XII. _The End of the World_ 260 _Index_ 279 THE ILLUSTRATIONS In furtherance of the idea referred to in the preface, that a far more effective use may be made of pictures in teaching than is usual, a very extended use has been made of them in "The Strange Adventures of a Pebble," and, moreover, these pictures have been made to talk, as it were, by means of extended analysis and comment upon their significant features; this for the double purpose of teaching important facts, as only pictures can teach, and of stimulating the invaluable habit of observation and of logical reasoning about things observed. One of the main purposes of the book, as stated in the preface, is to stimulate interest in further reading and study on the many subjects to which it relates. The author wishes to make special acknowledgment of the co-operation of the editor of _St. Nicholas_ and the following publishers in supplying the illustrations on the pages indicated: The Macmillan Co.: 11, 29, 36, 41, 52, 83, 108, 121, 132, 145, 152, 168, 173, 195, 221, 225, 226, 235, 240, 249, 254, 257. The Century Co.: For the following from the _St. Nicholas_ magazine: 38, 47, 70, 184, 199. D. Appleton and Co.: 12, 22, 60, 97, 102, 136, 141, 224, 236, 241, 243, 245, 247, 252, 257. G. P. Putnam's Sons: 59, 105, 147. E. P. Dutton & Co.: 157. Henry Holt & Co.: 37, 84, 149, 193, 207, 250. Silver Burdett Co.: 28. _World's Work_: 79. _Geological Survey_: 13, 23, 114, 130, 194, 238. _Wisconsin Survey_: 33. _Encyclopædia Britannica_: 256. THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A PEBBLE CHAPTER I (JANUARY) In the beginning the earth was without form and void. --_Genesis_ 1:1-2. IN THE BEGINNING I. How the Worlds and Myself Were Born I've been through fire and water, _I_ tell you! From my earliest pebblehood the wildest things you could imagine have been happening to this world of ours, and I have been right in the midst of them. HOW MR. APOLLO TURNED ON THE LIGHT The first scenes of all in my strange, eventful history remind me of the old Greek story about Apollo and that boy of his--Phaeton. Apollo's business, you remember, was to take the sun through the skies every day in his golden chariot, so that people could see to get about. It was a ticklish job, as the horses were fiery. As a rule, however, things went fairly well. To be sure, there were overdone days occasionally, just as there are now. Then the crops would wither and the birds and brooks stop singing. This, as the little Greek boys and girls believed, was because Apollo's horses ran too near the earth. [Illustration: HOW MR. APOLLO TURNED ON THE LIGHT