46 BEYOND THE BLUE MOUNTAINS.

thoughts than to go to sleep even for a moment, and how T happened to
do so is more than I can understand. Well, we had better come on
now, Cowslip. I see by the position of the sun that it is rapidly going
towards the west. We have both been to sleep much longer than we
had any idea of.”

The children both got up, and Cowslip shook out her white dress.
It was stained and green at the back where she had been ] ying. She
looked at it with great distress.

* Do come on,” exclaimed Clover. ‘‘ Never mind the dress now.
We will wash it at the next stream we come to. Do, do come on, how
you linger. What are you looking at?”

“There!” said Cowslp, pointing with terror; “there, can’t you
see?”

“TI don’t see anything,” said Clover, in quite a cross voice.

“ Now; oh, Clover, it moves, it is about to spring.”

Clover looked very earnestly in the direction where Cowslip
pointed, and then to his horror he did see a small snake, with a
well-forked head, gazing at them with two glittering eyes.

“There it is,” said Cowslip, “almost on the very spot where I was
lying. Oh, what an escape we have had!”

“Yes, that we have,” said Clover, “That accounts for your bad
dream, Cowslip. I did not know that the road to the King’s
country was so full of dangers, but now come on, darling.”

The brother and sister walked on together for a couple of miles.
There was a great dreariness about the road here, it was shut in by
high rocks, and was in itself very hot and ugly. It was rough with
large stones, and as it sloped very slightly uphill, even the best walker
could not help being tired, as with the sun basking full in his face
he pursued his way.

Suddenly the high rocks opened out, and the children saw a beautiful
green meadow going in the same direction as the road on which
they found it so difficult to walk. The grass in this meadow was
very fresh, and there was a path right through it, by the side of
which grew beautiful flowers. The meadow came straight up to the
road on which the children were walking, but between it and the