At length she went to her own special walk and made up her mind to try if she could skip the whole length of it.

It was a good long skip and she began slowly, but before she had gone half-way down the path she was so hot and breathless that she was obliged to stop.

She did not mind much, because she had already counted up to thirty.

She stopped with a little laugh of pleasure, and there, lo and behold, was the robin swaying on a long branch of ivy.

He had followed her and he greeted her with a chirp.