THE WALK AFTER THE RAIN. The sky was clear and bright as if it had been washed by the rain. The trees took on a fresher green. The corn held up its tasseled heads as if conscious of the strength the clouds had given it. The birds, too, rejoiced as they flew from tree to tree, singing their sweetest songs. "How nice it is to get out after being in the house all day," said Susie, skipping along by Uncle Robert's side. "See that lovely blue sky. I wish I had a dress for my doll just that color." "And when we came out this morning," said Uncle Robert, "Donald thought the clouds looked as though they were solid and could never break away." "They're all gone now," said Donald. "I wonder where they went. Aren't the clouds lovely sometimes, uncle? I love to watch them when they look like great piles of snow." "Yes," replied Uncle Robert, "when I was a boy I used to lie for hours under an old apple tree and watch the clouds. I fancied they had very wonderful forms, sometimes giants and dragons and all kinds of animals." [Illustration: The clouds.] "You can see things in them," said Donald. "I often do." "What are clouds made of, uncle?" asked Susie. "I wish I could get close to one and see what it is like." "When people go up in balloons," said Donald, "they go through clouds sometimes." "Have you never been in a cloud?" asked Uncle Robert, smiling. "Oh, no," said Susie. "How could I? I've never been up in a balloon." "I know," was the reply, "but have you never seen anything near the ground that looked at all like a cloud?" "I don't remember," said Susie, shaking her head. "We've seen fogs along the river," said Frank. "They look a little like clouds. You know we see them almost every morning." "Oh, yes," exclaimed Donald. "Don't you remember that fog we had early last spring? Why, uncle, it was so thick we couldn't see the barn from the house." "And, uncle," said Susie, "I went out to the barn with father, and in a few minutes there were little drops of water on my hair, and all over my cloak." "Did it last all day?" asked Uncle Robert. "Oh, no," said Frank, "only for a little while in the morning. Then it went away and the sun came out." "How did it go away?" asked Uncle Robert. "Why," said Donald, "at first it began to get lighter, and we could see things plainer." "And then," chimed in Susie, "it looked as though the fog broke up into pieces that rolled up in the sky, and floated off just like clouds." [Illustration: The gully.] "But what is that we see over the bottom land yonder?" "It looks like fog," said Frank. "More like steam, I think," said Donald. "If it was up there against that blue sky instead of on the ground--" said Uncle Robert. "Then it would be a cloud," said Susie. "Why, I never thought of that." They had gone through the gate in front of the house, and were following the path that led down the slope to the spring.