"O Mother! Fanny Bell, and Mary Green, and ever so many of the girls, are going into the woods to-morrow afternoon, and they want us to go with them. May we, mother?" said Belle and Nannie together, as they came running into the room where their mother was. "I'll see about it," she said; "it will depend upon what kind of girls you are." "Oh, we'll be very good, mother, if you will let us go." "We'll see," said their mother. The morrow came, and with it the desired permission. Pretty early, Nannie, who was on the watch, saw them coming, and called out to Belle, "Here they are!" Belle ran out. "Are you going?" "Yes." "Is Nannie?" "Yes." "Oh, I'm so glad Nannie's going," cried one voice and another. "Yes, I'm so glad." "I don't see," said Belle to herself, "why they should be so glad Nannie is going. They don't seem to care about me at all." With rather a cross tone of voice, she called to Nannie to make haste and get ready. Just as they were starting, Charlie came in, and seeing Nannie with her bonnet on, he called out:-- "O Nannie, where are you going? I want you to show me the pictures in your new book." "I can't this afternoon, Charlie; I'm going into the woods." "Oh, pshaw!" said Charlie; "I like so much better when you're at home." "It does not make any difference to Charlie whether I'm at home or not," Belle said to herself. When they started there was such a strife who should walk with Nannie, that Belle was very nearly left to walk alone. Their walk led through the pretty lane bordered with lime-trees, at the back of Dr. Merry's house, then on past Grannie Burt's house, when it turned off into a little path, across the field that was worn quite smooth by the boys going nutting. This path brought you at last to a stile. Over this stile they all climbed, and now were in the woods. What a beautiful wood it was! The trees opened here and there to let in the sunlight, which danced in and out among the green and yellow and russet brown leaves of the trees, changing into every hue of autumn. On the ground, springing up everywhere, were the dark leaves and bright red berries of the cranberry and bilberry; while down by the brook the greenest of all mosses covered the stones, and converted any old log that came in their way into the softest of seats. Then, what a wild and roaring little brook that Stony Brook was! You could follow it all the way through the woods by only stepping from stone to stone, and every little while you might see a great hole scooped out in the rock, where the water lay dark and silent, or a little precipice over which it dashed and foamed. This was a favourite wood with the children. In summer they often spent whole days there, gathering wild flowers or the beautiful fern leaves, which grew in every nook and corner. And now that the bright autumn leaves were scattered everywhere, and the tempting berries covered the ground, they found employment for many a spare hour. To-day the little girls