And alway since then they have been diligently practicing, till now, when Dame Nature calls for _Te Deum_ at the day-dawn, or for a vesper hymn at eventide, marvelous is the melody of gleesome and gay-hearted little birds; marvelous is the skill of the musician wind, as he sweeps the forest-organ’s answering keys; marvelous are the voices of cloud and cataract, and marvelous the voices of the sea. But there are birds of rainbow-tinted plumage, wonderful to behold, whose harsh, discordant tones serve only to mock and mimic; the mountain brook wearies ofttimes of laughter, querulous, complains to the rocks, grieving for its lost song; and faint and rare are the echoes heard among the speechless hills. MOONSHINE. Moonshine crept down, one clear, unclouded night, to look about the world and see what was going on. In her hand she carried a silver lamp, by whose white rays all objects could be seen as plainly as at noontide; and wherever she went, the shadows, ashamed of their blackness, stole guiltily away and tried to hide themselves. Her path led through a forest and down a mountain side, where wild beasts roamed for prey; but now the timid deer browsed securely among the underbrush, and the hungry bear trudged supperless off to his den, the stealthy panther kept useless watch from the branches overhead, the rattlesnake slid back into its hole and left the tree-toads chirping cheerily, the sly fox found the rabbits too wide awake for him; for was not Moonshine abroad with her silver lamp, proclaiming to all harmless creatures: Here is your enemy, and there is your enemy? On she passed till she came to a pioneer’s log cabin, standing alone in the wide wilderness. Listening, she heard the sound of a voice singing: “Lullaby, lullaby, baby, Lullaby, by, by, While all the little stars twinkle, Twinkle up in the sky. “Lullaby, lullaby, baby, Lullaby, by, by; Thy father has gone a journey, And there’s only thou and I, To rock, rock, to and fro, And to watch, watch for the savage foe, To sleep, sleep, And to keep, keep Watch for the savage foe, While all the little stars twinkle, Twinkle up in the sky.” “Ah,” said Moonshine, “the mother and her babe are alone and unguarded in that rude dwelling. Even as she sings her voice trembles with fear. I will set my lamp in the window and pause awhile to keep her company.” Instantly a soft radiance flooded the room within, and the mother, looking up, beheld the gentle face peeping through the window. “Oh, Moonshine,” she cried, with tears of joy, “how glad am I that you have come! Stay with me a little, for I am lonesome; and tell me, pray, if there be any savages lurking about.”