, when summer's drawing near about the end of May,
With bees and birds and other things, that teacher'd teach this way:

"'Bound Pine Wood north and south and east, and all the way around;
Tell where the sassafras bushes grow, and where wild flags are found;

"'How far from Huckleberry Hill to Sandy-Bottom Creek?
How many cherries at a time can a boy hold in his cheek?

"'Suppose three fish were in a pond, three fishers close at hand,
Each fisher with a hook and line--how many would they land?

"'What is the shortest cut to where the buttercups are yellow?
How many fortnights does it take to turn May apples mellow?

"'Two pickers in a berry patch--when they had picked all day,
How many quarts, inside and out, would those two take away?

"'If twenty boys turned loose and ran from here in front of school,
How many seconds would they take to reach the swimming-pool?'

"And then I wish the teacher'd say, 'Well, if you can't remember,
Go find the answers, _right away_, and tell me in September!'"

JUNE

_VI_

_JUNE_

[Illustration: _Cancer_]

The June house wasn't a house at all,
But a