Next year, the heath had crept a little way down the hill, towards the wood. The wood saw this, but said nothing. She thought it beneath her dignity to talk to such an ugly fellow; but, in her heart of hearts, she was afraid. Then she made herself greener and prettier and looked as if there were nothing the matter.  
But, every year, the heath came nearer. He had now covered all the hills and lay just outside the fence of the wood.
 
"Be off!" said the wood. "You annoy me. Take care you don't touch my fence!"
 
"I'm coming over your fence," said the heath. "I'm coming into you, to eat you up and destroy you."
 
Then the wood laughed till all her leaves quivered:
 
"So that's what you mean to do, is it?" she said. "If only you can manage it! I'm afraid that you will find me too big a mouthful. I daresay you think I'm a bit of a field or meadow, which one can walk over in a couple of strides. But I'm the most powerful and important person in the neighbourhood, you may as well know. I shall soon sing my song to you; then perhaps you will change your ways of thinking."
 
Then the wood began to sing. All the birds sang; and the flowers raised their heads and sang too. The smallest leaf hummed with the rest, the fox stopped in the middle of eating a fat chicken and beat time with his brush, the wind blew through the branches and played an organ accompaniment to the song of the wood:
 
"Merrier meeting was never yet
Than the festal wood discloses,
When wood-ruff nestles by violet
In a cluster of sweet wild roses.
 
"Small birds in the brake fly up and down
Nor ever a bird flies single
And the woodman for his lass a crown
Where berries and .
 
", fox and hare hold all,
Thro' flowerage the wee worm glances;
There great and small a-dancing fall
And the sun up in Heaven dances."
"What do you say to that?" as............