1.“But what can little raindrops do？”said robin redbreast to the squirrel，as they sat talking beside the clear brook one fine morning.The robin and his friends had just had their morning bath，and the others had left him to finish his usual talk with their furry neighbour.“I don’t like rain！”
2.“What can raindrops do？”came in a clear voice from the brook；“you should see us at work.”The robinnodded his head to the squirrel，and they both listened to the sweet silvery voice.
3.“Yes，”the brooklet went on；“as soon as ever we got down from the clouds，we all went merrily to work-for there are no lazy raindrops.The ground was full of cracks and holes，where our cousin Jack had been before us.
4.”Do you know Jack Frost？He is a bright，merry fellow，and full of mischief；but he is very useful for all that.Every year he comes to loosen the soil with hisicy plough，so that the little raindrops can reach theroots and seeds of the flowers in the spring-time.
5.“Down we ran into the thirsty ground，through the rich loamand the sandy soil-down till we reached a bed of clay，through which we could not make our way.It was very dark in those gloomycells-not one ray of light to show us the way，not a sunbeam to cheer us on.
6.”We met brave little earth-worms toiling away⑧in their dark caves.Day by day they gnawthe fallen leaves and change them into fine loam.Then theycrawl back to the surface，bringing this rich loamwith them.All over the hill-side you can see hundreds of their little mounds，waiting to be spread over the surface again by the busy raindrops.
7.“We took some of this loam with us wherever we went，and placed it near the roots and the seeds.Then the sun sent down its warm rays，and soon the fields were green again.
8.”As we crept up through the slender flower-stems，the sleeping buds began to open and unfold their soft leaflets in the warm sunshine.We wakened up every seed in the garden，and fresh green shoots came peeping through the dark soil.The air was filled with the sweet songs of birds，for the spring had come.
9.“At length our long cold journey was ended，and we could come out of the damp soil and play with the sunbeams once more.How happy we were！
10.”Have you ever seen a spring of water bubbling up out of the soil？You should have been there to see us burst from the ground，and run sparkling and dashing down the hill-side.And now，you see，here we are.“And the voice of the brooklet seemed to die away in soft ripples along the banks.
