The Little House
legs and up her arms and dropped into her heart. It was the stillness of the Gardens. Then she heard clang, then from another part clang, then clang, clang far away. It was the Closing of the Gates.
Immediately the last clang had died away Maimie distinctly heard a voice say, ‘So that ‘s all right.‘ It had a wooden sound and seemed to come from above, and she looked up in time to see an elm-tree stretching out its arms and yawning.
She was about to say, ‘I never knew you could speak!‘ when a metallic voice that seemed to come from the ladle at the well remarked to the elm, ‘I suppose it is a bit coldish up there?‘ and the elm replied, ‘Not particularly, but you do get numb standing so long on one leg,‘ and he flapped his arms vigorously just as the cabmen do before they drive off. Maimie was quite surprised to see that a number of other tall trees were doing the same sort of thing, and she stole away to the Baby Walk and crouched observantly under a Minorca holly which shrugged its shoulders but did not seem to mind her.
She was not in the least cold. She was wearing
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