48 THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE HEMPSEED.

Olympia, the beautiful little princess, did not at first
assist her brother without some grumbling; but in a short
time she agreed to prepare the food for the animals every
day; and at length the habit grew upon her so, that she
began to like it. eG

While her brother was en~
gaged in teaching the animals
and birds, she often knelt at
the trunk of a fallen tree, and
wrote to her dear father and
mother, who were weeping for
her, and for whom she wept
also. But where were that
kind father and good mother?

When her letter was finish-
ed, she would place it next to
her heart, along with the others
that she had written.

You must observe that © ia
Olympia, taught by misfortunes, improved daily.

The sun, the somewhat fatiguing but wholesome exer-
cise of travelling, and the fresh air of the open country, had
already tanned their cheeks, but they were only more
healthy, handsomer, and stronger on that account. Free-
dom is such a fine thing for both soul and body!

Beneath the beautiful sun of the borders of Italy, at
one time the children pursued their way along a river’s
bank, margined with water-cresses; at another they trod
green fields, that seemed to be sown with the thousand
drops of the diamond-sparkling dew. They ate as they went
along; they slept beneath the plane-trees; and they awoke
in the morning with the smile of hope upon their lips.
They often forgot their cares;—then they remembered
them again,—and prayed! Mounted once more on the
back of the good-natured Patience, they drew nearer and
nearer towards the Alps. Sometimes they lost themselves,

    

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