At last the merry summer-time was gone, and the flowers began to hang
their heads in the gardens, looking wet and soiled; for every now and
then the cold wind would come with a rush and a roar and knock the poor
things about dreadfully; sometimes they would be struck right down on
the ground, where they would lie, never to get up any more. Sometimes,
however, the sun would come out to cheer them up again, but he was not
at all warm; and then the nights began to grow so long and cold that the
flowers had nearly made up their minds to go to sleep for the winter,
when Jack Frost sent word one night that he was coming, and his
messenger left such a cold chill everywhere that he had been, that the
flowers all went to sleep at once, and the leaves on the trees, turning
yellow with fright, began to shake and shiver, and tumble off as hard as
ever they could tumble, till they lay in great rustling heaps all over
the gravel walks, where they were swept up and carried off into the
back-yard. And then all the birds were as busy as ever they could be:
the young ones were now strong on the wing, and there were such meetings
and congregations in wood and field--on lawn and in tree--in hedgerow
and down even in the ditches. The martins and swallows all said
"Good-bye," and were off in a hurry; and all the other summer visitors
who were lagging behind, when they saw the swallows go, went off as hard
as ever they could, not even stopping to take any cold flies with them,
they were in such a hurry. Sparrows and finches, they all made
excursion parties, and went feasting in the stubble-fields; starlings,
jackdaws, and rooks, they went worm-picking in the wet marshlands; and
all the thrush family went off to the fields and hedgerows, seeking
berries and fruits that had now grown tender and sweet; and so at last
Greenlawn began to look very deserted all day, but it was not so of a
night, for there would be a fine noise in the ivy, where all the
sparrows came home to roost, for they were in such high spirits that
they could not keep quiet, but kept on chatter, chatter, till it grew so
dark they could not see to open their beaks. As to the starlings, they
came home by scores to the warm, thick cedar, and there they whistled
and chattered until the moon began to shine, when they, too, went off to
sleep; and so, wherever there was a snug, warm spot at Greenlawn, the
birds came back in the cold wintry nights to sleep--flying far-off in
the day-time, but always returning at night.
They were hard times for the poor birds when Jack Frost had it all his
own way; for in his sharp, spiteful, nip-toes fashion he would freeze
and freeze everything until it was all as hard as steel; and then, so as
to make sure that by hard work and bill-chipping no worms were dug out,
he would powder the ground all over with white snow, so that all the
footmarks were stamped upon it as the birds walked along.
Shiver-shiver-shiver; ah! it was cold! and food was so scarce that no
one could get anything to eat but the robin-redbreast; and he would go
up to the house, and, sitting upon the snow-covered sills, peep in at
the windows with his great round staring eyes, until the master's little
girls would come and open the sash, and shake all the crumbs out of
their pinafores; so that the poor cold bird would often get a good
hearty meal.
Sometimes the sun would come out and shine upon the snow-wreaths, and
they would glitter and sparkle, and turn of the most beautiful colours;
while the trees were covered with frost-work that looked more brilliant
than the finest silver that was ever worked.
But, ah! the poor birds! it was a sad time for them; and they would
huddle up together in flocks; and very often got to be so cold and
hungry that the country people picked them up half dead, with their
feathers all ruffled up and their beautiful little bright, beady eyes
half-shut. Ah! those were sad times at Greenlawn; and the master would
gladly have helped the poor things if he could; but generally they used
to fly right off, miles away, so that very often not a bird was to be
seen but Bob Robin, who kept hopping about the doors and windows.
But Jack Frost did not care a bit, for he loved freezing; and when the
winter nights were come, with the moon shining, and the stars twinkling
and blinking ever so high up, Jack would put on his skates and go
skimming over the country, breathing on people's window-panes, and
making them all over ferny frost-work; hanging icicles round the eaves
of the houses; making the roads so hard that they would sound hollow and
rattle as the wheels passed over; and turning the ponds, lakes, and
rivers into hard ringing ice. Then the frost would hang upon the
labourers' hair, and little knobs of ice upon the bristles about the
horses' muzzles; while some of the branches of the trees would become so
loaded with the white clinging snow that they would snap off and fall to
the ground. Away would troop the birds in the day-time then to feast
upon the scarlet berries of the holly, the pearly dew-like drops of the
mistletoe, or the black coaly berries that grew upon the ivy-tod; and
away and away they would fly again with wild and plaintive cries as Jack
Frost would send a cutting blast in amongst them to scare them away.
How the poor birds would look at the man cutting logs of wood to take to
the master's house; and how they would watch the blue smoke and sparks
come curling out of the wide chimneys. In the night the wild geese
would fly over to the moor, crying "Clang-clang-clang," and frightening
many a shivering sleeper with their wild shriek; and then the
long-necked birds would dart down from their high swoop to some lonely
lake in the wild moor, there to sit upon the cold ice, pluming
themselves ere they started again for some spot where the frost king had
not all his own way.
Old Ogrebones, the kingfisher, lay snug at the bottom of his hole in the
bank; while all the tender birds were far-off in milder climes, where
flies were to be caught, and where the sun shone bright and warm. As to
the poor ducks, they could do nothing but paddle and straddle about over
the surface of the glassy pond, for almost as soon as the hard ice was
broken for them to get water, it all froze together again; and in spite
of their thick coats of warm down and feathers, they said it was almost
too cold to be borne. The rooks had gone down to the sea-side and the
mouths of the rivers to pick up a living when the tide went down; while
all the other birds that were not in the fields made friends with the
sparrows, and went in flocks to the farmyards, where they could find
stray grains of corn, and run off with them, chased by the old cocks and
hens. And still Jack Frost had it all his own way, and stuck his cold,
sharp teeth into everything and everybody--even into the foreign
thrushes and grey crows that came over from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark,
and nipped them so that they all said they had better have stayed at
home.
Now, all this could not have been borne, only that Jack Frost would go
to sleep sometimes, and then down would come a soft, warm rain that
would wash away the snow and melt the ice, and soften the ground so that
food became plentiful again; and the birds would set to and make up for
lost time by having such a feast as would make them better able to bear
Jack Frost's next fast, and strong enough to set his sharp teeth at
defiance.
They were fine times for feasting when the thaw had set in, for then, as
the earth grew soft, the worms would come crawling out to have a
stretch, after being asleep beneath the iron-bound earth. As for the
rooks, they ate until they could hardly move, and gormandised in a way
that could only be excused in things that could not get their meals at
regular times. "Snip-snap" went the bills all over the marshlands, and
gobble-gobble went the poor worms; and so for about a week the birds had
such a feast that their skins all got quite tight with the thick jacket
of fat that was spread beneath them to keep the cold out, and all their
feathers began to stick up so that they had plenty of work to smooth
them down. But such weather did not last long, for soon Jack Frost
would wake up again, quite cross to think how long he had slept, and
then on he would put his sharp steel skates again, and away over the
country he would skim with all the land turning to iron wherever he
went, and looking as if the keen old fellow had been sprinkling diamonds
and emeralds and pearls all over the ground. As to the sheep, they
would quite rattle with the knobs of ice upon their wool, while the
turnips they were nibbling out in the fields were like snowballs. And
away skimmed Jack Frost by the light of the bright moon, while all the
stars kept laughing and winking at his freaks, and soon again all the
country was powdered over with snow, and the water all turned to ice.
Then at night, when the cold cutting wind would hum outside the doors
and sing through all the chinks, trying to get in, people would draw the
red curtains close, and heap up the dry logs of wood upon the fire till
the bright blue flames would dance and flicker, and flicker and dance,
and roar up the chimney; but all the time sending such warmth and
comfort through the rooms that the wind would give up trying, and,
knowing that it could not battle with such a warm fire, would rush off
again over the bare woods and fields to help Jack Frost, and bear away
the words of the song he was singing, so that everybody could hear it.
For the icy fellow as he skimmed along would laugh and shout to see how
everybody was afraid of him, and lighted fires to keep him away; and
then he would sing,--
"I kiss cheeks and make them rosy;
I make people wrap up cosy;
I bring chilblains, chaps, and nipping;
I send people quickly tripping.
See my breath all silver lacing;
Feel my touch how cold and bracing;
Come and race o'er ground so snowy;
Come and trip 'mid breezes blowy.
I'll make little eyes look brightly;
I'll make little hearts beat lightly;
And when cheeks grow red as cherry,
Then will echo voices merry.
For I'm Jack Frost who makes cheeks rosy;
I make people wrap up cosy;
I bring chilblains, chaps, and nipping;
But send the little people tripping."
But in spite of all Jack Frost could do, the birds at Greenlawn would
manage to get through the harsh time of winter, looking out for the
spring to come again; and happy and contented, though always very busy,
and trying hard to do their duty as well when the cold wintry rains
fell, or the biting sleet, or soft falling snow, or even when the ground
was all hard and they were nearly starved, as when plenty reigned
around; for still they hoped on, and waited for spring, that seemed so
long in coming, but yet would surely come at last, however long it might
appear, and tire their patience.