The eggs cling together in the shape of a boat or canoe, and float upon the water. In about three days they hatch. Then the warm water is full of "wigglers." By and by these wigglers have wings. The outside skin bursts open. They lift their heads and shoulders out of the water. Then off they fly--a whole swarm of singing, stinging mosquitoes. We are all glad when the cold weather comes and the mosquito goes. I suppose you think if you lived in a cold country, you would not be troubled by mosquitoes. But in Lapland, a very cold country, the mosquitoes come in crowds and clouds. Sometimes they are so thick they hide people in the road like a fog. What do you think of that? THE LAUGHING GIRL. The bobolink laughs in the meadow; The wild waves laugh on the sea; They sparkle and glance, they dimple and dance, And are merry as waves can be. The green leaves laugh on the trees; The fields laugh out with their flowers; In the sunbeam's glance, they glow and they dance. And laugh to their falling showers. The man laughs up in the moon; The stars too laugh in the sky; They sparkle and glance, they twinkle and dance. Then why, then, pray, shouldn't I? Oh, I laugh at morn and at night, I laugh through the livelong day. I laugh and I prance, I skip and I dance. So happy am I and so gay. [Illustration: THE LAUGHING GIRL.] [Illustration: "CLUCK-CLUCK-CLUCK! QUAW-AW-AWK! CR-R-R-R!" SAID THE HEN MOTHER.] ANNIE'S DUCKS. There were seven ducklings. The very first thing they did was to go and tumble into a bucket of water. "Cluck-cluck-cluck! quaw-aw-awk! cr-r-r!" said the hen-mother. She was so frightened she made just such a noise as she does when she sees a hawk. She thought they would all drown. But they didn't. They swam and dove and shook the water from their little wings. One day when they were about a quarter grown, Annie found Fluffy-dumpty lying on the ground; she was quacking faintly. Her leg was broken! Annie ran to papa. "O papa! mend her leg just as you did my arm!" she said. Papa is a doctor; and when Annie was a _very_ little girl she broke her arm and papa mended it. So he did up Fluffy-dumpty's leg with a splinter, and then wound a bandage round it. Annie took care of her. Mary used to help Annie feed her with a spoon. Fluffy-dumpty got well very fast. But when she was about three quarters grown, she met with another accident. She fell down a steep cellar way. "Quack-quack! Take me out! Oh, take me out!" cried poor Fluffy-dumpty. The other six ducks crowded around and looked down at her. "We can't! we can't!" they cried. "We haven't got any hands. Call a boy, do!" So Annie called Sam, who took her out. How thankful Fluffy-dumpty was! She smoothed down her ruffled feathers and said, "Quack-quack," softly. The other ducks all talked at once. "What a narrow 'scape you had, Fluffy-dumpty!" said one duck.