In the afternoon, then, they all invaded the walled garden, where they found much to gladden their hearts. The juniper trees were quite perfect; and the flowers, though they had been so long neglected, seemed really to have been waiting for them. The different kinds of flowers each had a bed of their own; the larkspur and poppies and coxcomb and hollyhocks and columbines, and each seemed to lean forward and say, "Come and see us! Come and see us!" And so the children made the rounds of the garden, visiting each variety of flower. At last they sat down on the stone benches which surrounded a fine grass-plot with an ancient sundial in the middle. Many of the children were content to sit quietly and rest; but Little Bo-Peep and Little Boy Blue, being very young, and naturally rather playful, could not restrain themselves, and they took their places on the grass and began to play. They looked simply charming: Little Bo-Peep being dressed in a white frock with short sleeves having any number of flounces. She wore a Gainesborough hat of delicate materials, with cherry ribbons ending in tassels of the same color hanging down behind. She also wore red slippers having buckles set with rubies. Little Boy Blue was arrayed in blue rompers, cunningly made of one piece, and very ample. It seemed that they had long resided close to each other, and had often played together; and now, almost without any pre-arrangement at all, they began a game which consisted of singing and dancing. [Illustration: They began a game which consisted of singing and dancing.] They stood facing each other on the grass, and Little Boy Blue began the following song: "Oh, Little Bo-Peep, when the sun is shining And the birds are up in the tree; When there's never a cause for sad repining, And we're happy as we can be; When breezes blow through the vale and hollow, And glade and garden and glen, Oh, whom does your heart in its rapture follow, And whom do you think of then?" Little Bo-Peep listened, smiling, and with her head a little to one side, until the stanza was finished, and then she replied as follows: "Oh, Little Boy Blue, when the skies are beaming And my heart is happy and free, When the green grass smiles, where it lies a-dreaming, And the birds are up in the tree, I lift my eyes to the arch above us, So soft and tender and blue, And I know that the earth and the sky both love us, And I tenderly think of you, Of you, Of you, of you, of you!" Then they both bowed graciously and began their dance. They advanced toward each other so that the palms of their right hands touched; and then they receded, moving obliquely; and then advanced again, touching the palms of their left hands. A moment later they had clasped both hands, holding them high, and were hopping about in a circle.