36 Lily and Water-Lily.

far better bridges for the fish to leap over, for they
stood on either side of the torrent, and reached hands
~ across under the ripples, and the fish—being very
good-natured fish—jumped over the hands instead of
passing down under them.

To-day it was a very hot day, and Pearl and Ruby
lay quite down in the water, so that the fish should
have more of a piece of work when they came; they
lay in the water and waited.

But though they waited patiently enough, some-
how or other no fish seemed to be coming; the
stream seemed to be quite dead and dull and empty.

It was not amusing, and Pearl sat up at last and
sent Ruby to ask the squirrels for some nutshells to
make boats of, by way of a change.

Ruby brought the nutshells, and they got.the fleet
ready to sail, but, though there did not seem to bea
breath of wind ora ripple on the stream, the little
boats that usually floated so prettily down the reach
all struck upon unseen stones to-day and slowly got
swamped, and sank in the tiny eddies.