ly, as I looked at her, and said that Winnie
would soon have four legs now. This referred to some stupid joke made
by John Fry or somebody, that in this weather a man had no legs, and a
horse had only two.

But as the rain came down upon us from the southwest wind, and we could
not have enough of it, even putting our tongues to catch it, as little
children might do, and beginning to talk of primroses; the very noblest
thing of all was to hear and see the gratitude of the poor beasts yet
remaining and the few surviving birds. From the cowhouse lowing came,
more than of fifty milking times; moo and moo, and a turn-up noise at
the end of every bellow, as if from the very heart of kine. Then the
horses in the stables, packed as closely as they could stick, at the
risk of kicking, to keep the warmth in one another, and their spirits
up by discoursing; these began with one accord to lift up their voices,
snorting, snaffling, whinnying, and neighing, and trotting to the door
to know when they should have work again. To whom, as if in answer, came
the feeble bleating of the sheep, what few, by dint of greatest care,
had kept their fleeces on their backs, and their four legs under them.

Neither was it a trifling thing, let whoso will say the contrary, to
behold the ducks and geese marching forth in handsome order from their
beds of fern and straw. What a goodly noise they kept, what a flapping
of their wings, and a jerking of their tails, as they stood right up and
tried with a whistling in their throats to imitate a cockscrow! And then
how daintily they took the wet upon their dusty plumes, and ducked their
shoulders to it, and began to dress themselves, and laid their grooved
bills on the snow, and dabbled for more ooziness!

Lorna had never seen, I dare say, anything like this before, and it was
all that we could do to keep her from rushing forth with only little
lambswool shoes on, and kissing every one of them. 'Oh, the dear things,
oh, the dear things!' she kept saying continually, 'how wonderfully
clever they are! Only look at that one with his foot up, giving orders
to the others, John!'

'And I must give orders to you, my darling,' I answered, gazing on her
face, so brilliant with excitement; 'and that is, that you come in at
once, with that worrisome cough of yours; and sit by the fire, and warm
yourself.'

'Oh, no, John! Not for a minute, if you please, good John. I want to see
the snow go away, and the green me