The tapped trees.

Phonny's preparations.

The box.

breaking through. Beechnut had tapped the trees, six of them in all, the day before the children were to go down; and he gave them particular directions in respect to what they were to do, in collecting and boiling the sap. What these directions were will appear by the doings of Phonny and Malleville in carrying them into effect.

Phonny was to draw down all the things that were necessary, on one of his hand sleds. He did not let the dogs draw them down, for he wished to save their strength, as he said, for the sap. First he put upon the sled a pretty large box, which was to hold the things in going down, and to be turned bottom upward and serve for a table when on the spot. Into this box he put a kettle, a number of sticks of wood, a small iron chain with a hook in the end of it, and a small saw.

The saw was to cut up dead branches of trees, and other such fuel as he might find in the woods, so as to make the pieces of proper length for a fire. He had intended at first to take a hatchet; but his mother told him that it was not safe for him to have a hatchet, and that he must content himself with such small sticks as he could find of the proper length already. Phonny said

The kettle and its contents.

The drag.

The gipsey poles.

that they could not get any such sticks in the winter; that they were all buried up in the snow, and that he must cut branches off the Then his mother told him that he must

trees.

take the saw.

In the kettle, when Phonny placed it in the box, were some pieces of birch bark, a little kindling wood, and a small box of matches. These were to begin the fire with. There were also three round poles, about six feet long, tied together near one end by a rope. These were laid upon the top of the box after the other things had been put in. The box and the poles upon it were kept from falling off, by the stakes of the sled, which held and confined them.

The drag was not put into the box, but was attached by its rope to the hinder bar of the hand sled, in order to be drawn along after it. The covered tin pail, destined to contain the sap, was put upon the drag and was fastened to its place, as the box was upon the sled, by means of a cord. In the bottom of the tin pail was a paper, with some slices of bread and four oranges tied up in it, and upon the top of this parcel were two saucers and two spoons. These saucers and spoons were to enable Phonny and Malleville to try the sap from time to time as the

Progress of the expedition.

The point and the beach.

boiling went on, to see whether it was growing sweeter. There was also a good-sized wooden box to hold the sugar that they should make. They had determined to bring it all home, and give it to Mrs. Henry.

When all was ready, the whole party set off from the house together. Franco and Tom ran before the sled, frisking about in great glee. Ah, my fellows!" said Phonny, "you little know what hard work you have got to do today, hauling sap."

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The children came out through the great gate in front of the house, as seen in the picture, and then went along the road between the mouth of the brook and the hill. There was

a bridge across the brook at a short distance from its mouth, just above the boat-house, as has already been mentioned, though the bridge is not to be seen in the picture, being concealed by the shrubbery on the point. They wished to get across to the point, for their fire was to be built upon the beach, which is represented in the picture on the foreground. The pathway which led across the point came from the bridge, and was the way to get to the beach and to the point, in the summer. There was no necessity for coming this way now, for the

They come to the beach.

Preparations.

Plans about the fire.

river was frozen over quite solid, and the children might have come down to the pier, and so have crossed over upon the ice, but they had been accustomed in the summer to cross by the bridge, and they took that course now.

After crossing the bridge, they came along the path through the gap, to the beach represented in the foreground of the picture. Here the ground was almost bare, the snow having been nearly all blown off by the wind as it fell. The beach was a warm sunny place too, in the mornings, as its aspect was toward the east, and the little snow that had lodged upon it had melted away, so that Malleville and Phonny had a place there for a fire on the smooth and dry surface of the sand.

Phonny stopped with his sled when he reached the spot, and Malleville, who was a little tired with the long walk, sat down upon a seat under the bank, which Beechnut had made there in the summer.

"Now," said Phonny, "the first thing is for the fire."

"No," said Malleville; "the first thing is to get the sap."

"No," said Phonny.

"Yes," said Malleville; "for if you build the

Phonny's reasoning.

The harness. Franco "won't be dressed."

fire it will all burn away while we are gone to get the sap."

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True," said Phonny; "if I should light the fire and so set it to burning. But I can build it, you know, and get it all ready, but not light it until the sap is here."

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'Well," said Malleville," and while you are doing that, I will sit on this seat and rest.”

Yes," said Phonny, "and you can be putting the harnesses on the dogs.'

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So Phonny began to make the preparations for building the fire, while Malleville took the harnesses up from the drag, and called Franco to come to her, that she might put his harness on. But Franco, who saw the harness in her hand, and knew very well what it meant, would not come. Malleville then went toward him to catch him, but he bounded away from her and ran out upon the river.

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Oh, dear me!" said Malleville, mournfully, "what shall I do? Franco won't be dressed!"

Never mind," said Phonny, "I'll catch him

for you by and by."

So Malleville sat down upon the bench again, and began to watch Phonny's operations in making arrangements for the fire.

Phonny selected a smooth spot on the beach,