Produced by David Edwards, Anne Storer and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain material produced by Microsoft for their Live Search Books site.) THE CANDY COUNTRY BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT AUTHOR OF "LITTLE WOMEN," "LITTLE MEN," "AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL," "AUNT JO'S SCRAP-BAG," "LULU'S LIBRARY," ETC. Illustrated BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY _Copyright, 1885,_ BY LOUISA M. ALCOTT _Copyright, 1900,_ BY JOHN S. P. ALCOTT University Press JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. * * * * * [Illustration: "Hollo, what do you want?" he asked, staring at her. PAGE 10.] THE CANDY COUNTRY "I shall take mamma's red sun umbrella, it is so warm, and none of the children at school will have one like it," said Lily, one day, as she went through the hall. "The wind is very high; I'm afraid you'll be blown away if you carry that big thing," called Nurse from the window, as the red umbrella went bobbing down the garden walk with a small girl under it. "I wish it would; I always wanted to go up in a balloon," answered Lily, as she struggled out of the gate. She got on very well till she came to the bridge and stopped to look over the railing at the water running by so fast, and the turtles sunning themselves on the rocks. Lily was fond of throwing stones at them; it was so funny to watch them tumble, heels over head, splash into the water. Now, when she saw three big fellows close by, she stooped for a stone, and just at that minute a gale of wind nearly took the umbrella out of her hand. She clutched it fast; and away she went like a thistle-down, right up in the air, over river and hill, houses and trees, faster and faster, till her head spun round, her breath was all gone, and she had to let go. The dear red umbrella flew away like a leaf; and Lily fell down, down, till she went crash into a tree which grew in such a curious place that she forgot her fright as she sat looking about her, wondering what part of the world it could be.