124 THE CHERRY-STONES.

ceived that. the fruit, with which the
boughs had been thickly covered, had all
| vanished; but the stones still remained,
and high and wide the bare, rugged
branches were studded with clusters of
cherry-stones. He looked downwards, and
saw that the seven cherries he held in
his hand had shared the same fate, and
nothing but seven stones met his view ;
and, instead of his favourite Juno, he saw
only the skeleton of a dog, with its fiery
eyes still fixed upon the tree. As he
stood, horror-stricken, and unable to with-
draw his eyes from the appalling sight,
the violence of the wind increased. First,
the. cherry-stones were dislodged from the
branches, and fell thick as hail in all direc-
tions around him. Presently the branches
themselves were torn off by its fury, and
whirled like withered leaves into the air,