"You must have been very happy" said the little squirrel.

"Yes; it was a merry life we led, as we floated hither and thither, playing with the sun-beams," replied the Waterdrop.

"But we came at last to a purple mountain, and a chill wind began to blow. How we shivered with the cold! Then we huddled close together to get warm. We were now heavy again--so heavy that we could not stay up in the air.

"Then,

'I'm going down to cheer a flower,'
Cried a little drop of rain;
'I hear it sigh. It droops its head
As if in weary pain.'
'And I will go!' 'And I!' 'And I!'
Cried all the raindrops near.
So down we went in merry haste
The whole wide field to cheer.

"The drooping flowers lifted their bright faces to thank the little drops for the cool drink. Even the great tall trees nodded their heads in welcome."

"The grass on the hillside and in the valley must have been grateful, too, for your coming," said the squirrel. "It always looks so fresh and green after a shower. But, tell me, what became of you?"

"I fell where the ground was brown and bare, stopped for a moment, then went down, down into the ground, where all was dark. I met other drops trying to get out, and we went on together, turning first this way, then that way, till we burst into the sunshine again."

"We rested for a moment in a tiny pool of clear water; then I ran with the rest down the mountain side, slipping over smooth pebbles, and tumbling over sharp rocks, until I found myself in a deep, swift stream, where plants and trees grew on either bank."

SUDDENLY WE FELL OVER THE ROCKS