THE HOME IN THE FOREST.Frontispiece
Among the Forest People
BY
Clara Dillingham Pierson
AUTHOR OF "AMONG THE MEADOW PEOPLE"
Illustrated by F. C. GORDON
NEW YORK
E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY
31 West Twenty-third Street
1900
Copyright, 1898
BY
E. P. DUTTON & CO.
The Knickerbocker Press, New York
TO THE CHILDREN.
Dear Little Friends:
Since I told my stories of the meadowpeople a year ago, so many children havebeen asking me questions about themthat I thought it might be well to sendyou a letter with these tales of the forestfolk.
I have been asked if I am acquaintedwith the little creatures about whom I tellyou, and I want you to know that I amvery well acquainted indeed. Perhapsthe Ground Hog is my oldest friendamong the forest people, just as the TreeFrog is among those of the meadow.Some of the things about which I shalltell you, I have seen for myself, and theother stories have come to me in another[Pg 8]way. I was there when the swaggeringCrow drove the Hens off the barnyardfence, and I was quite as much worriedabout the Mourning Doves' nest as wereMrs. Goldfinch and Mrs. Oriole.
I have had a letter from one little boywho wants to know if the meadow peoplereally talk to each other. Of course theydo. And so do all the people in thesestories. They do not talk in the sameway as you and I, but they have theirown language, which they understand justas well as we do English. You know noteven all children speak alike. If you andI were to meet early some sunshiny day,we would say to each other, "Good morning,"but if a little German boy shouldjoin us, he would say, "Guten Morgen,"and a tiny French maiden would call out,"Bon jour," when she meant the samething.
These stories had to be written in theEnglish language, so that you could un[Pg 9]derstand.If I were to tell them in theWoodpecker, the Rabbit, or the Rattlesnakelanguage, all of which are understoodin the forest, they might be veryfine stories, but I am afraid you wouldnot know exactly what they meant!
I hope you will enjoy hearing aboutmy forest friends. They are delightfulpeople to know, and you must get acquaintedwith them as soon as you can.I should like to have you in little chairsjust opposite my own and talk of thesethings quite as we used to do in my kindergarten.But that cannot be, so I havewritten you this letter, and think that perhapssome of you will write to me, tellingwhich story you like best, and why youlike it.
Your friend,
Clara Dillingham Pierson.
Stanton, Michigan,
April 15, 1898.