they decided to send a messenger to the Master
of Life, who lived far away among the western mountains, to beg him to
come and help them. For their messenger they chose the swallow, the
swiftest of all the birds.

"The swallow flew for many days, until at last he reached the lodge of
the Master of Life, and told his story.

"'Go back,' said the Master when he had heard it, 'and after four moons
I will come to visit you. Summon all the people of the Summer Land to a
Great Council and I will tell them what they must do.'

"At the time appointed, the Master of Life came. When all the people of
the Summer Land had assembled, he spoke to them and said, 'I have heard
of your troubles and have thought of a plan to help you.

"'Henceforth, so long as the world shall last, there shall be summer and
winter in this land. Half the year shall be summer and half the year
shall be winter.

"'While summer reigns, this is a pleasant land, and you may live here
and find plenty of food. Before winter comes, you must leave this land
and journey far away to the south, to another country where summer
always reigns. But when the snow melts and winter returns to his home in
the distant north, summer shall come again to this land, and so it shall
be every year.

"'When summer comes back, you may return with it and dwell in your own
home until it is time for the return of winter.'

"When the people of the Summer Land heard this, some were glad, some
were sorry, and some were angry.

"'What!' said the angry ones, 'shall we leave our pleasant homes on
account of winter? No, indeed; we will stay.' And so they did.

"When summer was over and the cold winds began to blow, the Bob Lincoln
family, obeying the command of the Master of Life, set out for the
Southland. On and on they traveled for many days.

"At last they came to the end of the land, and before them was the
great, salt sea. But far on to the southward, they could dimly see
islands rising out of the salt water.

"So they flew bravely on across the great, salt sea, till they reached
the islands; and beyond these islands they saw others. On and on they
flew from island to island until they reached another great land like
the home they had left behind them. In it there were vast meadows and
forests, mountains and rivers. In that land it is always summer and food
is plenty all the year round. There in the pleasant meadows, the Bob
Lincolns stopped and there they lived happily for