IN WINTER LAND. 155

my ways, the sooner will the time of your trial be over. After you
have quite cleaned up the cottage, and put everything in perfect order,
you may go for a little walk. It is pretty in that fir-wood, with the
snow on the ground and the icicles covering all the trees; you may
run about there for half an hour, but you must on no account be any
longer away.”

“ Oh, thank you!” said Buttercup ; “I shall like very much to go.”

He bustled harder than ever over his work—was highly pleased
with his own efforts, and said to himself many times, “ What a good
boy Iam becoming! How pleased mother would be if she saw me
now!” and then he danced out into the sunshine, feeling quite light-
hearted again.

Buttercup was the sort of boy whose spirits go up and down very
quickly. He had been frightened and miserable the night before; now
he felt quite jolly and happy, and ran about in the sun, singing and
shouting to himself.

Mrs. Discipline stood in the door of the cottage, and called after
him.

“ Be sure you come back in half an hour, or I shall have to send
you on a visit to my father.”

“ All right,” called Buttercup back to her.

“You will know when the time is up by the shadow on the dial
in the garden,” she said. ‘‘ Now, you have no excuse; run about and
enjoy yourself, and be back when I told you.”

“Of course I will,” answered Buttercup, in his confident little
tones. ‘I have promised ; isn’t that enough?”

Mrs. Discipline laughed in a rather unbelieving way, and entering
the cottage, shut the door behind her.

Buttercup ran into the fir-wood and prepared to enjoy himself.

There were a great many fir-cones lying on the ground; he stooped
to pick them up.

Some squirrels were hopping about from tree to tree; these
attracted his attention. He made great efforts to catch some of them,
but of course utterly failed. Then his attention was arrested by a
robin whose breast was redder than any robin’s he had ever seen before.