The nearer hills , which bordered the valley , were half submerged , and were specked with little cloud-wreaths all the way to their tops . On the whole , there was so much cloud , and so little solid earth , that it had the effect of a vision . The children above-mentioned , being as full of life as they could hold , kept overflowing from the porch of Tanglewood , and scampering along the gravel-walk , or rushing across the dewy herbage of the lawn . I can hardly tell how many of these small people there were ; not less than nine or ten , however , nor more than a dozen , of all sorts , sizes , and ages , whether girls or boys . They were brothers , sisters , and cousins , together with a few of their young acquaintances , who had been invited by Mr. and Mrs. Pringle to spend some of this delightful weather with their own children , at Tanglewood . I am afraid to tell you their names , or even to give them any names which other children have ever been called by ; because , to my certain knowledge , authors sometimes get themselves into great trouble by accidentally giving the names of real persons to the characters in their books . For this reason , I mean to call them Primrose , Periwinkle , Sweet Fern , Dandelion , Blue Eye , Clover , Huckleberry , Cowslip , Squash-blossom , Milkweed , Plantain , and Buttercup ; although , to be sure , such titles might better suit a group of fairies than a company of earthly children . It is not to be supposed that these little folks were to be permitted by their careful fathers and mothers , uncles , aunts , or grandparents , to stray abroad into the woods and fields , without the guardianship of some particularly grave and elderly person . O no , indeed ! In the first sentence of my book , you will recollect that I spoke of a tall youth , standing in the midst of the children . His name -- -LRB- and I shall let you know his real name , because he considers it a great honor to have told the stories that are here to be printed -RRB- -- his name was Eustace Bright . He was a student at Williams College , and had reached , I think , at this period , the venerable age of eighteen -- years ; so that he felt quite like a grandfather towards Periwinkle , Dandelion , Huckleberry , Squash-blossom , Milkweed , and the rest , who were only half or a third as venerable as he . A trouble in his eyesight -LRB- such as many students think it necessary to have , nowadays , in order to prove their diligence at their books -RRB- had kept him from college a week or two after the beginning of the term . But , for my part , I have seldom met with a pair of eyes that looked as if they could see farther or better than those of Eustace Bright . This learned student was slender , and rather pale , as all Yankee students are ; but yet of a healthy aspect , and as light and active as if he had wings to his shoes . By the by , being much addicted to wading through streamlets and across meadows , he had put on cowhide boots for the expedition . He wore a linen blouse , a cloth cap , and a pair of green spectacles , which he had assumed , probably , less for the preservation of his eyes , than for the dignity that they imparted to his countenance . In either case , however , he might as well have let then alone ; for Huckleberry , a mischievous little elf , crept behind Eustace as he sat on the steps of the porch , snatched the spectacles from his nose , and clapped them on her own ; and as the student forgot to take them back , they fell off into the grass , and lay there till the next spring . Now , Eustace Bright , you must know , had won great fame among the children , as a narrator of wonderful stories ; and though he sometimes pretended to be annoyed , when they teased him for more , and more , and always for more , yet I really doubt whether he liked anything quite so well as to tell them . You might have seen his eyes twinkle , therefore , when Clover , Sweet Fern , Cowslip , Buttercup , and most of their playmates , besought him to relate one of his stories , while they were waiting for the mist to clear up .
`` Yes , Cousin Eustace , '' said Primrose , who was a bright girl XXXXX twelve , with laughing eyes , and a nose that turned up a little , `` the morning is certainly the best time for the stories with which you so often tire out our patience .
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