However, as time went on, they came less out of doors, for cold and wet days followed each other, when all that the Blackbird saw of his little friends were the two small faces pressed against the dining-room window-pane, looking wistfully out as the clouds drove past, and the rain pattered against the glass. At last a night arrived when it was very cold indeed. Through the bare boughs, and on to the hedgerows and ivy, stole down the pure, soft snow. The Blackbird put his head out of the ivy-bush to see what sort of night it might be, and lo! under the pale light of the moon, all the landscape lay white and dazzling before him. One little flake dropt upon his head--one cold, soft flake; but as he drew back into the shelter of the ivy, to return once more to rest, it was with very different thoughts and feelings than those gloomy ones which had troubled him the year before. He now knew what the beautiful snow meant. It was the beginning of a hard winter, it was the herald of cold, dark days. But he had also been taught a lesson of faith; he knew of the winter berries which would be provided for him by One who remembered even the despised Sparrows; he knew of a certain bay window where two eager little faces would be watching for him, through all the cold, dark days; and as he closed his eyes, on this the first night of winter, he remembered that little Willie and Alice, and he himself, and all created things, were under the protection of Him Who "casteth forth His ice like morsels," but Who, in His own good time, would again bring about the "time of the singing of birds," when, once more, as of old, "the voice of the turtle" would be "heard in the land." THE END. LONDON: R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, BREAD STREET HILL, E.C. * * * * * Transcriber's Notes Typographical problems have been changed and are listed below. Hyphenation standardized and are also listed below. Archaic and variable spelling is preserved, including pic-nic. Author's punctuation style is preserved. Illustrations moved close to their relevant pages, and page numbers references removed. Passages in italics indicated by _underscores_. Passages in bold indicated by =equal signs=. Transcriber Changes In addition to standardizing hyphenation, the following changes were made to the original text: Page 3: Was =where-ever= hyphenated across two lines (the little cold droppings seemed to pursue him =wherever= he went) Page 7: =Ivy berries= standardized to =Ivy-berries= (=Ivy-berries= will be poorish eating day after day.") Page 15: Added end quote after us. (We do not 'sow, nor do we gather into barns,' but still 'God feeds =us.'=) Page 15: =lime trees= standardized to =lime-trees= (swiftly passed over one or two snow-covered fields, and then by a long avenue of =lime-trees=.)