Such a lovely garden as it was! There were green walks and hedges and borders of heliotrope and pansies; and, all round the hedges, rows of dahlias and hollyhocks stood like kings and queens, red, yellow, pink, white, and gorgeous orange. When they saw the little wicked man they were terrified, poor things, and though they tried to look bold and stand up straight, they knew in their hearts that he had come to kill them. Close by stood a cottage in which the gardener was asleep in his bed, wearing a fine red nightcap with a handsome tassel on the end of it. He was very kind to the little boy who lived in the stone house, for he had no children of his own, and he liked to take him out and show him birds’ nests and flowers, and teach him to dig and plant and water the garden. In the middle of his sleep he was wakened by hearing a strange noise outside. He sat up in bed. “Tap, tap,” it went on. “Who’s there?” cried the gardener, jumping out of bed and opening the window. The robin was on the window-sill, very much excited and dancing about. “Please, sir,” said he, “Jack Frost is sitting up in a tree close to the garden.” “Thank you! Thank you!” said the gardener, beginning to put on his trousers. “I’ll get up this moment!” He had just got them on when a loud scraping began on the window-sill. “Who’s there?” cried the gardener, again. “Me!” said the squirrel; “quick! quick! Jack Frost is sitting on the garden wall.” “Thank you! Thank you!” said the gardener, beginning to put on his boots. In another moment there was a great cry outside. “Tu-whoo! Tu-whoo!” and a great flapping of wings. “Come out! Come out!” screamed the owl. “Jack Frost has jumped down into the garden.” “Thank you! thank you!” cried the gardener, catching up a big stick and running out of the house. Jack Frost was in a flower bed looking up into the face of a beautiful pink hollyhock and thinking which of its blossoms he would pinch first, when he heard a loud shout and saw the gardener with his red nightcap and his big stick coming in at the garden door. He was most dreadfully frightened, and began to run with all his might. The gardener was after him at once, so he tried to reach the gooseberry bushes and hide himself among them, hoping it would be too dark for anybody to see him. But the owl, who could see everything at night, flew after him, calling out, “There goes Jack Frost among the gooseberry bushes! There he is! This way! This way!” So he found it impossible to hide himself. It was a good thing for him that he could run much faster than the gardener, because he was so thin and had such long legs.