“And then I saw him first,” cried Dan, who was listening to his mother.

“No, I!” cried Nan.

“No, no,” Sallv laughed.  “I heard him, singing, a long way off.  And I called you children away from your game of shells.  When his foot touched the ice we danced in circles of joy, and tapped messages through to him with our fingers.  The ice vanished under his feet, and our stream rushed hither away to the sea.  We came with it, and waved him hail and farewell as we poured down.  Who can stop at home in spring-time?  And we had been ice-bound so long!”

“And now we’re here,” boasted Dan, “I’m going to swim across the sea to-morrow,—­or the next day!”

“You’re too little for that.  Calm water is best, or little rushing streams,” warned Sally.

“What is it like across the sea?” asked Eric.  “Another world?”

“I’ll tell you about it in the next story,” promised Helma.  “And then when I have told you, Eric, you may want to go across yourself and see the wonders.”

Eric drew a deep breath.  “Yes, you and Ivra and I. In a boat.”  He pointed to a white sail far out stuck up like a feather slantwise in the water.

Ivra clapped her hands.

But Helma shook her head.  “When you go, it must be alone, Ivra and I belong to the Forest.”

“Why, then I don’t want to go, ever.”  Eric shook the thought from him like water.

“Well, let’s swim across now,” Dan shouted, and ran into the waves, falling flat as soon as he was deep enough and swimming fast away.  The other children followed him, ready for a frolic.  You or I would have found that water very cold, but these were hardy children; and one of them all winter had made comrades of the Snow Witches, remember.

They waded out to the surf and plunged through it, head first.  They took hands and floated in a circle beyond, rising and falling in the even motion of the rollers.  Nan was very mischievous, and soon succeeded in pushing Eric out, under where the waves broke.  When he looked up suddenly and saw the great watery roof hanging over him, he was terrified but he did not scream.  People who comraded with Ivra could not do that.  He shut his eyes tight, and then thundering down came the water-roof, and a second after, up bobbed Eric like a cork, choking and sputtering.  They were laughing at him, even Ivra.  The minute the salt water was out of his eyes he laughed, too, and tried to push Nan into the surf.  But she was too quick for him, and slipped away, farther out to sea.

Then began a game of water tag.  Eric, because he was not such a good swimmer as the others, was It most of the time.  But Ivra had to take a few turns as well.  It was impossible to catch the other two.  They moved in the water as reflected light moves along a wall, not really swimming at all, but flashing from spot to spot.

Helma and Sally lay on the sand in the spring sunshine and talked about their children.