Lost treasures from a little girl's garden.......

quietly, one summer afternoon, a little girl walked in a garden.......she waited for the birds to come out to sing. bringing with her pictures of her favorite things, she sat down on a grassy knoll and set about arranging her pictures all about her, the little buttercups and daisies springing up here and there in between the pictures on the grass. gradually, as she seemed to forget about the little birds songs, she began to make up a story all about the pictures she had brought to the abandoned garden. speaking out loud, in a sweet, happy voice, she told the story of the lost princess and the fairy boat who took the flowers away to the next kingdom. suddenly she looked up and all about her sat the little animals of the forest......raccoons and deer, sparrows and little foxes, squirrels and rabbits. she smiled and spoke to them in the quietest voice she could imagine and they listened to her, unafraid. how wonderful it was to see the dear faces of the animals, kind and good they all were. growing tired from her storytelling, she curled up on the grass and fell asleep. the animals stayed by her side to guard her. she slept and slept. but after a while, she awoke suddenly as the light in the forest was growing dim. she realized it would be growing dark soon, so she waved good bye to the animals and ran quickly toward her home. but she had forgotten her pictures and there they sat. the animals watched as she left the forest. they knew she would be back. she was a forest child and they loved her gentle spirit and kind voice. the little squirrel gathered up the pictures and put them in a little hollow in a tree where they would be safe from the rain and morning mist. what a little picture that was. the animals walking back to their dens and little sleeping areas, their friend's stories in their thoughts. the little girl dreampt that night of the deer and the raccoons and the beauty of the forest. how thankful she was for such a life.......