The girls were crossing a marshy bit of ground near the Big Bridge, when Jane caught sight of some beautiful spires of goldenrod, although it was early in the season for it.
"I'm going to pick some for our camp—you can wait or go on slowly!" called she, to the girls who were ahead.
Balancing on a flat stone near the bank she hoped to reach, she found herself directly under a bending mass of the golden bloom. Just as she reached up to pluck at the stem, a huge bumblebee flew out and hummed near her nose.
"Oo-oo! help!" cried Jane almost falling over with fright.
"What's the matter—a water-snake?" laughed Elena.
"No—but an awful big beast! As big and fierce as an eagle!" shouted Jane, laughing at herself, when the bee flew away.
Having secured the rod, Jane hurried after the girls and then confessed that the eagle was but a bumblebee.
"He wouldn't have stung you, Jane, even if you attempted his life! They are too good-natured for their own protection!" said the Guide, as they trudged along the field-path.
"Let's sit down by this hedge and have a story, Miss Miller," suggested Hilda, who loved to hear the Guide's nature stories.
"Just for a few moments, then! We must not waste any time."