In a little while we reached the foot of the hill and began to ascend. As we went up the slope, we came to steep, rugged places that were hard to climb, where we needed our sticks. The trees were smaller, and there were many bushes. There were large rocks, too, in the sides of the hill. At the foot, the weather was quite warm, but it grew cooler and cooler the higher we went.
| WE COULD SEE THE CITY WITH ITS LITTLE STRAIGHT STREETS. |
"On the summit at last!" cried Fred, as we reached the top.
From where we stood, we could see the city with its little straight streets, that look so wide when we walk on them. We could see the house-tops, too, and the church steeples. Then father showed us the village we passed; and the woods we went through. But the trees looked like bushes, and some men at the foot of the hill looked no larger than the baby.
Down the mountain, a little way, we found a spring where the water was clear and cool. Here we sat down on a rock, and ate the lunch we had brought. While we rested, we watched the little rill that flowed from the spring--
"Blue in the shadow,
Silver in the sun."
Down the hill, it was larger, and we saw other rills flowing into it. When it reached the valley, it was much larger; and farther down, father said, boats could sail on it.
| IN THE VALLEY LAY A LARGE SHEET OF STILL WATER. |
Before us, in the valley, lay a large sheet of still water.
"Oh, how pretty!" exclaimed I.