Little Luke was surprised; he had not seen that flower before.  It was a very beautiful flower.  He leaned over and looked at it.  Its petals were blue as the sky, except near the heart, where they were pink as a baby’s fingers; and its heart was as yellow as gold.

Little Luke reached out his hand to pick the strange flower.  As soon as Mee-ko saw what he was doing, he fairly screamed.  To little Luke it seemed as if he said, “Stop, stop, let it be.  Leave it alone.  Go away.”

Little Luke was used to Mee-ko’s scolding.  He had heard it many times before, but never before had he thought there was any sense in it.  It seemed very queer to him that he could understand the speech of a squirrel.

In his surprise he forgot about the strange flower and sat looking up at Mee-ko.  At once Mee-ko became quiet.  He ran along the branch and down the tree behind little Luke.  Then he leaped to the ground and ran across to another tree.  When he thought he was safe, he began to talk and scold again.  To the little boy it seemed as if Mee-ko was saying, “Come here, come away, follow me, follow me!”

But little Luke did not care to chase Mee-ko.  He knew he could not catch him, and besides, he wanted the strange flower.  As soon as he reached out his hand for it again, Mee-ko began to scold more angrily than before.  “Stop, let it alone, go away,” he screamed.

“That is queer,” thought little Luke; “I wonder what is the matter with him.  What can he care about the strange flower?”

Just then Ah-mo the Honey Bee flew up toward little Luke and then back again to the flower.  Little Luke reached over and seized the flower.  The stem was strong and he pulled it up, root and all.  He put it to his nose.  Its odor was strangely sweet.  From the broken stem some clear juice oozed out upon his hand.  Ah-mo the Honey Bee flew down and sipped it.  Then he rose and began to buzz around little Luke’s head.  Without thinking, the little boy put his hand to his lips and his mouth was filled with a strange, sweet taste.  At the same time a mist rose before his eyes, a strange feeling ran through his body, and his head swam.

In a moment the strange feeling passed away and the mist cleared from before his face.  He looked up and could scarcely believe his eyes.  There in a half circle around him sat a strange company—­the strangest he had ever seen.

There was Mo-neen the Woodchuck, Unk-wunk the Hedgehog, A-pe-ka the Polecat, Wa-poose the Rabbit, A-bal-ka the Chipmunk, Tav-wots the Cottontail, Mic-ka the Coon, and Shin-ga the Gray Squirrel.  At one end of the line stood Mit-chee the Partridge, Ko-leen-o the Quail, and O-he-la the Woodcock.  On the branches above them were Ya-rup the Flicker, O-pee-chee the Robin, O-loo-la the Wood Thrush, Har-por the Brown Thrasher, Chee-wink the Ground Robin, Tur-wee the Bluebird, Zeet the Lark, and Bob Lincoln.  Little Luke was surprised to see the last two, for he had never seen them in the woods before.