What can be more delightful, to a boy of spirit, than a day in the woods when there has been a good snow! If he also happens to have a good friend or two, and some good dogs (who are just as likely to be friends as his boy companions), he ought to be much happier than an ordinary king. A forest is a fine place at any time, but when the ground is well covered with snow especially if there is a hard crust upon it the woods seem to possess a peculiar charm. You can go anywhere then. In the summer, the thick undergrowth, the intertwining vines, and the heavy lower branches of the trees, make it difficult even to see into the dark recesses of the forest. But in the winter all is open.
