George F. Butler

The Book for Every Girls

George F. Butler

Her name was Elsie and she was asleep in a cozy nook in the woods, which was the beginning of it all.<br><br>Many strange things may happen to a little girl who falls asleep in the woods, but there never happened to any other little girl, either asleep or awake, in the woods or at home, a more important thing than that which had its start for Elsie while she lay there under the green boughs beside a bubbling spring of crystal-clear water, the scent of pines and flowers sweetening the still air. A robin redbreast whistled melodiously for &quot;rain, rain, rain,&quot; and the cows in the pasture, who do not like rain as well as they do sunshine, lifted up their voices in protest, calling &quot;oo-oo-ohh! moo-oo-hh! noo-oo-hh!&quot; as if they were trying to say &quot;no, no, no!&quot; and could not speak the English language well. It was a peaceful woodland scene, a scene into which, if you were awake, you would expect that a railroad train would be about the last thing that could possibly enter.