CHILDREN OF THE HIGHLAND.

melts they climb higher. In the valleys they find
the grass green and tender. Here they will graze
till the snow drives them down the slope.

Hans and Wilhelm help to tend the flocks, and
then they play by the swift streams, or search
for wild flowers. Once in a while they catch a
glimpse of a nimble chamois or an ibex, as it leaps
from crag to crag far above them.

The chamois looks partly like a
deer and partly like a goat. It is
very shy, and has keen scent and
sight.

In winter this little creature
feeds on tender shoots of fir and
pine trees. In summer it is found
close to the lower edge of the
snowcap on the highest peaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

acl

soon it crashes along, sweeping all before it.
Large trees snap and break. Huge rocks whirl
down the slope. The earth trembles, and the fly-

ing mass gives out am angry roar.
That evening Hans tells a story about the sea
breaking through the dykes of Holland, and flood-
ing his father’s field. Wilhelm tells about the
soft snow that slid down the mountain side last

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

Remains of a Snowslide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

winter, and buried the village

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

in which he lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wilhelm’s Home. ,

The chamois is noted for its long leaps from
rock to rock, over deep chasms. It is very play-
ful, and is often seen sporting about in the light
feathery snow.

Often at night the boys lie awake and listen
to the ice cracking and groaning, as it winds
slowly past their cabin. Wilhelm says that the
glacier walks and talks.

One day when the boys are far up the mountain

side, they see a great mass of ice and show slide
into the valley.. At first it moves slowly, but

Weeks pass, and at length
the snow creeps down the
mountains, into the high valley
where the flocks are grazing.
They must at orice start for
home, or they may be caught
in a blinding storm.

It is the middle of Septem-
ber, and the village is dressed for a holiday.
To-day the fathers and elder brothers come home
with their flocks from the mountains. The girls
and boys march out with bells and flags to meet
them. They all return shouting and singing.

The day is given over to sports and games.
The young men wrestle, run races arid shoot. In
the evening bonfires are kindled, and many dancers
keep time to music. In the midst of the festival a
heavy snowstorm begins, showing that winter is at
hand. How strange it all seems to little Hans.

@