seemed tobe ina cavem, deep
down under the ground. How
she had gotten there she could
not guess. The cavern shone with light, as
bright as day. Myriads of grasshoppers, in gay
attire, covered the floor and walls. The grass-
hopper soldiers were there. They were stationed
about, at intervals; and each soldier held bits
of mica which flashed and were the means of
reflecting light from the mouth of the cave.

Elsie heard a small voice scream out, near
hen:

 

‘©A merry Christmas to you all;

Now let ’s begin the Christmas ball !’’

“ Christmas, Merry Christmas, what could
it mean? It surely was not Christmas time ?
If it was, where was the tree?”

As if in answer to Elsie’s unspoken ques-
tion, the voice again called:

“Put out the lights. Light up the tree,

That thus we but the tree may see.’’
Thereupon the soldiers concealed their mica
reflectors, and a deep gloom extended through
the cavern; in the midst of the gloom there