At this thousands of earth-worms popped their heads above the ground. "If you are talking about usefulness, don't forget us," they said. "You see very little of us, for we come out at night when most of you are asleep. But think of all the work we do. We burrow and burrow here in our millions, ploughing the ground day after day till every inch is opened up to let in the sweet air and drain away the water from the surface. How could the flowers and grasses live if we did not do this? Think how fine we keep the soil, powdering it as we do in our burrowings! And how rich we make it by dragging down decaying leaves into our holes every night. The world would be a sorry place for everything that grows and lives if we did not work so hard. We are surely more useful than anybody." The grasses waved their flowered heads. "All that is true enough," they said; "but nobody can possibly be more useful than we are. Think how we clothe the land and give food to hundreds of animals and shelter to millions of insects." A little cloud sailed softly down on to the hill-top to listen. "What could any of you do without the clouds?" she asked. "You all depend on our rain for your lives; you must confess you are less useful than we are." "Ho! ho! ho!" laughed the merry sun. "Fancy quarrelling this fine morning! Now I will tell you, and this will settle it once for all. You are all useful, and not one of you could be spared, and not one of you could do well without the other. Everything helps everything else. The worms help the grass, and the grass feeds the worms; the bees help the flowers, and the flowers feed the bees; the wind helps the clouds, and the clouds become rain and help the wind in its work. And I am here over you all, and if it were not for me nothing could live, so, after all, I am the most useful. If I did not shine there would be no grass, no worms, no flowers, no bees, no wind, and no clouds. Now go on with your work." THE SUN'S NEST Winnie and I went sailing fast Out to the golden West. We wished to see the Sun drop down Into his shining nest. Our ship was soft and pearly white-- A dear little cloud up high. We sailed along at sunset time, Across the flaming sky. Winnie stood up and laughed with joy; Her curls blew round her head. The golden clouds raced past our ship, To see the Sun to bed. The nest was made of red, red cloud, Hung like a rosy swing: An angel stood on either side-- We heard them softly sing. The tired Sun came dropping down, And cuddled in his nest. The angels spread their snow-white wings To guard him through his rest. The soft wee clouds went home with us, The sky grew grey and blue; The stars peeped out and laughed and winked, And said: "Good-night, you two!" CRIKITTY-CRIK