T HE T U RQ U O S T O RY B O O

S torier a nd Legend; of

S ummer a nd Na tu re

CO MPIL ED B Y ADA M SKINNER

ELE SKIN E ANO R L. N R “ " “ " “ d itors o The E me a t M err Ta les Nurser E f r ld S ory B ook , y , y

" " Ta les from JVI a ny L a nds a nd The Topa z S tory B ook

FR O NT ISPIECE B Y MAXFIELD PARRISH

‘N’ RW YO R K D U FFI EL D C O M PANY

1 9 1 8

INTRO D UCTION

THE beauty of the wo rld gradually reveals itself to the child who fo rms the h abit o f oh se rvation . Th rough comp anionship with N a of tu re , supplemented by the reading books wh ich foste r an interest in the eve r - va rying

of en charm the seasons , the young reade r riches his expe rience by lea rning to interp ret “ f ” the open p ages o the wo rld about him . of Some the sto ries , legends , and poems in the p resent volume point out facts in Natu re ; others stimulate interest because they app eal ’ to the young reader s fancy, quicken h is sense of or humou r, attract his attention to some sp iritual significance . Also , la rge use has e been mad e o f myths and wond r sto ries . They evolved in the c h ildhood of the race when the mystery of the physical wo rld made a deep

s and se rious imp re sion upon p rimitive men .

W T H E F V INTROD UCTION

f own In terms o thei r exp eriences , they ex

the and plained and symbolized beauty, o rder, power which they beheld . “ ” The Tu rquoise Sto ry Book is the thi rd f of volume in a series o natu re books , each which emphasizes the interest and beauty

f c en cha racteristic o a p a rticula r season . The tral theme of this volume is the lovelines s of

i s summe r and t manifold blessings .

ACKNOWLEDGM ENTS The edito rs ’ thanks a re due to the following authors and publishers who h ave permitted the publication of thei r wo rks in this volume — to M r . Albert Bigelow Paine fo r permis sion to include H ow the Rose Became ” “ of - of- Queen , and A Legend the Lily the “ ” Valley, from a Little Ga rden Calendar, published by the H en ry Altemus Comp any ; to f r “ Helen Gray Cone o her two poems , An ” “ ” Evening Prim rose and A Yellow Pansy ; “ to Frances Gil lespy Wickes for Mothe r ” s R ed Spider , to Edward Bli s e and the Yale “ ” or the University Press f p oem Flowers ,

“ ” ” Se s n h from a Mood ; to Fra k A . Waug INTROD UCTI ON

’ “ and the Wo ma n s H om e C ompa nion fo r The ” Friendly Summe r Trees ; to M iss M . L . “ Cook for he r translation o f Why the Lady Bug Is Called B eloved o f God to Lucille “ ” Co rbett for The S to ry of the Dewd rop ; to

Geo rge Allen and Unwin Ltd . , fo r permission to retell “The Sun P rincess ” and “ P rincess “ ” Fi re - fly from Old Wo rld J ap an Legends ; “ to the Outlook Comp any for The Tale of ” Two Tails , and to E rnest Ingersoll and the “ ’ ” Outlook Comp any for B i rds Nests ; to “ for Geo rge H . Do ran Comp any The D ew ” Mothe r , by M ay Byron ; to the Educational “ ” Comp any for The Boy Who H ated Trees ; ” Town To ic s to p fo r H atto , the H ermit, by ’ S elma Lagerlo f ; to Cha rles S c ribne r s Sons fo r the selections from Eugene Field and

Hen ry Van Dyke ; to D . C . H eath and Com “ ” “ p any for Legend of Tithonus from Fa ” ri e e vo t . G r ek Myths , by Lillian S Hyde ; to

Frede rick A . Stokes Comp any fo r a selection

by Al fred Noyes ; to E . P . Dutton and Com “ ” “ p any fo r Robin Goodfellow , from Eng ” lish Fai ry Tales , by E rnest Rhys ; to C . H . “ Ba rbeau fo r p ermission to retell Legend of INTROD UCTI ON

e the Sun and Moon , from M moirs “ to S . E . C assino Comp any fo r The G rubbiest ” z n Grub from L ittle Fol!es M a g a i e; to J . B . Lippincott Comp any fo r permission to retell ’ “ of a legend from Skinner s Legends Flowers , ” Fruits and Trees ; to Small , M aynard and Comp any fo r th ree poems from Complete Wo rks of M adison C awein to M acmillan and Comp any Ltd . , London , fo r a poem by

M aud Keary ; to John P . Mo rton and Com p any fo r “ Mo rning Glo ries ” from “ Poet and ” Natu re , by M adison C awein ; to T . Fishe r “ e Unwin Ltd . fo r The Summe r Princ ss from “ ” The Ench anted Garden , by M rs . Moles “ worth ; to the M acmillan Comp any fo r Na “ ” tu re , from Preludes , by M adison Cawein , “ ” a selection from The Everlasting Mercy , “ M asefield of by John , and In the Cool the ” “ Evening, from Poems , by Alfred Noyes , “ G itan ali and a selection from j , by Rabin dranath Tagore ; to Edward Abbott Parry fo r ” “ ” Undine from The Fi rst Book of Krab ; and to Lyman Abbott fo r “The Flower’s

Thanks .

The selections from John Bu rroughs , INTRO D UCTI ON

Edith M . Thomas and John Townsend Trow bridge are used by p ermission of and by spe c ial l a rrangement with Houghton , M iff in of Comp any, the autho rized publishe rs thei r wo rks .

CONT E NT S

INTRODUCTIO N S UMMER STO RIES AND LEGEND S

S ummer ( selec tion) M a dison Ca wein H ow S umm er Conquered Winter ( Ir oquoi s Leg end ) E n lea or L . S k i nner A Leg end o f the Flower s ( Austr ali an ) Ka theri ne L a ng lot P a rk er J une ( selec tion) Ja mes Russell L owell I 4 The S un- Godd ess ( J a p a nese R i nder I S The S ummer Mak er ( O j ibway Leg end ) Retold fr om c hoolc ra t E ea no kinne S f l r L . S r S ummer ( selecti on) Edmund S penser

i h n- n id r A ed Ga tt In the K tc e Ga rde ( abr g ed ) . M s. lfr y l D h n G a d ay ( p oem) W . Gra a m R obertso Th m P nc ess rs M ol wo th e S um er ri M . es r Mi dsummer ( p oem) J ohn Townsend Tr owbri dg e

S UMMER S KIES

S elec tion R a bindra na th Tag ore D ay ( poem) R obert B r owning H ow the S un Wa s Ca ug ht a nd Freed ( Indi a n Leg end ) E ea no k nn l r L . S i er D n hin m H n on e ow A ay o f S u s e ( p oe ) e ry W. L g f ll ’ D r in h n- h ri E n k n Phaeton s i ve t e S u C a ot . . lea or L . S i ner . S ong Willi a m S ha k espea re S ummer Sun ( poem) R obert L ouis S tevenson The Cl oud ( translated fr om the German by Eleanor

L . Sk inner ) R obert R einec k Undine Edwa rd A bbott P a rry h n n n ta R l Leg end o f t e S u , Moo a d S r s ( eto d ) M k n Ada . S i ner 1 1 6 CONTENTS PAGE Princess Moonbeam ( J ap anese Leg end ) i - R l 2 M ary F. N xon ou et 1 0 Moon ( selec tion) P ercy B ysshe S helley 1 24 Sp ac ious Firmament on High ( poem) J oseph Addison 1 25

GREEN FIELD S AND MEAD OWS GAY

’ Nature s S ong ( selec tion) Madison Cawein

f lax No se Le end . Elea nor kinne The Gift o F ( r g ) L . S r l The S tory of the D ewdrop . Lucil e Corbett The D ew Mother ( poem) May B yr on O rig in of the D andeli on ( Indian Leg end Retold )

Elea nor L . S kinner Princ e B utterfly and Clover ( Retold from the p oem by i M Al t A M kinne Lou sa . c o t ) da . S r A n f l x H olm S o g o C ov er . . S a e Tithonus : A Leg end of the Gra sshopper n Lilli a S . Hyd e The G a ssho e oem Edith M Thomas r pp r ( p ) . The Golden Gra sshopp er Cha rles L a mb A B la de o f Gr a ss John Rusk in S electi on Cha rles D a lmon

P nc ess re- Fl a anese e end a da ted ri Fi y ( J p L g , p ) Fra nk Rinder July ( selec tion) S usa n H a rtleyS wett Cult and the V V oodc huc k John B urroug hs Why the La dy- B ug Is S a id to B e B eloved of God T anslated f om the F n h r r re c by M. L . Cook

SUMMER SPINNERS

S elec tion Ma dison Cawein 1 82 The S to of A ac hne El n ry r ea or L . S kinner 1 83 H ow the S de Mak es Its W eb i a B 1 pi r C . W lli m eebe 88 The Fa iry Spinner ( S outhern Tale Retold) Ad k 2 a M . S inner 1 9 M h 1 ot er Sp der Fra nc es Gillespy Wic k es 1 95

IN B RO OKS AND POND S

The B ook l r r . A f ed Tennyson e end of the W ate - il L g r L y. . Elea nor L . S kinner 20 1 The T ale of Two Ta s il . Ma ry H . Wilson 205 CONTENTS PAGE

i e end O rtgm 0 f B ullfrog s Alg onqu n L g ) kinne 2 1 2 Elea nor L . S r n C awein 22 1 W oodland W ater s ( poem) Ma diso B eva n 222 The Grubbiest Grub J . The Dr ag on- Fly ( poem) Alfred Tennyson 23 1

O N THE WING

S elec tion J ohn Masefield S el ecti on Willia m B la k e H ow W ood ec k er Chang ed H is Colour s ( Micmac Leg p . S k i nne Elea no . end ) . r L r A Retort fr om the Catbird ( poem) A bbi e F a rwell B r own W oodp ec k er Lif e Ma rg a ret C oulson Wa lk er ’ S kinne King fisher s Neck l a c e a nd L . r O wl Wi sdom Fr a nc es Wrig ht ’ B irds Nests Ernest Ing ersoll ’ H atto The H ermit : The Leg end of a B ird s Nest S elma L ag erlof

UNDER GREENWO OD TREES

W ia m S ha kes ea e S ong . ill p r The Pluc ky Pri nc e ( Adap ted fr om the poem by May El n kinn B yron) ea or L . S er The O ak oem Cha le ( p ) F . r y S umme now Mrs H um h e Wa d r S . p r y r Th B Wh H a ted T ees A ic e B ec kw th e oy o r l L . i Th rien l mm T a nk A Wa u h e F d y S u er rees Fr . g ' F D l orest ay . S e ma L ag erlof

n e Tha t T e m . P M oodma S a e oe . Geo e . o is W , p r r ( p ) rg rr

IN AN OLD - FASHIONED GARDEN

S election Willia m B rig htly R a nds l n S e ec ti o . . Eug ene Fi eld H ow the Rose B ec a me Q ueen Albert B ig elowP a ine

Mo nin - Glo es oem Mad n r g ri ( p ) . iso Ca wein Why Roses H ave Thorns ( Alg onquin Leg end Retold ) El no ea r L . S kinner S weet Pea s ( p oem) John Kea ts e end o f the P m ose Ada M kinn L g ri r . S er Ev ening P rimroses ( poem) H elen Gray C one e end of the il - oi - th - ll L g L y e V a ey. . Albert B ig elowP a ine CONTENTS PAGE ’ Katrina s Sun- Dial H enry V an Dyke 341 The Three Little B utterflies ( Tr anslated from Curt Ada M kinner 2 mann) . S 34 The Pink s ( p oem) R obert B ridg es 344 ’ The Flower s Thank s Lyma n Abbott 345 P ansies ( poem) Ja mes Whitc omb Riley 347 The Little H ea rtsea se 348 Leg end of the Red Ger ani um ( Mohammedan) El no kinn ea r L . S er 3 5 ! Enchanted Tulip s ( poem) Ma ud Kea ry 352 I i k n r s Ada M . S i ner 353 The Yellow- B ird ( poem) Ja mes Whitc omb R iley 355 O i in of he nfl we El n kinn r r g t Su o r ea or L . S e 356 The B luebell ( poem) Anonymous 359 ’ The Dew Mothe s i t h R s r G f to t e o e . . Elea nor L . S k i nner 360 A Yellow P a nsy ( poem) H elen Gray C one 362 Mi nonette A n g da M . S kin er 363 Flowers ( selec ti on) Edwa rd B liss R eed 369

O N A MID SUMMER DAY

S elec tion Alfred Noyes 372 The Friendly Cowslip B ells ( Eng lish Leg end ) E ea no l r L . S kinner 373 i Fa ry D awn ( selec tion) Joseph R odman D ra k e 377 Robin Good fellow Ernest R hys 378 A Qua rrel in airyla nd ( Arrang ed from a Midsum . F ’ m er ht s D eam n r ) E lea nor L . S kinner

In the C0 01 of the Ev ening ( poem) Alfr ed Noyes 408 S U M M ER STORI E S AND LEGEND S SUM M ER

t 0 ! H ang ou you r loveliest star, Night 0 Night ! 0 ! You r richest rose , D awn

TO greet sweet Summer, her who clothed in Light ’ Leads Earth s best hou rs on. H a rk !how the wild bi rds of the woods Th roat it within the dewy solitudes ; t The brook sings low and sof ,

The trees make song, As from her heaven aloft

- Comes blue eyed Summer like a girl along . M ADISON CAWEIN . H OW S U M M ER C ONQUERED WINTER

( IROQUOIS LEGEND):

ONCE upon a time the G reat Chief , Glooscap , who brought many blessings to the Red Men , For made a jou rney fa r into the No rthland . days h e traveled ove r frozen wastes of ice and w sno , where the keen wind blew without ceasing . At last he came to a lodge hollowed out of th e icebergs , where Winte r, the Giant Of the

No rthland , dwelt . Quietly, Glooscap stalked e into the glittering lodge and sat down . Ther was silence fo r seve ral moments , then the Win of ter M anito l aid aside his scepte r ice , filled f “ a p ip e , and , Of ering it to his guest, said , Thou to art welcome . Tell me , why comest thou ” the Northland P “ To learn about the powe r of the Winter ” Giant, answered Glooscap . 4 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

Who can measu re the strength of the Win ” S ter King ? said the giant , h aking his white

on of . locks , which rested a c rown icicles For a long while the King and his guest sat

smoking l n silence . Then the Winter Giant began the sto ry of h is mighty deeds .

orthland e I cover the N with ice , and pil up great snowd rifts which look like moun

tains . I send fo rth the Sto rm Blast, which fills the the ai r with sleet and snow, and makes

wh ite bea r c reep into a cave fo r shelte r . I

litter1n 1c eber s out of build the g g g , which my ” C hieftains make thei r lodges . The enchantment of the frost was in Giant ’

a nd . Winte r s wo rds , his guest sat spellbound After Glooscap h ad listened to many wo rks of

wonde r, he nodded his head and fell into a

deep sleep . Like an image of death he layin ’ s Winter lodge fo r six months . Then one mo rning the charm of the fro st

e spi rit was broken , and Glooscap , who awok ’ n s with renewed vigo r, left the Winter Ki g l odge and jou rneyed toward the Southland . Afte r a few days of travel he was beyond the of reach the Sto rm Blast . The ai r grewwon d rously mild and wa rm ; instead of fro z en

6 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK f hollowed out o the icebergs . The Winte r

M anito laid aside his ice scepter, filled a p ipe , “ f to and o fered it his guest , saying , Thou art welcome . H ast thou retu rned to the No rth land to hea r mo re about the strength of the Winter M anito P” “ ’ ” The Frost King s might is great, said “ Glooscap , but I have seen a powe r which is ” g reater than his ! The Winte r Giant looked sco rnfully at his guest and said nothing . “ I h ave seen the wonder and beauty of ’ ” the Summer Queen s land , said Glooscap . “There the quickening dews and gentle show

ers soften the brown earth , and the grass leaps

fo rth . Myriad sunbeams touch the flowe r

buds , and unfold them into full blossoms . Bi rds build thei r nests and rear thei r young in f the branches o the sheltering fo rests . Light

and warmth abound , and the earth is filled ” with gladness . By magic power Glooscap cast a sp ell ove r

Giant Winte r . H e could neithe r speak no r

move . As the G reat Chief talked , the iceberg lodge grew warm and big ic e drop s ran down H OW S U M M ER CONQUERED 7

’ the giant s cheeks . G radually the ai r grew ’ wa rme r and warme r . Winte r s icy figu re and W h is igwam melted and , in a great flood ,

flowed away to the sea . G loos Then , from he r h iding place unde r ’ cap s blanket , stepped fo rth the Summe r

Queen . At he r command th e Sun Fai ries

joined he r, and togethe r they began the ma r v elous wo rk of making the grasses grow and

the flowers bloom . B rooks and rive rs flowed

th rough the green meadows . B i rds hastened back from the Southland and built thei r nests

in the fo rests . Soon the whole land was filled of with the joys and blessings summer . A LEGEND OF THE FLOWERS

( AUSTRALIAN )

L B amee ONG , long ago the great y left the earth and went to dwell in the far - away land of of rest, which was beyond the tops the Oobi O obi mountain . The earth became a dull and

fl ow desolate place after h e left it , fo r all the ers that brightened the plains and hillsides ceased to bloom . And since there were no blossoms the bees could no longer make honey fo r the earth chil d ren . In all the land there were but th ree trees where the bees lived and wo rked ; and one no ever touched these sac red trees , because

B amee they belonged to y .

The children c ried fo r honey , and the moth ers took little bark baskets into the woods to search fo r the sweet food . But they returned “ with empty baskets and said , There is no 8 A LEGEND O F T H E FLOWERS 9

honey except on th e sac red trees . We will ’ ” neve r touch B yamee s honey . This Obedience pleased the G reat Sp i rit “ ’ very much and h e said , I ll send the ea rth ch ild ren a food as sweet as the honey fo r which they hunge r . I t sh all flow from the Bilbil ” and G oolabah trees . on Soon we re seen white , sugary sp ecks the

of shining leaves these trees , and then came the clea r manna , which ran along the b ranches and down the trunks , and ha rdened into suga r . The child ren we re delighted with the sweet food , and all the people were thankful fo r ’ B yamee s gift .

But they were not satisfied , fo r they still wished to see the plains and hillsides covered with blossoms . So deeply did they long fo r the beautiful flowe rs , which h ad left the earth , “ th at the wise men finally said , We will travel

of B amee to the land y , and ask him to brighten

the ea rth again with flowe rs . They kept the plan and pu rpose of thei r

jou rney a sec ret from the tribes , and sp ed away

to the no rtheast . On and on they jou rneyed until they came to the foot of the great Oobi I O TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK O obi mountain , whose summit was lost in the f clouds o the sky . They walked along the base of its rocky sides , wondering how they could scale the steep ascent when suddenly they sp ied

a foothold cut in a rock, and then they noticed

anothe r step and still anothe r . Looking care of fully upward , they saw a p athway steps cut

as fa r as they could see up the mountain side . Up this ladde r of stone they determined to O d . on n climb n and they went , a when the fi rst day’s ascent was ended the top of the

mountain still seemed high above them . They

noticed , too , that they were climbing a sp iral

p ath , which wound round and round the N t of mountain . o until the end the fourth ’ day s climb did they reach the summit of this

mighty mountain . And from a basin in the marble there bub a of bled fo rth sp ring clea r, sweet wate r,

which the wise men d rank eagerly . Thei r

hard jou rney had almost exhausted them , but the cooling d raught filled them again with new

life . At a little distance from the sp ring they

- u saw a ci rcle of piled p stones . They walked of it to the cente r , and a voice spoke to them . A LEGEN D OF TH E FLOWERS 1 1

It came from a fai ry messenge r of the G reat

Spi rit . “Why h ave the wise men of the earth ven ” tured so nea r to the dwelling of B yamee? asked the spi rit voice .

And the men answered , Since the great B yamee left the earth no flowe rs h ave bloomed of there . We h ave come to ask fo r the gift

flowers , because the earth is very d reary with out thei r ’ “At Then the fai ry messenger s voice said , of tendant sp i rits the mountain , lift the wise

of B amee men into the abode y , whe re fadeless

flowers never cease to bloom . Of these blos soms , wise men , you may gather as many as ou you can hold in you r hands . Afte r y h ave gathe red the flowers the attendant sp irits will lift you back into the magic ci rcle on the sum f O mit o obi Oobi . From this place you must ” retu rn as quickly as possible to you r tribes .

As the voice stopp ed sp eaking, the men were li fted up th rough an opening in the sky and f set down in a land o wond rous beauty .

Everywhere brilliant flowers we re blooming , and they were massed togethe r in lines of ex 1 2 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

uisite q colo rs , which looked like hundreds of

rainbows lying on the grass . The wise men

S1 ht were overcome by the marvelous g , and they wept tea rs of joy .

Remembering wh at they had come fo r, they stooped down and gathered quickly as many blossoms as they could hold . The sp irits then lifted them down again into the magic ci rcle f ou o . , the top Oobi Oobi There they heard again the voice of the

fai ry messenger who said , Tell you r people when you take them these flowers that never

again shall the earth be bare and d reary . All th rough the seasons certain blossoms shall be f brought by the di ferent winds , but the east wind sh all bring them in abundance to the on trees and sh rubs . Among the grasses ,

plains and hillsides , flowers sh all bloom as ’ thick as h ai rs on an opossom s skin . When the

- - first sweet breathed wind does not blow , to

flowers — bring the showers and then the , the bees can make only enough honey fo r them

selves . Du ring this time manna shall again

d rop from the trees , and it sh all take the place of honey until the east wmd once mo re blows

J UNE

AND what is so ra re as a day in June ?

° Then , if ever , come perfect days

Then heaven tries earth if it be in tune , And over it softly her warm ear lays ; or Whethe r we look whether we listen , or We hear life mu rmu r, see it glisten ; of Every clod feels a sti r might, An instinct within it that reaches and tow

ers , f r And , groping blindly above it o light,

Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers .

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL . TH E S UN - GODDES S

FRAN K RINDER

- T ERASU - AMA , the sun goddess , was seated in the Blue Plain of H eaven . H e r light c ame as

a message Of j oyto the celestial deities . The o rchid and the i ris , the cherry and the plum

an blossom , the rice and the hemp fields

swered to he r smile . The Inland S ea was

veiled in so ft, rich colo rs .

- - O of - T erasu Susa no , the brothe r Ama , who

had resigned his ocean scepte r, and now

- of reigned as the moon god , was j ealous h is ’ - siste r s glo ry and wo rld wide sway . The Heaven I lluminating Sp i rit h ad but to whis per and she was h eard th roughout he r king of dom , even in the depths the clea r pool in

- fields of . the hea rt the c rystal H e r rice , on whethe r situated hillside , in sheltered val or ley by running stream , yielded abundant

ha rvests , and he r groves were laden with fruit . 1 6 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

- - O But the vo ice o f Susa no was not so clear , his smile was not so radiant . The undulating fields which l ay around his p alace were now

flooded , now p a rched , and his rice c rops were

Often destroyed . The wrath and j ealousy of

- od - the moon g knew no bounds , yet Ama Te rasu was infinitely p atient and fo rgave him all things .

- Once , as was he r wont , the sun goddess sat in the central cou rt of her flowe r home . She plied the shuttle . Celestial weaving maidens su rrounded a fountain whose waters were fragrant with the heavenly lotus - bloom ; they sang softly o f the clouds and the wind , and the f . o light of the sky Suddenly, the body a pie bald ho rse fell th rough the vast dome at thei r ” feet ; the Beloved of the gods h ad been flayed with a backward flaying by the envious

- n - - T er O o. asu Susa Ama , trembling at the

sight, p ricked her finge r with the weaving

shuttle and , p rofoundly indignant at the of cruelty he r brothe r, withdrew into a cave , and closed behind her the doo r of the H eav enl yRich Dwelling .

The universe was plunged in darkness . T H E SU N - GOD DES S 1 7

o J yand goodwill , serenity and peace , hope and love waned with the waning light . Evil Spi r its who hereto fo re h ad c rouched in dim co r ners came fo rth and roamed ab road . Then grim laughte r and disco rdant tones struck terro r into all hea rts .

Then it was th at the gods , fea rful fo r thei r of s afety and fo r the li fe eve ry beautiful thing , assembled on the bed Of th e tranquil Rive r of

Heaven whose wate rs h ad been d ried up .

One and all knew th at Am a - T erasu alone could help them . But how allu re the Heaven Illumin ating Spi rit to set foot in this wo rld Of d arkness and strife . Each god was eage r to aid and a plan was finally devised to entice her from her hiding place .

Ame - no - ko up rooted the holy s akaki trees

on of which grew the mountain H eaven , and

planted them around the entrance of the cave . H igh on the upper b ranches were hung the p recious string of cu rved j ewels which I zan

- agi had bestowed upon the sun goddess . From the middle b ranches d rooped a mi rro r wrought of the ra re metals Of the celestial

mine . Its polished surface was as the daz 1 8 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOO K z ling brilliancy of the sun . Other gods wove fine th reads of hemp and p aper mulberry on an imperial robe of white and blue which was ff on placed as an o ering to the goddess , the lower branches of the Sakaki . A p alace was also built su rrounded by a garden in which the blossom - god called fo rth many delicate plants and flowers .

- - k Now all was ready . Ame no o stepped fo rward and in a loud voice entreated Ama T r e asu to show herself . H is appeal was in

U z ume vain . The great festival began . , the

of . goddess mirth , led the dance and song Leaves Of the spindle tree crowned he r head ; club moss from the heavenly mount of Kagu fo rmed he r sash ; her flowing sleeves were

bound with the c reeper - vine ; and in he r h and she carried leaves of the wild bamboo and

waved a wand of sun - grass hung with tiny

U z ume melodious bells . blew on a bamboo

ac flute while eight hund red myriad deities , companied her on wooden clappers and in

struments fo rmed of bow - strings across which

were rap idly d rawn stalks of reed and grass . Great fires were lighted a round the cave and as these were reflected in the face of the mi r ror the long singing bi rds of eternal night began to c row as i f d ay had d awned . The merriment inc reased . The dance grew wilde r and wilde r and the gods laughed until th e heavens shook as i f with thunde r .

Ama - T erasu in he r quiet retreat heard un moved the c rowing of cocks and the sounds of music and dancing ; but when the heavens shook with the laughte r of the gods she “ peeped from he r c ave and said , What means this ? I thought heaven and ea rth were dark

U z ume but now there is light . dances and all “

. U z ume the gods laugh answered , It is true th at I dance and that the gods laugh be cause in ourmidst is a goddess whose splendou r ” ' - equals you r own Ama T erasu gazed into the mi rro r and wondered greatly when she saw the rein a goddess of exceeding beauty own he r lovely image . She stepped from he r cave and fo rthwith a co rd of rice - straw was d rawn across the entrance . D arkness fled

from the land and the re was light . Then th e 0 eight hund red myriad deities cried , , may

- e the sun goddess neve r leav us again .

(Adapted slightly . ) T H E S UM MER MAKER

( OJ IBWAY LEGEND)

ONCE upon a time the winte r season lasted for so many many months that the people b egan to wonder if the frozen rivers and deep “ o u o sn ws wo ld eve r melt . Will the keen n rth ” wind neve r leave us ? they asked e ach other “ f u anxiously . What h as become o the bea tiful warm summer ?” The only person who seemed happy du ring

O eeb this long, cold season was j , a mighty of hunter . He enjoyed the adventu re search ing fo r the big winter game and his eye was so keen and h is h and so steady th at he neve r failed to bring abundance of food to his wig n war . ’ O j eeb s little son liked to hunt with his fa th er but the lad suffered much from the bitte r cold . O ften his fingers becam e so numb th at 20

22 TH E TURQUO I S E STO RY B OOK

F r back to the earth . o many months the Red f M en h ave bo rne the trials o winter . I t is

hard fo r some of them to get enough food , fo r few a re as skilful with the bow and arrow

e as O j eb . Send away the cold days and bring ” us the bright , warm summe r again . “ You are asking me to perfo rm a mighty ” ’ O eeb task , said j , but I ll do my best to grant

you r request . I t is true that I know the secret f ” o bringing summe r back to the earth .

O eeb The next mo rning j p rep ared a feast , and invited a number of h is animal friends

to dine with him . At the appointed time ,

Otte r, Beave r, Lynx , B adger, and Wolverine ’ ee all came to O j b s lodge . There they feasted and listened with interest to the mighty hunter ’s plan to bring summer back to the

earth . “We shall h ave to take a long and dangerous jou rney and perh aps we shall never retu rn to “ our homes , he said . Are you brave enough to help me in this mighty task ?” The animals all said they were willing to O eeb follow and help j , and begged him to tell

them his plan . To thei r astonishment the T H E S UM M ER MAKER 23 hunter said the only way to bring back the summe r was to break th rough the great dome

O f - Sky Land , and free the summer bi rds which were imp risoned the re . “ But how sh all we reach Sky - Land ? asked

the animals in one voice . “ ’ ” I ll lead the way , said the hunte r . The next d ay they sta rted on the jou rney

- O eeb to Sky Land . j led the way up a steep ,

- smooth mountain side . Fo r twenty days they traveled and finally they came to a cu rious

lodge in a holl ow . The Mountain M anito

O eeb lived there . H e gave j and his animal

friends food , and sheltered them until they

O b were refreshed . The hunte r told him the j ec t of thei r coming and the M anito pointed out to them a certain p athway which led to f the summit o the mountain . Fo r twenty

days mo re they traveled . Th ey were now high of up above the clouds . Th e blue dome the sky seemed but a sho rt distance above thei r f r heads . They rested o awhile and gazed in silent wonder at the beauti ful canopy which

- sep arated them from Sky Land . “ O eeb O Finally j said , u r difficult task is 24 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY B OOK

only h alf done . We must leap up and break th rough the dome of the Sky and set free the

summer bi rds . This is a mighty task I assu re you. The Mountain M anito di rected me to ”

ou . say th at y , Otter , a re to make the first trial

Otte r was delighted to be chosen fi rst . Without taking due consideration of the great

height , he immediately made a bound upward . ! But , alas H e fell headlong th rough the ai r

- d to the mountain side and rolled down , own to the plain below . The B eaver made the

f too sk next e fo rt , but h e missed the ydome

and fell with a thud to the earth . Lynx made a great leap and so did B adger but each failed f to touch the great dome o the sky .

O eeb . j was growing very anxious , indeed ” “ Wolverine , he said , measu re the height

carefully . You h ave great skill in leap ing . D ” O not fail me .

Wolverine made a wonderful leap . H is u ears grazed the dome . Again he sp rang p wa rd with a mighty bound and 10 ! he made

a dent in the sky . A th i rd time he tried and such a p rodigious leap he made th at a great l rent was to rn in the blue dome . And Wo T H E S U M M ER MAKE R 2 5

- O eeb verine p assed th rough into Sky Land . j

immediately sp rang afte r him . They found themselves in a land of won r d ous beauty . The ai r was so ft and wa rm and

a delicious fragrance rose from rich , green

O eeb meadows thick with b rilliant flowers . j and Wolverine walked towa rd a group of

tepees which stood nea r a l ake of c rystal - clea r wate r bo rde red by cool stretches of woodland . Evidently the people we re away on a hunting

adventu re fo r the tepees were vacant . Pres ently O j eeb saw a great cage m ade from the finest of willow withes and enclosed therein

we re the beautiful summe r bi rds . Robins ,

o rioles , bluebi rds , th rushes , j ays , swallows ,

woodp eckers , veeries , and redbi rds , all we re

flitting silently about in thei r p rison . “ Let us free the summer bi rds quickly,

whisp ered the hunte r . With Wolverine ’s help th e cage was broken

in a ve ry sho rt time . Out flew th e bright

feathered p risoners . As soon as they we re free they began to sing raptu rous songs of

happ iness . Away they d arted towa rd the

opening in th e sky - dome and many of them 26 TH E TURQUO I S E STO RY B OOK

passed th rough , carrying with them the warm ,

summe r ai r . But alas !the sweet singing reached the ears

of the Sky - People who were in the neighbour

ing fo rests . They hu rried toward their te

p ees to see what h ad h appened . They soon discovered th at the summer bi rds h ad been freed and were flying towa rd the earth th rough

- of a great rent in the sky dome . M any the

- Sky People , shouting at the top of thei r voices , rushed to the opening and p revented some of

the bi rds from escaping . Others searched fo r

the intruders who h ad caused the confusion . ’ Wolverine s quick ears heard the Sky - Peo ple running from the fo rest and with great

leaps he reached the hole in the sky - dome and

O ee plunged th rough . j b followed as quickly as he could but befo re he reached the open ing it was su rrounded by some of the Sky

e P ople . He tu rned and fled in another di rc e

tion , but there was no othe r way of escaping

to the earth . On and on he ran until finally he came to the land of the sta rs and he has

dwelt there eve r since .

Among the Earth - People there was great T H E S U M M ER MAKER 2 7

- rejoicing . The wa rm ai r from Sky Land melted the frost and snow which h ad cove red

the land fo r many , many months . In the brown meadows the grass sp rang fo rth and

flowe rs bloomed . The summer birds built thei r nests in the leafy branches Of the fo rest

and cheered the Earth - People with h appy

songs .

The mighty hunte r is not fo rgotten . O ften

the Indians point to Sky - Land and say : “ It was brave O j eeb who jou rneyed to Sky

Land and freed the summer bi rds . H e gave us the p recious gift of summe r and th at is ‘ ’ why we call h im The Summe r M ake r .

S U M M ER

Then c ame the jolly Summe r, being dight ’ c olourd I n a thin , silken cassock , green ,

Th at was unlined all , to be mo re light ; And on his head a garland well beseen

He wo re .

EDMUND SPENSER . IN TH E KITCH EN - GARD EN

F E M RS . AL R D GATTY

— — — — ONE two th ree fou r five ; five neatly

- raked kitchen garden beds , fou r of them side by side , with a p athway between ; the fifth a to narrow slip , heading the others , and close

- the gravel walk , as it was fo r succession crops of e mustard and c ress , which ar often wanted r in a hu rry fo r breakfast o tea . Most people h ave stood by such beds in thei r own kitchen - garden on so ft sp ring mo rn ings and evenings , and looked fo r the coming up of the seed which eithe r they o r the ga r d m e er h ad sown . one of Radishes in , fo r instance , and all — - - th ree so rts white tu rnip , red tu rnip , and

- long tailed . Carrots in another ; and this bed had been dug ve ry deep indeed that the roots

might strike freely down . Onions in anothe r . 28

30 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY B OOK

sharp little blades , while the Beets h ad an

dd stain . O , ylook But they all woke up to the

same life and enjoyment , and were all greeted

with friendly welcome as they appeared , by

the dew and light, and sunshine , and breezes . “ I find I get deep er and deep er into the ” “ soil every day , remarked the C arrot . I ’ sh all be I don t know how long , at last .

I h ave been going down regularly, quite off straight , fo r weeks . Then I am tapering

to a long point at the end , in the most beau

tiful p ropo rtions possible . A travelle r told

me , the other day , this was p erfection , and I ” believe he was right . “ I knew wh at it was to live near the su r ” in on face my young days , the Ca rrot went ; “ but never felt solid enjoyment till I struck

deeply down , where all is so rich and warm . ” Pray tell me , neighbou rs , added he , good “ n aturedly enough , I should like to know th at

you r roots a re as long , and slim , and o range

colou red as mine ; doing as well , in fact , and

sinking as fa r down . I wish us to be all per fe et alike Perfection is the great thing to

try for . IN T H E KITC H EN - GARDEN 3 1

When you a re su re you a re trying in the right way , sneered a voice from the neigh

bourin . g radish bed But i f the long , slim , o range - roots striking deep into the ea rth a re

of you r idea p erfection , I a'dvise you to begin life ove r again . Dea r me I wish you h ad consulted us befo re . Why , we stopp ed going

out down long ago , and h ave been sp reading sideways and all ways , into stout , round solid

e balls eve r sinc , close white flesh th roughout , inside ; and not o range but red , without . “ ” White , h e means , shouted anothe r . ” Red , I call it , repeated the fi rst . ” But no matte r ; certainly not o range ! “ !” And certainly not o range c ried they all . “ ” “ SO a re , continued the Radish , we quite concerned to hea r you ramble on about grow

ing longe r and longe r, and strongly advise you

own not to keep you r counsel , and mention it

to one any else . We a re friendly , you know , and can be trusted ; but you really must leave O ff wasting you r powers and ene rgy in the ’ of dark inside the ground , out o f everybody s

sight and knowledge . Come to the su rface ,

m t of s w and ake he most it , a e do , and then 3 2 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

’ you ll be a c redit to you r friends . Never mind ’ what travellers say . They ve nothing else to

do but to walk about and talk , and they tell ’ us we a re perfection , too . Don t trust to them ,

but to what we tell you now, and alter you r

cou rse at once . Roll you rself up into a firm ’ round ball as fast as you can . You won t find Y it h ard if you once begin . ou h ave only to ” Let me put in a wo rd first , interrupted

one of the long - tailed Radishes in the same bed ; for it is of no use to go out of one ex on treme into another, which you a re the high

road to do i f you are disposed to take M r . ’ Roundhead s advice ; who , by the way, ought to be ash amed o f fo rcing his very peculia r

views upon his neighbou rs . Just look at us .

We always strike moderately down , so we ’ t e know it s h right thing to do . Solid round balls a rethe most unnatu ral and useless things

. on in the wo rld But , the other hand , my

dea r friend , we h ave learnt where to stop , and

a great sec ret it is , but one I fear you know ’ nothing about at p resent ; and as to the soil s

being bette r so very fa r down , nobody can IN T H E KITC H EN - GARDEN 33

for ? believe it , why should it be The great

of a rt is to make the most wh at is at hand , as we do . Time enough to go into the depths when you h ave used up what is so much easie r got at . The man who‘gathered some f out o us yeste rday , called , These a re just ’ S right . O I leave you to j udge whethe r some ” othe r people we know of must not be wrong . “ ” You rather ove rwhelm me , mused the “ ’ Ca rrot , though it s remarkable you counsel

lo rs should not agree among you rselves . I s

it possible , howeve r, that I h ave been mak ing a great mistake all my li fe ? Wh at lost

! — n0 time to look back upon Yet a ball ; , no , not a ball ! I don ’t think I could grow into a solid round ball were I to try fo reve r !” “ Not ? h aving tried , how can you tell

- whispered the Tu rnip Radish persuasively . “ ou ou our But y neve r will , i f y listen to

old - fashioned friend next doo r, who h as been h alting between two opinions all his li fe ;

a will neithe r m ke an honest fat lump Of it , as

I do , no r plunge down and tape r with you . ” But nothing can be done without an effo rt . “ ” Th at is true , murmu red the C arrot , rathe r 34 T H E TURQUOI SE STO RY B OOK

“ sadly ; but I am too old fo r further efforts or myself . M istake no mistake , my fate is

fixed . I am too fa r down to get up again , ’ that s certain ; but some of the young ones may

c ? of try . Do you hea r, lears Some you stop out short, i f you can , and grow sideways and ” all ways , into stout , round , solid balls . !” Oh , nonsense about round balls cried the “ long - tailed Radish in disgust ; what will the on ! wo rld come to , if this folly goes Listen to me , youngsters , I beg . Go to a moderate o depth , and be content ; and if y u want some out thing to do , th row a few fibres fo r amuse ’ ment . You re fi rm enough without them , I know, but the employment will p ass away ” time . “The re are strange delusions abroad just ” O now, remarked the nions to each other ; “ do you hea r all this talk about shap e and way of growth ? and everybody in the dark on um the subj ect, though they seem to be quite of conscious the fact themselves . That fel low chattered about solid balls , as i f there was no such thing as bulbs , growing laye r upon laye r, and coat ove r coat . Of course the very IN T H E KITC H EN - GARDEN 35

long o range gentleman , with his tapering root, is the most wrong of the whole p arty ; but I doubt i f M r . Roundhead is much wiser when of he speaks close , white flesh inside , and red ( of all ridiculous nonsense !) without .

Wh ere a re thei r flaky skins , I should like to ? ? know Who is ever to p eel them , I wonder ’ Poo r things ! I can t th ink how they got into such ways . How tough and obstinate they must be ! I wish we lived nea re r . We would teach them a little bette r th an that , and show ” them wh at to do . “ I h ave lived nea r you long enough , grum “ bled a deep - red Beet in the next bed ; and

ou y h ave neve r taught me ; neither shall you , u i f I can h elp it . A p retty instructo r yo w ! ould be , who think it ridiculous to be red I ’ suppose you can t grow red you rsel f , and so

ut f Now abuse the colou r o o spite . I flatte r out myself I am red inside as well as , so I suppose I am mo re ridiculous th an you r friend who contrives to keep h imself wh ite own with in , acco rding to his account ; but I

. ! doubt the fact There , there it is a folly to be ! angry, so I say no mo re , except this get red 36 TH E TURQUO I S E STO RY BOOK

as fast as you can . You live in the same soil ” as I do , and ought to be able to do so . “ ’ ” ! exc la1med Oh , don t call it red a golden “ of of It 15 B eet, who was a gentle tu rn mind ; but a p ale tint afte r all , and su rely rather amber than red ; and p erh ap s that was what ” - the long tailed o range gentleman meant . “ Perh aps it was ; fo r p erh aps he calls red ” o range , as you call it amber , answe red the redde r Beet ; anyhow he h as rathe r mo re our sense th an neighbo r here , with his laye r

upon l ayer, and coat over co at , and flaky skin f fid ove r all . Think o wasting time in such

dle - faddle p roceedings ! G row a good honest

fleshy substance , and h ave done with it, and let p eople see you know wh at life is cap able

of. I always look at results . I t is something to get such a body as I do out of the su rround

ing soil . Th at is living to some pu rpose , I

consider . Nobody makes mo re of opportuni

ties than I do . “ Do you hear them ? oh !do you hear them ? whisp ered the C ress to he r neighbou r the “ Mustard . Do you hea r howthey all talk to of gether thei r growth , and thei r roots , and

3 8 TH E TURQUO I S E STO RY BOOK

And they wep t the evening th rough . But they alone were not unhappy . The Carrot had become uneasy, and could follow his natu ral for tastes no longe r in comfo rt, thinking that he ought to be a solid round ball , white inside , and red without . The Onion had so re mis givings that the Beet might be right after all , and a good honest mass of red flesh be mo re

for - wo rth l abou ring , than the p ale coat with

- in coat growth in which he had indulged . It

of fiddle- did seem a waste trouble , a faddle f o . plan life , he feared Perhaps he had not one gone down fa r enough in soil . Some — talked of growing fibres fo r amusement he had certainly not come to that ; they were nec ’ essary to his suppo rt ; h e couldn t hold fast in without them . Other people were mo re dep endent than he was , then ; perhaps wiser, alas ! And yet the Beet himself was not quite

easy ; fo r talk as he would , wh at he h ad called

fiddle- faddle seemed ingenious when he

thought it over, and he would like to h ave p ersuaded himself that he grew layer upon ’ d too. layer, But it wouldn t o. IN TH E KITC H EN - GARDEN 39

Perh aps , in fact, the bold little Tu rnip

Radishes alone , were the only ones free from misgivings , and believed th at everybody ought to do as they did themselves . ! Wh at a distu rbance there was , to be su re ot And it g wo rse and wo rse , and th ey called on the winds and fleeting clouds , the sun , and moon , and stars above thei r heads , to stay thei r cou rse awhile , and decl are who was right and who was wrong . But they called and asked in vain ; till one e vening , the clouds which h ad been gather ing ove r the ga rden fo r days began to come

down in rain , and sank swiftly into the ground , where it had been needed fo r long . Where “ upon there was a general c ry , H ere comes a ” messenger ; now we sh all hea r ! — So out came the old inqui ries again who was right— who was wrong— who h ad got hold of the true sec ret ? But the C ress made

no inqui ry at all , only shook with fright under “ of the rain ; fo r , thought she , the hou r my sh ame and degradation is come : poo r useless

c reatu re that I am , I shall neve r mo re hold up ” my head . 38 T H E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK

And they wept the evening th rough . But they alone were not unhappy . The Carrot had

become uneasy, and could follow his natu ral

tastes no longer in comfo rt, fo r thinking that

h e ought to be a solid round ball , white inside ,

and red without . The Onion h ad so re mis

givings th at the Beet might be right after all , and a good honest mass of red flesh be mo re

for - wo rth l abou ring , than the p ale coat with

- in coat growth in wh ich he had indulged . It

of fiddle- did seem a waste trouble , a faddle of plan l ife , he feared . Perh aps he h ad not one gone down fa r enough in soil . Some — talked of growing fibres fo r amusement he had ce rtainly not come to that ; they were nec ’ essary to his suppo rt ; he couldn t hold fast i without them . Other people were mo re a

dependent than he was , then ; perhaps wise r, alas ! And yet the Beet himsel f was not quite

easy ; fo r talk as he would , wh at he h ad called

fiddle- faddle seemed ingenious when he

thought it over, and he would like to h ave p ersuaded himsel f that he grew layer upon ’ d layer, too . But it wouldn t o. IN TH E KITC H EN - GARDEN 39

Perhaps , in fact , the bold little Tu rnip

Radishes alone , were the only ones free from misgivings , and believed th at eve rybody ought to do as they did themselves . ! Wh at a distu rbance there was , to be su re ot And it g wo rse and wo rse , and th ey called on the winds and fleeting clouds , the sun , and m oon , and stars above th ei r heads , to stay thei r cou rse awhile , and decl are who was right and who was wrong . But they called and asked in vain ; till one evening, the clouds which h ad been gather ing over the ga rden fo r days began to come down in rain , and sank swiftly into the ground , whe re it had been needed fo r long . Where upon there was a gene ral c ry , He re comes a ” messenge r ; now we sh all hea r ! — So out came the old inqui ries again who was right— who was wrong— who h ad got hold of the tru e sec ret ? B ut the C ress made

no inqui ry at all , only shook with fright under “ of th e rain ; fo r , thought she , the hou r my shame and degradation is come : poo r useless

c reatu re that I am , I shall neve r mo re hold up ” my head . 40 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

- As to the C arrot, into whose well dug bed the rain found easiest entrance , and sank deep est, he held fo rth in most eloquent style f upon the whole a fai r ; how it was started , and what h e h ad said ; how much he had once hop ed ; how much he now feared .

- Now , the Rain drops did not care to answer in a hu rry ; but as they came d ropp ing down , “ !” they mu rmu red , Peace , peace , p eace all over the beds . And truly they seemed to bring p eace with them as they fell , so th at a calm sank all around , and then the murmu r p ro ' “ c eeded Poo r little atoms in a boundless — one of kingdom , each you good afte r its kind —how came these cruel misgivings and heart burnings among you ? Are the tops of the mountains wrong because they cannot grow co rn like the valleys ? Are the valleys wrong because they cannot soa r into the sky ? Does the brook flow in vain because it cannot sp read out like the sea ? Each is good afte r its kind .

. one Peace , p eace , p eace Upon , then , upon — all each wanted , each useful , each good afte r — !” its kind p eace , p eace , p eace , p eace , peace d The mu rmu r subside to a whisp er, the whisper into silence ; and by the time the

moon - shadows lay upon the garden there was

peace everywhe re . Nor was it broken again ; fo r hencefo rth — even the C ress held up he r head she , also , was good afte r he r kind .

or Only once twice , that yea r, when the Ca r

rots we re gathe red , there came up the strang — est growths thick , disto rted lumps , th at h ad

neve r struck p roperly down .

The ga rdene r wonde red , and was vexed , fo r h e p rided himsel f on the digging of the ca rrot

bed . Anything th at had h ad any sense might ” h ave gone down into it , I am su re , he said . And he was not fa r wrong ; but you see the C arrot h ad h ad no sense when he began to

speculate , and tried to be something he was

not intended to be . Yet the poo r clumsy thing was not quite

useless afte r all . Fo r, just as the ga rdene r

rec ol was about to fling it angrily away, he

lec ted that the cook might use it fo r soup , though it could not be served up at table such a shap e as it was !

And this was exactly wh at she did . ( Abridged ) 40 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

- As to the C arrot, into whose well dug bed the rain found easiest entrance , and sank deep est, he held fo rth in most eloquent style f upon the whole a fai r ; how it was started , and what he h ad said ; how much he had once hop ed ; how much he now feared .

Now - , the Rain drops did not care to answer in a hu rry ; but as they came d ropping down , “ !” they mu rmu red , Peace , peace , peace all over the beds . And truly they seemed to bring p eace with them as they fell , so that a calm sank all a round , and then the mu rmu r p ro “ c eeded ° Poo r little atoms in a boundless — one of ou kingdom , each y good afte r its kind

- how came these c ruel misgivings and heart bu rnings among you? Are the tops of the mountains wrong because they cannot grow co rn like the valleys ? Are the valleys wrong because they cannot soa r into the sky ? Does the brook flow in vain because it cannot sp read out like the sea ? Each is good afte r its kind . one Peace , p eace , p eace . Upon , then , upon — all each wanted , each useful , each good afte r — !” its kind p eace , p eace , peace , peace , peace d The murmu r subside to a whispe r, the

GLAD DAY

’ HERE S another day, dea r, H ere ’s the sun again Peeping in his pleasant way

Th rough the window p ane .

Rise and let him in , dea r, “ !” H ail him , H ip hu rray

Now the fun will all begin , H ere ’s anothe r day !

Down the copp ice p ath , dea r,

Th rough the dewy glade , (When the Mo rning took her bath Wh at a splash she made !)

- Up the wet wood way, dear,

Under d ripping green , Run and meet another day

B rightest ever seen . 42 GLAD DAY

Mush rooms in the field , dea r,

Show thei r silve r gleam , What a dainty c rop they yield

Fi rm as clouted c ream , of Cool as balls snow , dea r , Sweet and fresh and round ! E re th e early dews can go

We must clea r the ground .

Such a lot to do , dea r , Such a lot to see ! H owwe ever can get th rough

Fai rly puzzles me .

out Hu rry up and , dea r , Then— away ! away ! out In and and round about , H ere ’s anothe r day !

W . GRAHAM ROBERTSON .

U sed b e mission f h1. n m n y p r o J o L a e Co p a y. TH E S UM MER PRINCESS

R E M S . MOL SWORTH

ONCE upon a time , in a country far to the n of o rth the wo rld , lived a King and a Queen who h ad everything they could wish fo r ex cept an heir to thei r th rone . Th at does not ll mean that they h ad no troubles at . a . The Queen thought she h ad a good many and the King had one which was mo re real than any of he r fancied ones . H is Queen was a ter

rible grumbler . She was a grumbler by n a tu re , and besides this she h ad been a spoiled child . As she was very beautiful and could be very sweet and ch arming when in a contented mood , the King h ad fallen deeply in love with he r when he was on his travels round the world and had p ersuaded her to leave her own home 44 T H E S UM M ER PRINCE S S 45 in the sunny South to accompany him to his

no rthern kingdom .

There she h ad much to make he r h appy . While the first summe r lasted she almost fo r

ot g to grumble , but when the winte r came fie rce and boiste rous as it always is in those lands , she grew ve ry miserable . She shivered

of with cold and , instead bracing hersel f to bea r it, she wrapped hersel f in he r fu rs and sat from mo rning till night cowering ove r a huge fire . Although she b rightened up as of each summe r came a round , with the retu rn

each winte r it was again the same sad sto ry .

one Howeve r, day late in th e autumn she actu ally fo rgot he r terro r of the cold so fa r as to remain out walking in the grounds o f

the p alace , though the snow clouds were gath

ering thick and heavy ove rhead .

For She was alone . sometimes in he r sad

one dest moods she could bea r no , not even f o . the most faith ful he r ladies , nea r he r “ I f only I h ad a ch ild o f my own I would ” neve r complain of anything again .

As the Queen uttered he r wish , she raised he r eyes upwa rds and was sta rtled to see some 46 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

snowflakes al ready falling ; she tu rned to “ T o h asten indoo rs , exclaiming as she went , think that winte r is upon us al ready ; I sh all no longer h ave even th e small pleasure of a

stroll in the garden . But i f I had a child

to play with and care fo r, even the d reary winter would not seem so long . Everything ” would be bright and sunshiny to me . “ ” Are you su re of that ? said a voice beside her , and , glancing up , the Queen saw a lovely f figu re . It was that o a beautiful woman with

golden hai r wreathed with flowers . But her face was somewh at p ale and she drew round h er a mantle of russet brown as if to p rotect

her from the cold . “ I am the Sp i rit o f the Summer , she said . I knew you well in you r childhood in the

South and here , too , I h ave watched you , ou though y did not know it . You r wish shall

be fulfilled . I will bring you the child you

are longing fo r . But remember , the gift will lead to no lasting h app iness unless you over f come you r h eart o discontent . Fo r I can do

only my p art . My brother , the powerful of Sp i rit Winter is stem and severe . He h as TH E S U M M ER PRINCES S 47

heard you r mu rmu rings al ready, and i f , when you r wish is granted you still continue them , f ” I tremble fo r the fate o you r child . “ ” Thank you , Oh , thank you , sweet Sp irit , “ said the Queen . I will indeed take heed fo r ” e th futu re and neve r mu rmu r again . “ “ for I trust so , said the fai ry, listen wh at will happen i f you fo rget you r resolution . of The slightest touch snow would , in th at ’ case , put the child into my stern brother s powe r and you would find you rsel f terribly punished . B ewa re , therefo re . I must h asten a way . As she said this the gracious figu re seemed to disappea r in a rosy h aze and almost at the same moment a cold blast d riving the snow

ir be flakes befo re , came with a rush f rom hind where the young Queen stood , almost lift

ing he r from he r feet . That must su rely be the Spi rit of the V V in ” ia ter himself , she thought as she hu rried doo rs The Summer Sp i rit was true to he r p rom of ise . On the loveliest mo rning all that yea r 48 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOO K was bo rn a baby Princess , the p rettiest baby that ever was seen . “ of A true child the summe r, said the happy Queen . “ And strong to brave and enjoy the winte r, ” “ too , I trust , added the King She must be of a true Princess the No rth , as her mother is ” on fast becoming , I hope , he went with a smile . the But his wo rds did not please Queen , though they were so kindly meant . f With the possession o the child , though she was so overjoyed to h ave her , the young Queen ’s wayward and dissatisfied sp i rit began to return . She seemed to think the Princess was to be only hers , that the n ation and even the King, must give way, in everything th at ’ concerned the child , to its mother s will . She was even displeased one day when she over heard some of her ladies admi ring th e beau tiful colo r Of the child ’s h ai r and saying that it showed her a true daughte r of the No rth . “ “ No such thing , said the Queen . I t shows he r a child of the sunshine and the

50 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK she laughed with delight instead of sh rinking or shivering . But so well were the Queen ’s feelings um d erstood that no one ventu red to tell her of these clear signs that Rose felt herself at home in the land of snow The winter p assed and the summer came — ’ again the second summer of th e child s life . She h ad grown like th e flowers and was as h appy as the butterflies . Never was a sweeter or me rrier child . The Queen idolized her and the King loved her quite as dea rly, though in a wiser way . And that summer p assed very h appily .

Unfo rtunately, however , the warm fine days came to an end unusually early th at year . M any of the bi rds took flight fo r the South sooner th an was thei r wont , and the flowers d rooped and withered as if afraid of what was coming . The Queen noticed these signs with a sink ing heart . Standing one chilly morning at the p alace windows sh e watched the gray autumn sky and sighed deeply . T H E S U M M ER PRINCES S 5 1 !” “ Alas , alas sh e said All the beauty and brightness a re going again . She did not know th at the King h ad entered the room and was standing behind he r . “ ” “ You Nay, he said cheerfully . h ave no

reason to feel so sad . I f you h ave no othe r our flowe r you h ave Rose , blooming as brightly in the winter as in th e wa rmth .

H e meant it well , but it would h ave been wise r i f h e had said nothing . The Queen

tu rned towa rd h im imp atiently . “ ” “ It is so , she s aid angrily . Rose is like

me . She loves the summe r and the sunshine . I do not believe sh e would live th rough you r

wretched no rthern winters but fo r my ca re . t And the anxiety is oo much fo r me . The life

in this country is but h al f a li fe . Would that

I h ad known it befo re I eve r came h ithe r . The King was deeply hu rt and disappointed

and h e left the room without speaking . H e was gene rally so kind and p atient that this

startled h er , and brought he r to her senses . “ H owwrong o f me to grieve him so by my ” wild wo rds , she thought penitently . “ And A sudden ho rro r came over he r . 54 T H E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK The Princess ’s nu rse p icked up some fi r

cones and gave them to the little girl , who th rew them about with glee and called out fo r

mo re . They were all so busy playing with

her th at they did not notice how , above the

of fir- heads the tall trees , the sky was growing

dark and overcast, till suddenly a strange chill blast made the Queen gather he r mantle round

he r and gaze up in alarm . “ “ : We must hasten home , she said it is

growing cold . “ “ one of al Yes , indeed , said the ladies ; it most looks like But the Queen inter r e upt d her . She could not bea r even the men of tion the fatal wo rd . “ !” Wrap up th e Princess she exclaimed . ! Cove r h e r ove r, face and all Neve r mind ! i f she cries My darling, we shall be home d ” i rectly . The cold wind would hu rt you , she a e dd d . Then they hu rried back to the p alace as

quickly as the goats could be p ersuaded to go , even the Queen hersel f running fast to keep u p with the little carriage . They were within a sh ort distance of the TH E S U M M ER PRINC ES S 55

p alace befo re any snow fell , though it was clea r to be seen th at it was not fa r off; and the Queen was beginning to breathe again mo re freely when suddenly Princess Rose , of with a c ry baby mischief , pushed away the sh awl th at was ove r her face , shouting with glee . At that moment th e first fluttering snow

flakes began to fall . The little Princess opened wide h er eyes as she c aught sight of ! them , and smiled as if in greeting ; and alas befo re the terrified Queen h ad time to replace off one the covering the ch ild h ad th rown ,

on solitary flake alighted h er cheek , melting the re into a tiny d rop which looked like a tea r, though still the little Princess smiled .

The Queen seized the ch ild in he r a rms , rushed up the long flight o f steps , all th rough the great halls and co rrido rs like a mad c rea tu re , no r stopp ed even to d raw breath till she ’ had reached the Princess s ap artments , and h ad he r safe in the rooms sp ecially p rep a red for her du ring the winte r . But was sh e safe ? Was it not al ready too late ? With trembling d read the Queen d rew away the furs and shawls wrapped round the 54 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY B OO K The Princess ’s nu rse p icked up some fi r

cones and gave them to the little girl , who th rew them about with glee and called out fo r m o re . They were all so busy playing with

her that they did not notice how , above the

f fir- heads o the tall trees , the sky was growing

dark and overcast, till suddenly a strange chill blast made the Queen gather her mantle round

he r and gaze up in alarm . “ “ : We must hasten home , she said it is

growing cold . “ “ one of al Yes , indeed , said the ladies ; it most looks like But the Queen inter r upted her . She could not bea r even the men

tion of the fatal wo rd . “ ” Wrap up the Princess ! she exclaimed . ! Cover he r ove r, face and all Neve r mind ! if she cries My darling, we shall be home d ” i rectly . The cold wind would hu rt you , she a e dd d . Then they hu rried back to the p alace as quickly as the goats could be p ersuaded to go , even the Queen herself running fast to keep u p with the little carriage . They were within a short distance of the T H E S UM M ER PRINCES S 55

p alace befo re any snow fell , though it was clea r to be seen th at it was not fa r O ff; and the Queen was beginning to breathe again mo re freely when suddenly Princess Rose , of with a c ry baby mischief , pushed away the sh awl th at was over he r face , shouting with glee . At that moment th e first fluttering snow

flakes began to fall . Th e little P rincess opened wide he r eyes as she caught sight of ! them , and smiled as if in greeting ; and alas befo re the terrified Queen h ad time to replace off one the cove ring the child h ad th rown ,

on solita ry flake alighted he r cheek , melting there into a tiny d rop which looked like a tea r , though still the little Princess smiled .

The Queen seized the ch ild in her a rms , rushed up the long flight o f steps , all th rough the great h alls and co rrido rs like a mad c rea ture , no r stopped even to d raw breath till she ’ had reached the Princess s ap artments , and h ad he r safe in the rooms sp ecially p rep a red fo r he r du ring the winte r . But was she safe ? Was it not al ready too late ? With trembling d read th e Queen d rew away the fu rs and sh awls wrapped round the 56 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOO K

baby, almost exp ecting to find her changed in some strange way ; and it was with th ankful ness she saw that little Rose was still h erself F r sweet and smiling in h er sle ep . o she was fast asleep “ ” The d arling , the p recious angel , thought the poo r mother as she l aid he r in h er little cot j ust as the ladies and nurses and attendants

came trooping into the room . “ ” Sh e is only asleep , said the Queen in a

whisp er . Nothing h as happ ened to her . She

is sleep ing sweetly . ’ The ladies stared . The Queen s beh avio r had been so strange th at they could not under

stand her . “ It is a p ity to be so anxious about the ” “ ch ild , they said to one another . I t will bring ” no blessing , fo r th ey thought it all came from the Queen ’s foolish terro r lest the little Prin

cess should catch cold , and they shook thei r

h eads .

But the Queen seemed full of th ankfulness . a She was very gentle and subdued . M ny times th at afternoon sh e came back to see i f

little Rose was well , but she was still sleep ing .

58 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

“ quite bright and merry, he said , all the brighte r and merrie r fo r sleeping a good ” round and a h alf of the clock . The mo rning dawned— the slow coming winte r daylight of the No rth found its way ’ — into the Princess s nu rsery a tiny gleam of ruddy sunshine even managed to c reep in to

c hec k kiss her dimpled , but still the baby slept as soundly as i f the night was only beginning .

And matters grew serious .

It was no use trying to wake her . They all — did thei r best King, Queen , ladies , nu rses ; and after them the great cou rt physicians and f lea rned men o every kind . All were sum

ue mo d and all consulted and , as the days went on f — , a hundred di ferent things were tried but “ ” all to no pu rpose . She is bewitched , said the cleverest of all the docto rs , and as time

on . went , everybody began to agree with him Even the King himself was obliged to think of of something the kind was at the bottom it , and one en at last d ay the Queen , unable to du re her remorse any longer, told him the

to i whole sto ry, entreating him forg ve her fo r T H E S U M M ER PRINCES S 59 having by her discontent and murmu ring

brought upon him so great a so rrow .

The King was very kind but very grave . “ ” “ I understand it now , he said . The Sum me r Fai ry told you true . Ou r no rthern Win

te r Sp i rit is indeed stern ; we must submit . I f we a re p atient and resigned it is possible that in the futu re even h is cold hea rt m ay be r f ” melted by the sight of ou su fering . “ ” I t is only I who deserve it, wept the poo r “ Queen Th e wo rst p art of it all is to know

that I h ave brought this so rrow upon you , my ” dear husband . And so rep entant she was th at she almost f fo rgot to think o h ersel f . Neve r had she

been so sweet and loving a wife . She did everything she possibly could to please and

chee r the King , concealing from him the many bitte r tears she shed as she sat for hou rs to

gethe r beside the sleeping child . The winte r was terribly severe— neve r had

the snow lain so thickly, neve r h ad the wind blasts raged and howled mo re fu ri

ousl y. Often did the Queen think to herself 60 TH E TURQUOI S E STO RY BOOK th at the sp i rit must be infu ri ated at her very p resence , in h is sp ecial domain . “ — They might p ity me now nowthat I am so punished . She bo re all th e winte r cold and terro rs uncomplainingly, n ay, even chee r out fully, nerving hersel f to go alone in the bitterest weathe r with a so rt of hop e o f pleas ing the Winte r Fai ry ; possibly , if she could

of . but see him , making an app eal to him But O fo r many months he held his icy sway . ften indeed it seemed as i f gentle r times were never to retu rn . Then suddenly one night the frost went ; a mild , soft breeze replaced the fierce blast ; sp ring h ad come . And wonderful to relate , the very next mo rning the Queen was roused by loud knocking and voices at her doo r ; trembling , she knew not why, she opened it , and the head nu rse fell at he r feet laughing and crying at once . The Princess had awak ened .

Yes ; there she was , ch attering in her baby way, smiling and rosy as i f nothing had been f . O o the matte r h , the joy he r p arents and the jubilation all th rough the palace ! TH E S U M M ER PRINCES S 6 1 And all th rough the summe r little Rose was wide awake in the daytime j ust like othe r child ren . She was as well and strong and — happy as a baby could be . But the sum mer will not last fo r eve r ; again retu rned the

of a autumn , bringing with it the signs the p p roac hing winte r and one mo rning when he r nu rse went to awaken the Princess , she found — it was no use Rose was sleep ing again , with on a smile her face , calm and content , but alas ! not to be awakened ! And then it was remembered that the first snow h ad fallen in the night . Gradually the child ’s distressed p a rents resigned themselves to the sad truth : thei r daughte r was to be thei rs only fo r h al f he r out of life ; fo r full six months every twelve , she was to be in a sense as far away from them as if the Winte r Mona rch h ad carried he r off

to his p al ace of ice altogethe r . But no ; it was not quite so bad as that would

have been . And the Queen , who was fast lea rning to count he r blessings instead of her

troubles , smiled th rough he r tears as she said

to the King, what a mercy it was that they 62 TH E TURQUOI S E STO RY BOOK were still able to watch beside their p recious child— to kiss her soft warm cheek every night .

And so it went on. In the sp ring the

Princess woke up again , b right and well and lively , and in every way six months older th an when she h ad fallen asleep ; so that , to see her in the summer time no one could h ave guessed

be the strange sp ell that was over her . She came the sweetest and most ch arming girl in one the wo rld ; only thing ever saddened her , of and that was any mention winter, espe c iall ysnow . “Wh at does it mean ? she would ask some “ ? times . Wh at a re they talking of Show me this wonderful thing ! Where does it ” grow ? I want to see it . But no one could make her understand ; and at these times a very strange look would come into her blue eyes . “ ” “ I must see it , she said . Some day I shall ” go away and travel far, fa r, till I find it . These wo rds used to distress her mothe r more than she could say ; and she would on of showe r p resents he r daughter, flowers , T H E S U M M ER PRINCES S 63 — and singing birds all to make he r think of

the sunshine and the summe r . And fo r a time

they would please th e gi rl , till again she shook “ he r head and mu rmu red , I want the snow . So the yea rs followed each othe r till the

Princess was sixteen . Eve ry winte r the Queen

h ad a faint hope , wh ich , howeve r, grew even

fainte r and fainte r , that the spell was perhaps

to be broken . But it was not so . And strange sto ries got about conce rning the Princess some saying she was a witch in disguise ; oth

or e rs , that she h ad no hea rt understanding ;

or others , that she tu rned into a bi rd some — animal du ring h al f her life so th at the

of neighbo ring P rinces , in spite her beauty

and sweetness , we re afraid to ask he r in mar

ria e g , and this b rought new so rrow to he r f p a rents . Wh at will become o he r afte r we ” “ a re dead and gone ? they said . Who will c are fo r and p rotect our d arling ? Who will help he r to rule ove r our nation ? No p eople will remain faith ful to a sovereign who is only

awake h alf o f the yea r . There will be revolts

and rebellion , and ou r angel Princess may per ”

o . haps be put to death , rd riven away 64 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY B OOK And they fretted so over this that the hai r of both the King and Queen grew white long befo re its time . But Rose only loved them the mo re on this account fo r she had heard some one say that white h ai r was like snow ; though she kept the fancy to herself , fo r she knew it troubled the Queen if ever she mentioned the strange , mysterious wo rd . She was so lovely th at p ainters came from

he many countries just to see r face , and , if

of . possible , be allowed to make a pictu re her And one of these portraits m ade its way to the cou rt of a King who was a distant cousin of her father , and who had heard the strange things said of the P rincess . He was very angry about it fo r he h ad two sons , and he was afraid of their falling in love with the beautiful face . So h e o rdered the pictu re to be destroyed be ou fo re the elder Prince , who was away a vi sit, came home . But the servant who was to bu rn the p icture thought it such a pity to do so , that he only

- h id it away in a lumber room ; and thither, as fate would h ave it , came the younger Prince one day in search of a p et kitten belonging to

66 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK She then p roceeded to tell him the whole matte r of which he had al ready heard garbled a ccounts . He was relieved to find that the enchant of ment was no wo rse a n atu re , and declared f that it made no di ference in his intentions , but rather inc reased his love fo r the Princess . And when h e first set eyes on he r ( mo re beautiful by far than even the beautiful po r trait) he felt that his whole life would not be too much to devote to her even considering f he r strange af liction . “ ” And who knows , he said to himself , but that such love as mine may find out a way to release he r from the spell ?”

The Princess quickly learned to like him . She had never befo re h ad a companion so near her own age and the l ast d ays of the summer p assed most h appily till the time came when the Prince thought he might ventu re to ask he r to be his wife . They we re walking in the terrac e in front of the castle when he did so . It had been a lovely day, but the afternoon had grown

chilly, and as the Princess listened to his T H E S UM M ER PRINC ES S 67

wo rds a cold breath of wind p assed nea r them . of The Princess sta rted ; and , aware th e ’ Queen s anxiety about he r, the Prince h astily p roposed that they should retu rn to the house ; but Rose looked at him with a light in he r eyes wh ich h e h ad neve r befo re seen and a strange smile broke over her face . “ ” “ ou It is a new life to me , she said . Can y not unde rstand , you who a re you rself a child of ? ou the No rth Yes , Prince , I will marry y one on condition , th at you will show me the — on snow but no other . Then she turned and without anothe r wo rd w w alked slo ly back to the p alace .

Prince Orso , fo r so he was called , felt te r ribl ydistressed . “ The spell is upon her, he thought to him “ sel f . She asks me to do what would p robably kill he r o r sep arate her forever from all who ” love her . And the King and Queen when they heard this sto ry we re nearly as disappointed as he . But that very night the Prince h ad a strange d ream . H e thought h e was walking in the wood nea r the castle , when again a chill blast 68 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

but still mo re icy swept p ast him , and he heard a voice speaking to him . It sounded hoarse and stern . “ ” ’ Orso , it said , you re as foolish as the ? of rest . H ave you no trust See what came ' rebellion against me , who , after all , love my children as does my siste r of the summer . Leave the Princess to the leadings of her own ” heart . Then with a c rash of thunder the sp irit went on its way . And the Prince awoke to find that the window of h is room had been dashed in by the fo rce of a sudden gale which had a risen .

But the next mo rning all was again calm . I t almost seemed as if milder weather was re turning again ; and the Queen looked brighter ;

but it was not so with the Princess , who was s n silent and almost sad . And o things conti ued for some days . r At last the Prince could bea r it no longe . One afternoon when he found himself alone

with the Princess , h e turned to her suddenly . “ ” “ Princess , he said , can you not give me another answer ? You must know that I would T H E S U M M ER PRI NCES S 69 fain p romise anything you wish ; but I d a re not bind myself to wh at might perh aps do you ” some inju ry .

Rose tu rned towa rd him imp atiently . “ ” “ am Th at is just it , she said I always met by excuses when I ask for the one thing

I really desi re . Wh at is there about me really di ffe rent from others ? Why should I so o ften of hea r wh at others seem to unde rstand , and not have it explained to me ? I am no longe r a child ; in my d reams I see things I cannot put in wo rds ; and beauti ful as the wo rld is I for feel th at I only hal f know it . I long wh at they call the winte r, and wh at they call the snow and they neve r come . Only the cold or wind , which I h ave felt once twice , b rings ” new . life to me , and fills me with strange joy

The Prince hesitated . H e understood he r p erfectly fo r he was of the same b rave and ’ hardy race . Yet the Queen s fo rebodings ’ re made him tremble . Th e Princess s wo rds minded h im of his own d ream ; and again he felt as if he heard the voice of the stern Win

unc er ter Spi rit . And as if in answe r to his

of tainty, at th at moment the howl the cold 70 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK blast sounded near them among the trees and

lurid clouds began to gathe r overhead . ’ The Princess s face lighted up . “ “ O she ! h , exclaimed , it is coming again ” I fea r so , indeed , said O rso ; and in his terro r for her he caught her hand and would

have hu rried he r back to the p alace . But at that moment a sh rill little c rywas h eard overhead not fa r from where they stood ,

and of , glancing up , they saw a bird p rey

clutching a smaller one in his claws . With a terrible effo rt the captive managed to free

himself , but he was sadly wounded ; and as Rose gazed upwards in great conce rn she saw

him fall fluttering feebly to the ground . All

else was fo rgotten in the sight . “ ” “

! . Poo r bi rd she cried . Let me go , Prince

I must find him where he has fallen , o r a ff ” c ruel death of slow su ering will be his . The P rince let he r go ; he d ared not hold

her back , though he could have done so . “ Leave he r to the guidings of her own ” heart resounded in his ears . Almost at once she was lost to his sight among the trees which grew very closely ; al T H E S UM M ER PRINCES S 7 1

most at the same moment, to h is ho rro r, some thing cold and soft touched his face , and snow

flakes were falling thickly . I f h arm was to betide , it was too late to save he r ; but he p ressed fo rwa rd in unspeakable anxiety . It was some little time befo re he found her ; and no reply came to his calls ; but at last he caught sight of something blue on the ground . ’ It was the Princess s robe ; and there , indeed , she lay, motionless , he r eyes closed , a sweet on smile he r face , the little wounded bi rd tenderly clasp ed in her hands . O rso th rew himself on the ground beside the

Princess . “ O !” “ h he exclaimed , My ca relessness has killed her . How can I ever dare to face the ? O ! King and Queen h , Winte r Sp i rit you h ave indeed deceived me . But as he said the wo rds the Princess opened he r eyes . “ ” “ No , Prince , she said , I am not dead ; I am not even asleep . It was the strange glad ness that seemed to take away my breath fo r a moment, and I must have sunk down without knowing . But now I feel stronge r and h ap 72 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

p ier than eve r in my life befo re , now that I h ave seen and felt the beautiful snow of my own country ; now that I h ave breathed the ” winter ai r I h ave been longing for always .

And she sp rang to her feet, her blue eyes sp ar kling with delight, looking lovelier than he h ad ever seen her . “ ” “ on Orso , she went half shyly, you have done what I asked you ; th rough you I h ave ” out seen th e snow , and she held her hand , which , white though it was , looked p ink in comp arison with the little flakes which were n fluttering down o it .

The Prince was overjoyed but he hesitated . “ ” “ I fea r , he said , th at in reality you should e or of rathe r thank the poo r littl bird , most w ” all you r o n kind heart . “ ” Poo r little bi rd , she replied , looking at it as it lay in her othe r h and . “

for . It is not dead . I will do all I can it

Let us h asten home , Prince , so that I may bind up its poo r wing . My fathe r and mother will ” be too anxious about me .

And together th ey retu rned to the palace . One glance at the Princess as she came in

M I D S U M MER

AROUND this lovely valley ris e f The pu rple hills o Paradise .

O on ou h , softly y banks of haze , Her rosy face the Summer lays !

B ecalmed along the azu re sky of Th e argosies cloudland lie ,

Whose sho res , with many a shining rift ,

- Far off thei r pearl white p eaks uplift . Through all the long midsummer day

- The meadow sides are sweet with hay . B J OHN TOWNSEND TROW RIDGE . S U M M ER SKI E S THERE comes th e mo rning with the golden basket in her right h and Bearing the wreath of beauty silently to crown

the earth . And there comes the evening over the lonely meadows

Deserted by herds , th rough trackless p aths Ca rrying cool d raughts of peace in her golden pitcher f From the Western ocean o rest .

RAB INDRANATH TAGORE . DAY !

Faster and mo re fast, ’ ’ O e r n1ght s brim day boils at last ; ’ ’ - Boils , pu re gold , o e r the cloud cup s brim Where spu rting and supp ressed it lay ;

For not a froth - fl ak e touched the rim Of yonder gap in the solid gray

Of the eastern cloud , an hou r away ;

one But fo rth wavelet , then anothe r, cu rled ,

Till the whole sun rise , not to be supp ressed ,

Rose , reddened , and its seething breast

lic k ered F in bounds , grew gold , then O verflo ed w the wo rld .

ROBERT BROWNING . 76 H OW TH E S UN WAS CAUG HT AN D FREED

ONCE upon a time the re lived a littl e Indian boy who was very p roud of his beautiful coat . H is siste r h ad made it fo r him out of the skins

- o f ten snow bi rds . C a refully she had d ried

these skins , stretched them , and p ieced them

into a soft , warm ga rment . The l ad was so fond of his coat that h e wo re it wheneve r he W left the igwam , no matte r how wa rm the

sun shone . One mo rning th e Indian lad took a long walk and becoming very ti red he th rew him on self down a grassy h illside to rest, and fell

sound asleep . “ H a ! ha ! h a !” laughed the Sun when he

saw th e boy wrapped in a bi rd - skin co at in “ summer time . I must give this lad a hint th at 77 78 T H E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK the snow and ice are gone and it is time to ” lay aside winter coverings . With all his warm might the Sun shone on of the sleep ing lad . Gradually the feathers his coat cu rled up and became singed and brown , and the garment sh rank to a very small size . “ ” H a ! ha ! ha ! laughed the Sun . When the Indian lad awoke he wondered what h ad h appened to h1m fo r he felt as if he were caught in a trap . He sp rang to his feet and discovered that his beautiful coat h ad sh runk until it was enti rely too small fo r him . “ ” “ I t is ruined , h e cried aloud . Ruined by that monster Sun . H e shall not pl ay such ” tricks on me and escape without punishment . ’ Then , sh aking his fist in the Sun s face , he “ ’ shouted , I ll make you p ay fo r ruining my ” - beautiful bi rd skin coat . “ ! ! !” H a h a h a laughed the Sun . The Indian lad ran back to the W igwam as

fast as he could , ca rrying the garment in his hands . “ See what has happened !” he cried to his “ sister . That vicious Sun sh rank my beautiful HOW TH E S UN WAS CAUG HT 79

coat while I was asleep on the hillside . I can ” neve r wea r it again . “ for Perhaps I can stretch it you , said h is siste r . “ ! No , no See , the feathers a re singed and !” brown . I t is ruined H e was so so rely vexed that h e could neithe r eat no r sleep . Fo r twenty d ays he fasted in the W igwam and wonde red howhe could call the mischievous Sun to account fo r spoiling

- the bi rd skin coat . One mo rning he sp rang up and said to his “ out siste r, I h ave thought a way to punish

the Sun . In his high p ath ac ross th e sky he

thinks he is safe from a little lad like me , but ’ I ll show him what I can do if you will help ” me . “ Tell me you r plan , said the siste r, won de ring how any mortal could punish the

mighty Sun . “ I ’ll set a snare fo r him and catch him !” “ c ried h e r brothe r excitedly . I want the u ” strongest co rd yo can find . “ ’ I ve plenty of d ried moose - hide ; will that ?” be strong enough she asked . 80 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK “ ! No , no That would never hold the Sun ,

said the boy .

His sister thought a while and then said , f ” I h ave d ried sinew o deer . “ But still her brother shook h is head . The

Sun is a mighty quarry . I must h ave some ” thing stronge r th an the sinew of the dee r . “ o Then I must search in the deep w ods ,

said his siste r . She left the W igwam and fo r nine days she

t e searched th rough the fo rest . At last she tu rned with a twisted co rd which she h ad

made from the strongest wood fiber . As soon

as her brother saw it he knew what to do . H e d rew the twisted fiber th rough his lips and immediately it became so fine and strong th at

he believed nothing could break it . Round and round his body the lad wound this cord ; at

one f end o it he fash ioned a noose . Confident th at he was now p rep ared to W snare the Sun , the lad left the igwam long

before daybreak . He walked to the spot where the Sun first peeps ove r the rim of the

earth , and there he securely fixed the noose . Then as he walked back to the lodge h e nu

82 TH E TURQUOI S E STO RY B OOK

Council fo r a long time , because all the Ani mals knew about the Sun ’s great heat and feared to go near enough to break the co rd . “ ’ At last the mole said , I ll free the Sun . ’ I m not afraid . My teeth are very sh arp and ’ I m su re they can gnaw through the co rd of ” the noose . Acco rdingly she c rept nea r to the edge of the earth where the Sun was held fast . The heat was intense but the mole was determined not to give up her undertaking . She gnawed

and gnawed , until the co rd was cut in two . Then up into the sky sp rang the Sun with a mighty bound . B efo re the Mole could run ’ away, however, the Sun s white light shone

full in her eyes , and from th at day she has not

been able to see very well . H er eyes are ex

tremelysmall and a re almost hidden by fu r . That is why she lives in dark places and sel out dom comes into the sunlight . But the Animals are all grateful to her and they often “ say, It was the brave Mole who cut the ’ ” Indian boy s noose which held the Sun . A DAY O F S UN SH INE

O GI FT of G od ! 0 perfect day !

Whereon sh all no man wo rk , but play ;

Whereon it is enough fo r me ,

Not to be doing , but to be .

I hea r the wind among th e trees Playing celestial symphonies ;

I see the branches downwa rd bent ,

Like keys of some great instrument .

And over me un rolls on high of Th e splendid scenery the sky, Where th rough a sapphi re sea the sun

S ails like a golden galleon . L F HENRY WADSWORTH ONG ELLOW . PHAETON ’S D RIVE IN TH E S UN C HARIOT

ONCE upon a time there lived in sunny G reece a lad named Ph aeton . H e was a son of Cly mene , an ocean nymph , and Apollo , the god of the sun . One mo rning when the lad was playing with “ of some his comp anions he said , It is my

fathe r who drives the glo rious sun - ca r across the sky, and brings daylight into the wo rld . ” I am the son of bright Apollo . Now this was by no means the first time that Phaeton h ad boasted about his high line of age , fo r he was indeed very p roud his

fathe r . H e was much su rp rised , however, to

hea r his pl aymates laugh . One of them “ looked sco rnfully at him and said , You are

telling us an idle tale . We do not believe that

u e f yo ar a child o the mighty Sun . 84

86 TH E TURQU OI S E STO RY B OOK

and asked wh at favou r he sought . Encou raged by the question Phaeton lost all trace of fear “ 1 0 e and sa d , , Light of the Wo rld , the childr n f of men declare that I am not the son o Apollo . (I’ hey sneer at me and say that my claim is nothing but an idle boast . G rant me some means of proving to them that I am indeed a ” child of the mighty Sun . Apollo laid aside the beams that shone on his brow, bade Ph aeton come nea re r to him , “ the and said , Thou a rt indeed my son . By mighty river Styx I p romise to grant thee any boon thou sh alt ask . “ one Eagerly Phaeton replied , Fo r day let

- 0 me d rive the sun chariot ac ross the sky . N one will ever again deny my high lineage if ” Apollo grant me this boon .

The sun - god immediately saw what a rash p romise he h ad made . Th ree times he shook “ h is bright head and then replied , I beg thee ,

Phaeton , choose another boon fo r none but Phoebus Apollo can d rive the ho rses of the

- sun chariot . The p ath th rough high heaven

is beset with dangers . Fi rst the steeds must climb the steep ascent of the eastern sky ; then ’ PHAETON S D RIVE 87 they must be guided th rough the middle way which is a dizzy height above earth and sea ; f and last o all , thei r p ath lies down the danger ous slop e Of the west . Also frightful monsters must be p assed on the road th rough the sky . one I beg thee choose anothe r boon . This ” m ay bring thee punishment instead of glo ry .

But Ph aeton was not dissuaded , and finally Apollo led the headstrong youth to the place where the fi re- breathing ho rses and brilliant

- ch a riot stood . Th e axle tree , poles , and wheel rims we re gold ; the spokes , silver . The body of the ca r was thickly set with ch rysolites and diamonds which reflected the sun ’s bril li e anc . While Phaeton gazed admi ringly at of all this beauty , Au ro ra the goddess the D awn th rew op en the purple doo rs o f the East

and pointed to the p athway strewn with roses . The Stars quickly withd rew and when the sun god saw the Moon make ready to dep art he swiftly o rdered the Hou rs to harness up the ’ ho rses . Then Apollo quickly bound the Sun s ’ rays on the imp atient lad s brow and anointed h is face with a cooling essence to p rotect his

skin from the bu rning flames . 88 THE TURQUO I SE STO RY B OOK

Phaeton leaped into the car , seized the reins , stood erect, and thanked Apollo fo r the great p rivilege of d riving the chariot . In his eager haste to start the youth failed to note his ’ “ father s wo rds of warning . Hold the reins

firmly and be sp aring of the whip . The steeds need no u rging ; the labou r is to hold them in not of check . Do drive too high fo r fear burn

too or ing the heavens ; no r low, the earth

on - will be set fire . Keep in the well wo rn ruts of the middle p ath . The time to start h as out of come , fo r Night is p assing the Western gates . Heed carefully my wo rds in this h az ” a r o s d u jou rney .

With an imp atient bound the fire- breathing

steeds sp rang fo rth . They dashed lightly over the clouds and outran the morning breezes in thei r eagerness to mount the eastern slope of

the sky . In a little while they discovered that

the car was lighter than usual , and that the

- od sun g was not holding the reins . Then they plunged madly fo rward and tu rned aside

from th e middle track . This headlong speed of the ho rses filled Ph aeton ’s heart with ter

ro r, esp ecially when he realized he had no

90 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

fo r many days . Finally the gods , in pity, changed them into poplar trees , in o rder that they might always be near the river into which

Phaeton fell .

SONG

! ’ H ark , h ark the lark at heaven s gate sings , ’ And Phoebus gins a rise , H is steeds to water at those sp rings On ch aliced flowers th at lies ;

And winking M a ry - buds begin To ope thei r golden eyes

With everything that p retty is ,

My lady sweet, a rise .

WILLIAM S HAKESPEARE . S U M M ER S UN

G reat is the sun , and wide he goes

Th rough empty heaven without repose , And in the blue and glowing days

Mo re thick than rain he showers h is rays .

Though close r still the blinds we pull T o keep the sh ady p a rlou r cool , Yet he will find a Chink o r two

To slip h is golden fingers th rough .

- The dusty attic , spide r clad ,

He , th rough the keyhole maketh glad ;

And th rough the b roken edge o f tiles ,

Into the ladde red hayloft smiles .

M eantime his golden face a round H e ba res to all the ga rden ground , And sheds a warm and glittering look ’ Among the ivy s inmost nook .

Above the hills , along th e blue ,

Round the b right ai r with footing true ,

To please th e ch ild , to p aint the rose ,

of he . Th e gardener the Wo rld , goes B L RO ERT OUIS STEV ENSON . TH E CLO UD

ROB ERT REINECK

ONE hot summer morning a little cloud rose out of the sea , and floated playfully across the

blue sky . The dreary brown earth , p arched with a long d routh , lay far below . The little cloud looked down and saw the poo r people

toiling away with heavy hearts , wh ile she , on ca refree and happy , floated along the fresh mo rning breeze . “ She said to hersel f, Oh , how much I wish

I could help the poo r people down there . I f or I could but lighten thei r wo rk , refresh them with food and d rink !”

As the day p assed and the cloud grew larger, the wish to help the suffering people filled her heart

On ea rth it grew hotte r and hotter, and the

p eople were fainting with heat, but they could 92

94 TH E TURQUO I S E STO RY BOOK

her, but in thei r hearts they knew she would help them . “ Yes , I will help you , cried the cloud once “ ! die for mo re . Take me to you rselves I ” you ! ’ A mighty purpose filled the cloud s heart ,

and a holy light shone from her face . She

sank neare r to the earth . The next moment a blessed shower of rain refreshed the hills and valleys . ’ The rain was the cloud s deed ; the rain was ’ the cloud s death ; but th rough her death she

was glo rified .

After the showe r was over , a lovely rain of of bow, made the pu rest rays heavenly

light, arched across the sky . It was the l ast

greeting of a love so great that it could serve .

Soon the rainbow , too , disapp eared , but th e memo ry of the blessing which the shower had brought to the earth was kept in the hearts of

men fo r many years to come . UN D IN E

EDWARD ABBOTT PARRY

ONCE upon a time the re was a ch ild wave “ ” named Undine . Undine the Beautiful , they called he r, because , when she was quite a little ripple , she sp arkled mo re brilliantly of th an any he r thousand brothers and sisters , and not one Of them was so c rystal C lea r or d ressed in such wonde rful sh ades of sapph i re blue and emerald green . She was bo rn at the mouth of a white limestone rock cave on the Au coast of D evonshi re . The fou rteenth o f gust was her birthday . Neve r had there been such a lovely little ripple as Undine . The old Tide let he r run up and down on his back when h e came into the bay where she for lived . She kep t close by the cave a time ,

and grew big and strong, and became first a billow and then a wavelet ; but when a month 95 96 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK h ad p assed she was a full - grown wave— only f one o . a small , cou rse , but still a wave He r father was a well known Devonshi re coast wave , a jolly comp act Old sea salt roller , with a great thatch o f c reamy foam on his head . He ran up and down the coast and out of to sea in a lazy, aimless kind way, playing with the fishing smacks and rolling ove r the po rpoises . H e had a kindly look and was a friendly fellow as a rule , but could be as c ruel and f fierce as the wo rst o them , when he was

O - P be . ot roused ld Lobster they called him , cause he loved , when he could , to dive down out of and wash the lobsters thei r baskets , and ’ then come and dance round the fishermen s boats in the mo rning when they pulled them up , and laugh at them when they found all thei r h ard wo rk h ad been fo r nothing . ’ Undine s mothe r was a tall , graceful wave on with a beautiful green breast, which she rested her white su rge head p roudly like a royal swan . Her name was Mo ra . She thought it vulga r to pl ay with the lobster pots , and when her child ren were old enough

98 T H E TURQUOI S E STO RY B OOK they are sensible enough to p ack their chil ff d ren o to school as soon as they are bo rn .

The ripples have a class to themselves . They one a re taught to walk in rows , and each Y u learns to keep his place . o cannot teach

a ripple much mo re than that, but that is

something . There was a wave school in the

bay in wh ich Undine lived . The Zephyr

taught the ripple class . They went every

morning at sunrise , and had d rill in a pool

behind the rocks . It was a p retty sight . The out on sea anemones , red and white , opened

on - fishes the rocks to look , lazy star stretched themselves upon the sands and l aughed when the little ripples tried to move them higher up

the beach , even those snarly little p eriwinkles p eeped out of thei r black shells to see what n ld was going o , and the o hermit c rab , grum bling all the while at being roused up so of early, sat at the doo r his shell , and beat time to the marching with one of his

claws . “ O two e ne , , three , fou r , said the gentl “ ! Zephyr . Heads up ! Keep you r place Let

f . the little ripples have plenty o room Now, UND INE 99

ntil. “ “ 4 1 q W U , you r shadow well fo r wa rd .

When the mo rning d rill was done , the “ Zephyr used to say to the ripples , Now you sh all h ave a holiday ; go and play togethe r .

ou . Love one anothe r . Be as good as y can ou Be kind to all the wo rld , and y will be ” happy . Then sh e kissed them all lightly , and flew away ac ross the yellow sand and the

- heathe r cove red rocks , and they saw he r no mo re until next mo rning . But they could hea r he r singing on the cli ff one o f those songs about the waves she loved so well , and when

the cho rus came they would join in , fo r she had taught it to them in the class , and it went this way

Oh , child ren may be n aughty

And monkeys may be bad , too Young fishes , , will O ften do

What makes thei r teache r sad .

Did we expect them to beh ave , too We should expect much , But a ripple is a little wave

And should beh ave as such ,

Yes , must beh ave as such . 1 00 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK ! Ah the Zephyr was a kind teacher, and took such p ains with the little ripples in her cl ass , that in a week they were ready to go into the Upper School . old They h ad good playtimes , too . The

- Tide let them play sea horses on his back . Then there was H ide and Seek” round the “ “ rocks , Hunt the Cockle , and Ripple ou Chivy . It is no use telling y how to play those games , fo r child ren cannot play them . One o f thei r favou rite spo rts was to race up the sand and see who could get farthest ; U n dine was very clever at that game . One day when they were doing this , a little boy and his

elder sister were p addling in the water, sail

H e ing a boat . was a bonny, little fellow , old about fou r years , and when Undine came running up the sand , rocking his toy boat and splashing the sails , h e clapped his h ands and “ out a t t cried , Look hat great , big , lovely wave !” Undine could not help laugh ing at the lit ’ tle fellow s glee , but she liked to be called a

big wave .

At that moment a nasty, rough ripple

1 0 2 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

while the little boat d rifted away . B ravely our did Undine , when she heard the call , dash fo rward to do battle with the naughty little “ out ! ripples , who called angrily, Shut up Wash it out to sea ! Swamp it ! H e was r ” spoiling ou game .

They were too strong fo r poo r Undine , and or would have destroyed the little boat , washed it away, had not the kind Zephyr , hearing all the noise , swept down from the

! f of cli fs , filled the sails the toy boat and wafted it to sho re . Afte r this she blew the naughty little ripples away, and they went into rock pools and sulked by themselves . When the Zephyr h ad retu rned to the cliffs the big, rough ripple who h ad knocked over “ the little boy c ried out fiercely : When I am a wave I sh all kill all the boys I can and swamp thei r boats . That is what my big brothe r is taught to do , and he is a wave and ” goes out to sea . The Zephyr often heard this so rt of talk among th e ripples , and when Undine asked her why they said these things , she kissed her gently and told her not to be angry even with UND IN E 1 03

the ripples , who did not know what they were saying , and begged he r when she grew up to for be kind and good to everyone , then she would be h appy .

Howeve r , she was not altogethe r happy just for at first , the other ripples we re not at all pleased with h er , and would not sp eak to he r . The little boy was carried off the beach by his siste r , so Undine was left all alone , and hid he rsel f under some dark brown seaweed in

the cleft o f a rock and c ried hersel f to sleep , when she d reamed th at the p retty little boy was a beauti ful wave , and was dancing with

- - in . he r , h and hand , ove r the wide ocean The next day sh e was moved into the billow

class . The M aste r was the South Wind . H e

h ad just come home from college . H e taught

them c resting and b reaking on rocks . H e was

a bright , cleve r fellow , but he told them noth ing about being good and kind as the Zephyr

h ad done . Afte r a week in the billow class , Undine and seve ral of her young friends we re

moved up into the wavelet class . This was

taught by a young wave , and here they

lea rned rushi ng , leap ing , rolling , and ma rch 1 04 TH E TU RQUOI S E STORY BOOK

ing in op en o rder . The young wave told them of exciting sto ries wrecks and d rowning men , and rep eated to them all th at nonsense about in B ritannia wanting to rule the waves , and sisted on the duty of all good waves to go

about fighting men , and killing as many as “ i ” possible . This he called Patriot sm , and Undine listened to his eloquent sto ries until she had nearly fo rgotten all th at the kind

Zephyr h ad tried to teach he r . But the fierce young wave could not ch ange Undine’s real n atu re , and she remained , at heart, a kind and

gentle wave . Outwa rdly she grew tall and

strong, and her mother and father and all her “ brothers and sisters s till called he r Undine ” The B eautiful . At the end of a month she p assed all her

first - examinations , and was a class wave ready to go to sea . Th at was a great day when they O Pot all left school . ld Lobster and h is good wife Mo ra came to fetch them away . The South Wind made an o ration in Latin about the duty of waves to fight for thei r country .

Arma p irum ue c a no old I t began , q , and Lobster Pot said it was very o riginal and

1 06 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK

P t “ Lobster o from behind . These are the and holidays , we are going to picnic up the ” river . Then they tu rned aside from the channel on and went p ast a castle a high rock , under

f mudbanks neath steep cli fs , across wide , lift ing up the boats which were lying asleep of among the damp seaweed . Some the waves — — lazy old fellows these went off into the harbou r fo r a quiet snooze , others ran up the river into long c reeks , fo rcing thei r way roughly among the quiet country streams . Old Lobster Pot and his wife went straight along the big rive r . There Undine saw many strange sights . Trees and flowers , ho rses and one ca rts , men , women , and child ren ; but not among them so beautiful , to he r thinking , as the little blue - eyed boy she h ad tried to res cue from the naughty ripples . There , too , of along the banks the river, she saw wide , f waving fields o green tu rning to gold , which rustled in the breeze , and she shouted to them to join he r ; fo r she felt so happy h ersel f she wanted everyone else to be h appy, too . But they did not understand her language , so they UND IN E 1 0 7

made no answe r ; fo r they were only wheat

fields . be At last they came to a big city, and ran of tween high walls white stone , and saw tall of buildings and the big towe rs the cathed ral ,

and here and there were c rowds o f people . “ ! !” Oh Oh c ried Undine and Su rger togethe r , “ ” this is beautiful . The cathed ral clock

chimed fou r . Old Lobste r Pot shook his head out for and called the o rde r retu rn . “ ” “ Time is up , h e said ; we must be moving or on down again now , the rive r will be to ” us . “ out Su rge r l aughed and c ried , I will run

anothe r mile befo re I retu rn , anyhow ; and

h e rushed up th rough the city with new fo rce .

Undine followed him , but now she felt a

faint , wea ry feeling coming ove r h e r . H e r beauty was going , and he r lovely colou rs

changing to a gray , inky hue . The rive r was

fo rcing its way down against them , and she and Su rge r were soon glad to follow old Lob P ste r ot down the rive r again . B ack they

went , p ast the fields , and soon they felt the

pu re sea breeze , and lent a hand to swing the 1 0 8 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK huge ships round at thei r moo rings unde r the f cli fs . They we re glad enough to escape from

the dull , cold rive r that was rushing after them , and sweep round the headland into the good salt sea , where they could feel alive

of one again , free and joyous , and afraid no in thei r own country . M any a time did they run up rivers like

and that , Undine looked out fo r the little blue eyed boy ; but she neve r saw him . Sometimes out to or they went the wide ocean , visited the coast towns with Mo ra , and splashed the la dies bathing , and made them sc ream and laugh . Always Undine was looking fo r her little friend , but she neve r saw him . M any were the jou rneys she made , and wonderful

one were the sights she saw ; indeed , could fill a book with all th at Undine did and saw when she grew up and became a wave .

I t was now October , and had been wonder for of fully warm , close weather the time the

yea r . The waves were rolling lazily about out at sea some th ree miles from the land . They a rched thei r huge backs and p ressed si “ ” lentl yafter each other , doing Serpent d rill ,

1 1 0 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK Down came the sleet and h ail in sharp vol of leys , as though from a battery artillery, which h ad taken up its position behind the thick clouds . A solitary sto rm bi rd was f driven befo re the wet rushing wind , with sti f

wings and bent cl aws , squealing miserably, as

though to warn the vessels of thei r doom .

I f you h ave not been a wave , you cannot understand th e wild feeling th at seizes you

when the Sto rm Wa r begins . Even gentle

Undine quivered with rage , and sought about

fo r something to destroy . As fo r Surge r, he was leap ing about and yelling like a mad

thing . The fishing smacks had hauled up thei r or nets , cut them ad rift , and we re speeding fo r

the sho re . Some few smaller boats had made

fo r the beach earlier , suspecting danger . Old

Lobster Pot hu rried round among his family,

giving o rders in loud tones of command . “ ’ ” There s fo r you , he shouted to Undine and

Su rge r, as a small open boat with a single lug

sail rushed th rough the surf . He will be

making fo r the little bay by the cave . Away with you ! D rive him on to the rocks UN D INE

A solita ry man half - sat and h alf - stood in the

stern o f the boat , his back to the tiller , the

end of the sheet in h is h and . I t was p assed

secu rely round a pin nea r to him . H e stoop ed down to cove r up with a sp a re sail t wo little

child ren , gi rl and boy , who were lying fright

ened at the bottom o f the boat . Then he set

his teeth , and sta red th rough the blinding hail

into the gathering da rkness , to find the open

ing into the little bay . Undine and Su rge r rushed on to the slende r

little vessel with all thei r fo rce . The man

skilfully made way fo r them , and they passed f o . unde r the keel th e boat , doing no h a rm The wind howled and sh rieked at them fo r

thei r failu re , and caught the boat with all its

might , d riving it p ast the two waves and nea re r t o the rocks . Then Undine and Su rge r raced on alongside the little boat until it nea red the

opening to the bay , and as the m an tried to tu rn he r into the safe h a rbou r , the wind made f a te rrible e fo rt, and the two waves , leaping of togethe r at the side the boat , c rashed he r

into the rocks . In a moment the man h ad th rown back the 1 1 2 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

of sail and seized , from the bottom the boat , nu the two children , who were lying hidden

- de r the sail . They were the little blue eyed

o . b y and his siste r, Undine B ravely he struggled with them across the rocks and th rough the su rf to gain the beach . Su rger and Undine were after him , fo r in her rage and fu ry she had not seen that it was the little

- P bo . ot blue eyed y Mo ra and Old Lobster , with many other big waves , seeing what h ad happened , were rushing ac ross the sea towards the bay, fo r fear Su rger and Undine should not be strong enough to d rown the man and too his child ren . H appily they were late ; fo r befo re they a rrived , the man h ad gained the sho re and pulled himself up the slope of the beach , saving the gi rl in his arms , but Su rge r managed to knock the little b oy out of his grasp , and was rolling him down again into the sea to d rown him . The man and the girl were too stunned and bruised to know whether

e or th y were saved d rowned . A coastguard ff was running down the cli , but he would have been too late to save the little boy, had not out Undine heard him calling in desp ai r, as

1 1 4 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

and a shout from the assembled waves , mingled with the groaning and howling of on angry wind , that she sped in the wildest terro r like a hunted hare . And all the waves of of one the sea , full rage that o f thei r num ber should turn traito r and coward and save a mo rtal man in a time of Sto rm War— gath e red together and chased after her .

Away she went down the Channel , across of the B ay Biscay, round Cape Finisterre , and th rough the gates of Gibraltar into the warm Medite rranean ; and after he r in hot pu rsuit raced a su rging c rowd of fierce and angry not waves . But they were to punish her fo r e her brave d ed , fo r there , nea r the warm of sho res Sicily, they say she met the good

Zephyr, who saved he r from he r pu rsuers , taking he r into her arms and changing her into

a beautiful cloud . And the glo rious Sun heard the sto ry of

Undine , and was so pleased with what she had done that he made her one of his special eve ning attendants and gave he r a splendid robe r of ambe and gold . And if you look in the UND INE 1 1 5

sky when the sun is setting in the sea , you may see Undine even to this day , a beautiful gol den cloud gazing lovingly down at the wo rld she used to live in . L O O EGEND F TH E S UN , MO N , AND STARS

( WYANDOTTE)

THERE was a time when the Indians called

e of . the Little Tu rtle , the Ke per the H eavens That was when the Indians thought the earth was a G reat Island , which rested upon the Big ’ Tu rtle s back . It came about in this way . When the G reat Island was first made there were no Sun and no Moon and no Stars . In o rder to know what to do the old Tu rtle called a meeting of all the animals . When they had all gathered togethe r the old Tu rtle told them that there was no light . After a long discus sion as to what could be done to mend matters the animals grew weary and were about to go home and let the G reat Island continue in darkness , when the Little Tu rtle spoke up and “ said : I f I were able to climb into the sky I

1 1 6

I 1 8 TH E TURQUO I S E STO RY B OO K times loitered in this earth p assage and too often the wo rld was left in total darkness .

Again the animals were dissatisfied , and a third meeting was called to decide the best plan and to scold the Sun fo r his neglect . To this thi rd meeting the Sun and the Little

Tu rtle and all the other animals came . They decided then and there that the Little Tu rtle should make the Sun a wife , and th at she should shine while he was going back to the

East th rough the earth p assage .

Then the Little Tu rtle made the Moon , and gave her as a wife to the Sun . She was You smalle r and not so powerful as he . can see he r in the Sky . The Stars that run about the Sky are thei r many child ren . One day the Moon ran into the earth pas sage earlier than she should h ave done , and befo re the Sun himself h ad p assed th rough . So offended was h e that h e robbed he r of all of her heat and much her light, and she was neve r able to keep p ace with him in the Sky .

Not knowing why he r light h ad grown dim , or of wh at h ad become her, the Little Tu rtle out ee went to s what was the matte r . He LEGEND O F TH E S UN 1 1 9 found the Moon lingering along the under ground trail . There was just a little light and of heat left to her , and barely a strip her once — glo rious body just as much as one sees of the newMoon nowadays . L ittle Tu rtle brought he r out and tried to f o . mend he r . But it was no use She would become bette r for a time and then relapse . Soon she would imp rove again until sh e was almost as strong as eve r she h ad been ; then again she would begin to fade away until at of last only a tiny strip was left he r, and she of h ad almost no heat . And this trick chang In ing h as been repeated many, many times .

deed , to this d ay the Moon continually changes

ersh e h ap . THE PRINCES S MOON B EAM !

IXON- ROU LET MARY F . N

A WOODMAN once dwelt with his wife at of of the edge the fo rest, unde r the sh adow

ia the Hono rable Mountain . The two were

dustrious and good , but though they loved

each othe r they were not h appy . No chil d ren h ad come to bless them and this the wife mou rned deeply . The husband pitied her and

treated he r very kindly, yet still she was f sad . As she gazed upon the snows o Fuj i yama her heart swell ed within he r and she “ p rostrated hersel f and said , Fuj i no Yama ,

be Hono rable Mountain , my hea rt is heavy cause no childish a rms encircle my neck, no i little head nestles a my bosom . From thy eternal pu rity send some little white soul to comfo rt me !” The Honorable Mountain spoke not ; yet as

! ’ “ From Nixon- Roulet s J a p anese Folk S tories and Fa iry ” i ht 1 08 b Am e ic a n B k T a les. C o oo om a n pyr g , 9 , y r C p y,

P ublisher s.

1 2 2 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY B OOK

e Lady, and she h as s nt me to Earth because every Moon Ch ild must do some good thing , else will its silvery light become p ale and wan f ” and be o no avail . “ “ Little Princess , he said eagerly, the best of good deeds is to comfo rt a sad heart . Come h ome with me and be a child , to my wife , who weeps fo r child ren . Thus will you r beams ” grow bright . “ I will go with you , said the little Moon b eam , and , rejoicing greatly, he bo re her tenderly to h is wife . “ “

ou . I bring y a treasu re , he said The Moon Lady sends you this beam of light to ” lighten you r sad heart . Then was his wife much overjoyed and she took the little c reature to her bosom and ca red forhe r . Lovelie r grew the Moon Child eve ry yea r and much she rejoiced the hearts of he r fos te r p arents . He r hai r was like a golden au re ole about he r face . He r eyes were deep and tender , he r cheeks were p ale and delicate , and about her there was a subtle and unea rthly one em charm . Eve ry loved he r, even the T H E P R INC TS S Mo o n REAM 1 2 3

’ ero rs so n who unt n in the fo re t saw p , , h i g s , her li gh ti ng up the humbl e c o ttage wi th her

e en h l le o v d herd e a r and she h av ly li g t . l e ly

o ed him but a a ! she c o u d not ma rr him l v , l s l y , b ec ause her li fe u po n the ea rth c oul d be but

e e en she m ret rn to her tw nty y a rs. Th ust u

o m in the mount fo r so w l d he r mo er h e , il e th

e oo ad th hl n L y .

A st the d a a e she s o t l a y c me wh n mu t g .

H e r a rent e t a nd o not he onso e p s w p , c uld c l d ;

nd her o er who was now the em e ro r a l v , p ,

o u d not kee he r a ltho u h he beso u h c l p , g g t

' e e o S a e l l i g h l l av n t p re h r. H ermo th erc a ug ht he rup in a silv erm oon heann ; and a ll the wayto the moon the lit tl e

c ess e t e r ea r the ea rs to” P ri n w p silv y t s . As t

o m here es lo l t e took n s and f o a ed fr y , h y wi g l t awa y l ooki ng fo r the fo rm o f the emp e ro r

o ee er o o re wh might s h n m .

B ut the silve r- b ri ght t ea rs a re seen to this d ayfloa ti ng hi th er and you about the v al es ‘ e o T he ( hild re and m a rsh s f f ai r Ni ppo n. n “ se t e a r es and sa S ee cha h m with h ppyc i , y, the fi refli es ! i l ow f ai r they a re ! Whenc e ” came th ey? 1 24 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK Then thei r mothers relate to them the leg “ of end and say, These a re the tears the little ” i ° Pr ncess , flitting to seek her beloved and H on over all , calm and eternal , smiles the

r l Al nta in o ab e ou .

TH E MOON

W Th at o rbed maiden , with h ite fire laden

Whom mo rtals call the moon , ’ o er fl eec e- Glides glimmering my like floo r , By th e midnight breezes strewn ;

W of u e And herever the beat her nseen f et ,

Which only the angels hear, ’ M ay h ave b roken the woof of my tent s thin

roof, The stars p eep behind her and p eer ; I W And laugh to see them hirl and flee , of Like a swarm golden bees ,

I W W - When iden the rent in my ind built tent, s Till the calm rivers , lakes , and eas , Like strips of th e sky fallen th rough me on

high ,

Are each p aved with the moon and these . PERCY B Y SH EL S E S H LEY .

1 26 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

Wh at though , in solemn silence , all Move round the dark terrestrial ball ? What though no rea l voice o r sound Amid thei r radiant o rbs be found ? ’ R ea son s I n ea r they all rejoice ,

And utter fo rth a glo rious voice ,

Fo rever singing, as they shine , “ ” The H a nd tha t ma d e us is div ine!

E D J OS PH A DISON . G REEN FIELD S AN D M EADOWS GAY NATURE ’S SON G

There is no rhyme that is half so sweet As the song of the wind in the rippling wheat ; There is no meter that is h alf so fine As the lilt of the brook under rock and vine ; And the loveliest lyric I eve r heard f Was the wildwood strain o a fo rest bird . A M DISON CAWEIN .

1 30 T H E TURQUO I SE STO RY BOOK deer drinking from a pO O l in the basin Of a rock . The shepherd seized his c rossbow and

S took aim to hoot the quarry, but befo re he could speed an arrow , the deer scented danger and leap ed away up the steep slope Of the

- mountain side . The shepherd pursued h is game with eage r haste , climbing up the dan g erous p aths with a su reness of foot which comes only to those whose lives are spent among the mountain fastnesses . It grew bitterly cold as the shepherd on on p ressed and , and h e saw the glittering

- fields to ice nea r the mountain p . “ ’ Tis the most fl eet- footed qua rry I eve r ” for followed , said the hunter, stopping a mo ’ “ ’ . a ment s rest After this h ard chase , I m fraid ” I must give up the game .

Suddenly he saw the reindee r slacken pace , and walk into the entrance Of a cavern in the glacier . “ ’ ” one f I ll make mo re e fort, said the tired on hunte r, climbing until he reached the open

few ing where the reindee r disappeared . In a m oments he reached a dark p assage , at the end

O f saw which he glittering, coloured lights . TH E G I FT OF FLAX 1 3 1

on H is hea rt beat fast , but he walked towa rd

the brilliant opening . The desi re to see the lighted h all at the end Of the p assageway now took possession of the

hunte r and , strange to say , he fo rgot all about

the qua rry, which had led him to this ma r

velo ns place . When he reached the th reshold Of the Opening h e was obliged to shade his eyes with both h ands . Rainbow colou rs sp arkled

from the walls and ceiling , wh ich we re thickly

et S S with p recious stones . A floo r Of hining

white marble added to the beauty O f the place .

S The hepherd stood in silent wonder . “ ” Welcome to the H all Of M ists , said a

queenly voice , but still he stood gazing from

the entrance .

The queen rep eated he r wo rds O f welcome , and the Shepherd walked humbly fo rwa rd to

wa rd a beautiful woman , clothed in silvery

white robes gi rdled with gold . On he r bright

hai r was a c rown O f j eweled blossoms . She f held a dista f in he r right hand ; in h e r left , a bunch O f flowers the colou r of the sky on a fai r

summe r day . She was attended by many 1 3 2 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

youthful maidens , who stood back Of the queen near j eweled sp inning wheels .

S Filled with awe , the hepherd th rew himsel f on his knees at the feet O f this Queen of the

Ai r . “ H ave no fear , my good man , she said in “ a gentle voice . Perseverance and cou rage led thee up a dangerous p ath , but thou hast not l abou red in vain . Thou shalt be rewa rded fo r thy dauntless chase . Choose anything thou ” wilt from my j eweled H all Of M ists .

Without hesitating a moment , the shepherd “ e said , Gracious Que n , there is nothing in the wo rld I should like to h ave SO much as the ” flowers you r m aj esty holds . The Queen of the Ai r smiled and put the blossoms into h is h and . Then she took up a measu re Of small seed , which stood nea r he r, “ : and said Thou hast made a wise choice , my good man . Sow this seed in the field near ” you r cottage . Farewell . Suddenly a peal Of thunde r rang th rough the ai r, and the brilliant light in the H all Of

M ists changed to total d arkness . In a twin kling the bewildered man found himself onc e

1 34 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK grow and bu rst into blossoms exactly like those

the Queen O f the Ai r h ad given to him . In a

few weeks he saw the sta r - like blossoms wither ,

and seeds begin to fo rm and ripen . One night the shepherd d reamed he saw a beautiful t woman , clo hed in silve r wh ite , float over his

field and bless the ripening stalks . The next evening an Old woman knocked at

the cottage doo r . When the shepherd invited

er h to come in , h e noticed she carried in he r

hand a numbe r O f stalks from his field . “ I ’ve come to teach you what wonde rful ” use you can make O f these stalks , she said . Very gently and p atiently she taught the shepherd and his wife how to sep arate delicate fibers from the woody co re ; how to spin them

into th read and weave the th read into linen . L ast Of all she told them how to bleach the use

ful linen . It was a wonderful evening fo r the

peasant and his wife . When the Old woman rose to leave the cot “ ’ tage , she said to the shepherd , In the Queen s Hall Of M ists you asked fo r the gift Of blue

T O - flax flowers . night you h ave learned what

a p riceless blessing you chose . Fa rewell . T H E G I FT O F FLAX 1 35 She left the cottage ve ry quickly and when the shepherd and his wi fe went to the doo r to see which way she went 10 ! she had disap

e r p a ed . In a sho rt time all the p eople in the valley hea rd th e wonderful Sto ry O f making

linen . Fo r awhile they bought the linen which ’ was made from the Shepherd s fi rst field Of

flax . But they bought some O f h is seed , too , and the next yea r they were able to spin thei r wn o th read and weave thei r linen . The bless ’ ing wh ich came from the Shephe rd s choice was sha red by all the people in the valley . TH E STO RY OF TH E DEWD ROP

LUCILE CORB ETT

ONE day as the children were coming home from school , th e snowflakes began dropping l azily to the ground . One beautiful star ’ sh ap ed flake fell on a little girl s hand . “

ou . Oh , y p retty , p retty snow fai ry Where did you come from ? Did you tumble O ff a

fl eec y or cloud , did you dance all the way from ” S ? Frostland to how us you r soft, l acy d ress ’ T O the little girl s su rp rise , a tiny voice said D O you really want me to tell you where I ? came from I was not always a snowflake , and will not retu rn to Frostland fo r a long, long time . I can stay with you but a little while ; then , when the bright sun comes and the south

ou for wind calls , I must leave y , I h ave much

to do . M any things in the woods need my help .

1 38 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

“ a When I reached the big , bro d waters , I w w found many , m any de drops , hich h ad been changed into rain and into streams to help the plants , the flowers , and trees . Ship s , looking like great white bi rds , sailed on the waters .

Suddenly a storm came up , the sea grew dark

- and angry looking . I was turned into wh ite foam , and the waves tossed me higher and higher until the Ships went down . The sea gulls fl app ed thei r wings and gave thei r c ry Of wa rning fo r all things in th e forest to keep away from the wild billows . “ After th e sto rm , I was carried up and up

the SO in ai r as mist , that I blotted out all sight f O land . I drew close r and closer to the small w islands , and rapp ed them in a thick blanket

O f . fog The wind sighed , the flowers closed th ei r beautiful p etals , and the birds hid thei r heads under thei r wings in fea r Of this clinging white monste r . “ Th e winter winds came along and ca rried

me into the fa r No rthland , where the I ce King

rei gns sup reme . H ere I found little men

dressed in fu r to keep them wa rm . Great f white bears walked on huge cakes O ice . But TH E STORY OF TH E D EV V D RO P 1 39 the bi rds and flowers could not live in that still , cold land . The silence was b roken only by the

tO O c runching O f the ice . I , , became ice , and d rifted Slowly out on the shining white waste . “ Then again came the sun , wa rm and strong, and fo rced back the cold no rth wind . Instead

Of being a thick white c ake O f ice , I became a f tiny, flu fy bit Of frost , as white as e rmine , as soft, as soft as down . Gently th e no rth wind ,

of who was now a slave the mighty sun , gath e red me up and carried me into a strange land , a ve ry strange land . The earth was h ard , the trees ba re , and the flowers were all dead .

- D a rk , sullen looking clouds took me from the no rth wind and sent m e floating down , down

th rough sp ace until I reached you r h and . “ When you gathe r up a h andful O f snow to

make a big , round snowball , do not fo rget that once we were bright dewdrop s sp arkling in the

mo rning sun . And when you wade in the lit

tle brook in the summer time , we will flow ove r ” you r ba re feet and sing you a song Of th e sea . TH E DEW M OTHER

The tall D ew Mothe r, dressed in grey,

Last night at dusk went down the way,

By winding lane and meadow deep ,

And kissed each little flower to sleep .

And S some weet buds so d rowsy sat,

- a - They h ardly heard her p it p at ,

Th ey sca rcely knew that they were found ,

Al ready d reams had wrapp ed them round .

S But she , O p ale and kind and tall , on H er cool , sweet kisses laid all , And left each leaf a dewdrop bright

To play with in the mo rning light .

MAY BYRON .

1 4 2 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK in glee when they saw the shining buttercups

and the daisies with golden hearts . The laughter which Shawond asee heard in

h is d ream wakened him . Slowly h e op ened his eyes and looked d reamily at the great

stretches Of p rai rie wh ich lay befo re him . In a little wh ile the South B reeze a roused him

sel f and gazed intently toward the Northland . There among the slender waving grasses he

saw a beautiful maiden . H er tall , graceful

figu re was clothed in delicate green , and her moccasins were Of the same colo r . H er hai r

was yellow as gold . Merrily she danced

about the p rairie , nodding and smiling at

Shawondasee , who became enchanted with her

grace and beauty . “ ’ ’ Tis the loveliest vision I ve eve r seen , “ murmu red the South B reeze softly . Su rely of she is a daughte r the Sun , and he h as m ade ” her wonderful h ai r out of his own beams . All day long he watched h er dancing gaily on w the northern p rai rie , and at night hen h e W w “ went into his ig am , he said , I shall jou r

ney northward and W O O the sunny - haired ORI GIN O F T H E DAN DELION 1 43

W O O maiden . Gently will I he r to be my ” bride . The next day when Shawond asee came

out W sleep ily O f his igwam , the re , in the mo rn

ing light , he saw the graceful maiden flitting

on about the p rai rie . All the while she nodded h er golden head and smiled gaily at him . “ ” There is plenty O f time to woo he r, sighed “ ’ Shawond asee ; I ll enjoy he r d ancing a little longe r befo re I jou rney no rthwa rd and ask he r ” to l ive with me in the Southland . One mo rning when South B reeze came out W o f his igwam to watch the dancing maiden , h e noticed a great ch ange h ad come to he r .

fl eec On her head was a ywhite c rown . “ What h as h appened to my golden - h ai red ? ” p rai rie maiden he sighed . Can it be that

my rough brothe r , No rth Wind , has c rowned h er with snow ?” He sp rang to his feet and h astened towa rd

th e no rthern plains . As he d rew nea r th e in maiden , he s aw th at h er golden h ai r had ,

deed , gone , and in its place were t resses soft

and white as the snow . ’ Shawond asee s hea rt was filled with so rrow . 1 44 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK

H is breath came quick and fast and , as he came very nea r to the maiden , he d rew a deep , deep sigh .

Suddenly the strangest thing happ ened .

All the ai r was filled with soft , downy fibers , which flitted over the p rai rie like the tiniest fai ry sails and , in a little while , sank lightly

Shawond asee among the waving grasses . closed his eyes fo r a moment , and when he 1 ! op ened them , 0 the p rairie maiden had van i hed s . “ I cannot give up my beautiful m aiden , “ sighed South B reeze . I shall not go back to ” the Southland until I have found her . For weeks h e wandered ove r the meadows , but no trace O f the maiden could h e find . One

Kabibonokk a day , the rough No rth Wind , blew sh arp and sh rill . H is cold blast made the gentle Shawond asee shive r and hasten back to his warm W igwam in the South . During the cold winte r months while Ka bibonokk a , with his icy breath , stalked ove r

Shawond asee the p rai rie , stayed in his wig wam and mou rned the loss Of his p rai rie maiden . But when the warm days came again

' ‘ PRINCE B U I I ERFLY AND CLOVE R

IN a quiet, pleasant meadow, where green Old trees waved th ei r branches as the summer

i s by o s w nds went inging , blo med a si terhood of

n n o s flower s. A eighbou ri g br ok rippled mu ic

l s the a ly, and p as ing clouds cast shadows upon waving gras s below . The flowe rs were v erv h app y togethe r in this pleasant spo t N O cold w i nds came to u blight them , no r de h ands to re th em from t W’ hei r stems . a rm sunbeams smiled on them h all day long, and th e dewdrops refreshed t em

at night with a cooling d rink . O r i ne mo n ng when th e flowers awoke , frag

r and t c ame c ree in ant fresh , a l i tle wo rm p g bY

O and t h , p ity love me , sighed the lit le w “ . am o rm Give me shelter , dear flowers . I W6 PRINCE B UTT E RFLY

l f r o and . t o lonely, po r, weak A li t e spot a resting place is all I a sk Only let me lie in the and t deep , green moss weave my lit le tomb n and sleep my long , unb roken sleep u til ’ Sp ring s first flowers come . Then will I come

r t a e fo rth in fai y d ress , and repay you r gen le c r w ” m . n s a . fo r a poo r wo r Ki d flo e r , let me st y But none O f th e p roud flowe rs would give W’ shelte r to the p oo r wo rm . ild Rose showed he r little tho rns while he r so ft face glowed

o wi th p ride . Violet hid beneath some d ro p ing ferns and the daisy turned he r f a ce away .

L t n she it le Houstonia laughed sco r fully , as

on s w danced her slende r tem , hile Cowslip bent down and whisp ered the tale to the brook

A blue - eyed G rass looked down on the poo r l u wo rm as she silent y t rned away . “ You our she will h a rm delicate leaves , “ w y ” said ; th at is h you may not stay . At th at moment a sweet voice c alled from a distance “ r Come here , poo r wo m , come to me . The

r h a sun lies wa m in t is quiet spot. I will sh re ” my home with you . The flowe rs all looked in wonde r to see who 1 4 8 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

T o h ad Offered the wo rm a home . thei r su r

s they o n fl ut p ri e , f u d Clover Blossom , with tering wings , beckoning him to come . From he r snug little nook where the cool winds

bv a nd rustled . the mu rmu ring bees and but terfl ies loved to come , he r rosy face smiled kindly down as the friendless wo rm drew nea r . “ Poo r thing , you are welcome h ere , she “ said in a soft voice In the soft, green moss close at my Side you may Sleep until sp ring ou comes . I will sp read my leaves over y , and ” gu ard you th rough the long winter .

Then , deep in a moss bed , the grateful worm s his pun his winter home , and l ay down for long rest . And well did Clover Blossom keep her w atch . Au tumn came and took all h er sister

flowers . Th en when it was time fo r her to go , sh e sp read her withered leaves softly over the t sleep ing wo rm , and bent h er faith ful lit le head beneath the winte r snow . Sp ring came again and the flowers arose

from their winte r sleep . How gaily they

1 50 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

flowe rs danced for j oyas they watched him silently soar away . er i Little Clove r bowed h head n silence . As she d rooped she heard a D aisy say “

now. O sisters look , I see him H e is float ing back from cloudland . Sp read wide you r leaves that he may choose the one he deems ” most fai r . Then Wild Rose glowed with a deep blush as she p roudly waved on her stem ; Cowslip bent to look at herself in the rippling brook , little Houstonia merrily danced and sp read out her white leaves wide ; and D aisy whis p ered her joy and hop e to Violet , who peeped out from the tall green ferns to watch the glit tering fo rm O f the butterfly th at shone in the summer sky .

Nea rer and nea re r the bright fo rm came , and fai rer and fai re r grew the blossoms . Each welcomed him in he r sweetest tones and each f O fered him honey and dew . But in vain did

they beckon and smile and call . He floated past Violet, D aisy, and Rose , and went straight to the pleasant home Of Clover Blos

som , the flowe r most truly fai r . PRINC E B UTTERFLY 1 5 1

“ Dea r flowe r, he said , when I was alone and friendless you watched ove r me and ca red fo r me . And now I will try to show the thanks the poo r wo rm could not tell .

e Sunb am , b reeze sh all come to thee , And the coolest dews that fall ; ’ Whate e r a flowe r can wish is thine , For thou a rt wo rthy all .

And th e home thou sh a red with the friendless wo rm ’ butterfl s The y home sh all be ,

And thou shalt find , dea r, faithful

flowe r,

A loving friend in me .

Then , th rough the long, bright summe r hou rs , th rough sunshine and rain , lived h ap pily togethe r Clove r and Prince Butterfly . A SONG O F CLOVER

I wonder wh at the Clove r thinks , of Intimate friend Bobolinks ,

Lover Of D aisies , slim and white , Waltzer with Buttercup s at night ;

Keeper of Inn fo r traveling Bees , Serving to them wine d regs and lees Left by the Royal Humming B i rds

Who sip and p ay with fine- spun words ;

Fellow with all the lowliest ,

Pee r Of the gayest and the best,

of Com rade winds , beloved Of sun ,

one one Kissed by the Dewdrops , by ;

Prophet Of Good - Luck mystery By Sign Of fou r which few may see ; Emblem Of comfo rt in the speech ’ Which poo r men s babies early reach ;

Sweet by the roadsides , sweet by rills ,

on Sweet in the meadows , sweet hills ,

In Its Sweet every living breath , ! Sweetest, perhaps , at last , in death Oh !who knows wh at the Clove r thinks !

O o e N n !unless the Bobolinks . X SA E HOLM .

1 54. TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK took Tithonus up to Mount Olympus to live in her golden house . The goddess h ad fo rgotten to ask that

Tithonus might neve r grow Old . Therefo re , the time came when grey h airs could be seen among his golden cu rls . Au ro ra was always kind to him and continued to g i ve him beauti

on . ful garments , and to feed him ambrosia

Still , Tithonus grew Older and Olde r and , in time , afte r several hund red years , he was so

O ld L very that he could not move at all . ittle

h1m was left Of but his voice , and even that h ad

to g rown high and thin . Au ro ra felt so so rry see him withering away in this m anner that she changed him into a little insect , and sent him down to earth again where men called him

the grasshopp e r .

Very glad to be free and active once mo re , Tithonus hops about in the fields all day

chi rp ing cheerfully to Auro ra . TH E GRAS S HOPPER

Shuttle o f the sunbu rnt grass , Fi fe r in the dun cui rass Fifin g sh rilly in the mo rn , Sh rilly still at eve unwo rn ;

Now to rea r, now in the van , Gayest O f the elfin clan

Though I watch thei r rustling flight , I can neve r guess a right

Where thei r lodging - pl aces a re ; ’ ’ Mid some daisy s golden sta r ,

O r beneath a roofing leaf , of O r in fringes a sheaf , Tenanted as soon as bound !

Loud thy reveille doth sound ,

When th e earth is laid asleep ,

And he r d reams a re p assing deep ,

On mid - August afte rnoons ;

And th rough all the ha rvest moons ,

Nights b rimmed up with honeyed peace ,

Thy gainsaying doth not cease .

When the frost comes , thou art dead ;

We along th e stubble tread , m On blue , fro zen mo s , and note ' NO least mu rmu r is a floa t

Wond rous still ou r fields a re then , Fifer Of the elfin men !

EDITH M . THOMAS . 1 55 TH E GOLDEN GRAS S H O PPER

C HARLES LAM B

IT chanced upon a time that while the fai ries for were looking cowslip s in the meads , while yet the dew was h anging on the buds like beads , they found a babe left in its swathing — C a . lothes little , so rrowful , deserted thing It was a p ity to see the abandoned little o rphan left in th at way . H OW the cold dew kept wetting its childish coats ; and its little h ai r, like gossamer, how it ! was bedabbled Its pouting mouth , unknow

S - ing how to peak , lay half opened like a rose lipped shell ; and its Cheek was softer than any p each , upon which the tea rs , fo r ve ry round

o O ff ness , could not l ng dwell , but fell in clea r — on ness like p earls some the grass , and some on his little hand ; and some haply wandered to the little dimpled well under h is mouth . 1 56

1 58 T H E TURQUOI S E STO RY BOO K the men who built up the trade and commerce of England .

on Witness his goodly vessels th e Thames , Whose holds were fraught with costly mer

c an ise h d ,

J ewels from Ind , and pearls fo r costly dames , And go rgeous silks that Samarcand sup plies :

Witness th at Royal Bou rse he bade a rise , The mart O f merchants from the East and West ;

Whose slende r summit pointing to the skies , of Still bears , in token his grateful breast, ” The tender grasshopp er, h is chosen crest .

THOMAS HOOD . A B LAD E O F GRAS S

JOHN RUSKIN

of GATHER a single blade grass , and examine for - a minute its na rrow , swo rd sh ap ed strip

Of fluted green . Nothing there , as it seems r Of notable goodness o beauty . A very little

few strength and a very little tallness , and a delicate long lines meeting in a point , not a perfect point either , but blunt and unfinished , by no means a c reditable o r app a rently much ’ - ca red fo r example Of Natu re s wo rkmanship , on d made only to be trodden to ay, and to mo rrow to be cast into the oven , and a little p ale and hollow stalk , feeble and flaccid , lead ing down to the dull brown fibe r O f roots .

O f And yet, think it well , and judge whethe r o f all the go rgeous flowe rs th at beam in sum me r ai r , and of all strong and goodly trees ,

or S pleasant to the eyes , good fo r food , tately 1 59 1 60 TH E TU RQUOI S E STORY BOOK

oak p alm and p ine , strong ash and , scented

C itron , bu rdened vine , there be any by man so

G od SO deeply loved , by highly graced , as that f narrow point O feeble green . And well does it fulfill its mission . Consider what we owe merely to the meadow grass , to the covering Of the dark ground by that glorious enamel , by the comp anies Of those soft , and countless , and p eaceful spears . The fields ! Follow fo rth but fo r a little time the thoughts Of all that we ought to recog nize in these wo rds . All sp ring and summer is in them , the walks by silent and scented p aths , the rests in noonday heat , the joy Of herds and flocks , the power Of all shepherd

O f life and meditation , the life sunlight upon the wo rld falling in emerald streaks , and fall ing in soft blue sh adows where else it would have struck upon the dark mold or sco rching dust .

Pastu res beside the p acing brooks , soft banks

O f and knolls lowly hills , thymy slopes Of down , overlooked by the blue line O f lifted sea , crisp l awns , all dim with ea rly dew , o r smooth

O f in evening warmth barred sunshine , dinted

1 62 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOO K

“ wo rds Of the Psalmist, He maketh the grass ” to grow upon the mountains .

’ Then Au ro ra , the Sun s

Rosy h andmaiden , runs With a basket of fruit blossoms poised on her

head , W Green ones and p ink ones and hite ones , and

red ,

outsc atters And with both h ands uplifted , them wide

e on Th rough ga rd ns and o rchards every side ,

Such abundance ,

Redundance , On every side Of blossoms fo r apples and damsons and

cherries , For cu rrants and quinces , p ears , plums and

strawberries , That the labou rers call to each other to see ’ Wh at a wonderful fruit yea r tis likely to be . DALM N CHARLES O . PRINCES S FI RE - FLY

( J APANESE LEGEND)

D EEP in the p ink petals Of a lotus bloom that

O f H i - O grew in the castle moats Fukui , lived ,

- the king O f the Fi re Flies . In this beautiful

flowe r h is daughte r, the Princess Hotaru , p assed he r childhood explo ring every shady nook and fragrant co rner of the bell - like p al ace , listening to the buzz Of life a round , and peeping ove r the edge O f the p etals at the wonderful wo rld which l ay mysteriously be yond . The p rincess h ad few youth ful com

p anions , but, as she daily bade he r fathe r fa re

O f too well , she d reamed th e time when she , ,

would fly abroad , and he r b rilliant light would

attract unusual admi ration . ’ O ers read G radually, a beautiful sheen p he r

body ; night by night it became brighte r, until

at last he r home , in the hours O f da rkness , was 163 1 s1 T H E r TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK as a l amp Of co ral wherein shone a lamp Of gold . SO glo rious was her light that the stars p aled befo re it , and the bright , sickle moon

C withdrew behind a loud from j ealousy . The Princess was now allowed to fly from

her home , to loiter among the pleasant rice

fields , and to explo re the indigo meadows ff which l ay far O on th e horizon . She h ad no

- b e lack Of friends and would lovers . Thou

O f sands insects , attracted by her magic light , f came and O fered thei r homage , but the Prin cess cared fo r none of thei r attentions and

though she spoke politely to them all , she gave

encou ragement to none . One evening the Princess said to her

: mother, the Queen “ I h ave had many admi rers but no one h as

- found a way to my heart . TO night I sh all hold cou rt and if any of them love me they

will come to me here . Then I shall set them

an impossible task . I f they are wise they e will not attempt to do it , but if they love th i r lives mo re th an they love me I do n‘ot want one : O them . I shall say to and all nly he

1 66 TH E TU RQUOI S E STORY BOOK

’ t reasu re of fire sh all be my bridegroom s ” gi ft. O by one y i u ne the took w ng . en rap t red by the hop e Of succe ss and unconscious th at they

n am an were all bent o th e s e err d . But none ever c ame back to wed th e Prin

The - ce ss . h awk mo th entered a temple and

un and n the wax ci rcled ro d rou d tall lights , “ n an e comi g nearer d nearer each tim . Now t w i ' l o in th e Pr ncess ! he mu rmu red . A as ! the foolish cr ea ture da rted fo rward to snatch

of am a n n a flash fl e . but the fl me si ged his wi gs

and the he fell h elpless to ground . The beetl e whizzed 05 to a n eighbou ring house and watched intently fo r a moment or two e t a log fire c rackling on a h a rth . He hen

ol l y am to b d caught at a tongue of fl e , hoping ry in too car it to th e P r cess . But he, , was

i by the bur ed fire .

on - fl y w t s n n The drag . not i h ta di g his sunlit s e o o l not the i f p l nd u rs , c u d fulfill bidd ng o the

of the t s Lady Lo us Bloom . He al o fell a

to m s m n p rey he r i periou com a d . Others there were who tri ed to steal from the diamond its

r of w n t e hea t fi re , o r i ged hei r way to th gre at PRINCES S FI RE - FLY 1 67

or mountain , sped to the depths of the valley

in thei r sea rch forthe great gift . But all thei r e ffo rts to bring the treasu re of

fi re were in vain . The sun in roseate splendou r shone on the bodies of the insect lovers who h ad given up thei r lives in thei r devotion to

the Princess .

H i - Now tidings came to ma ro , the Prince

of - on the Fi re Flies , the no rth side Of the

castle moat , that Princess Hota ru was exceed n l i g ybeautiful , whereupon he fled swiftly to

her home among the lotus flowers , to ask Of

fa her father his daughte r in marriage . The the r agreed to the Prince ’s request with the condition th at the Prince should come in p er

son f bringing the Princess the gi ft o fi re . Even as a flood of light the Prince at the

head of his host Of fire- fl ies came and filled f the lotus p alace with a blaze o glo ry . But Hotaru hersel f was so beautiful th at he r

charms were not dimmed . One look p assed bet ween the youth and the ’ maiden and the visit end ed in th e P rince s

wooing and winning the Princess . He took h er to his p alace on the no rth side O f the castle 1 68 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK moat and there they lived happ ily fo r many years . Hi M any, many yea rs have p assed since maro won the Princess and still it is the fancy of all Fi re - Fly Princesses to send thei r suito rs

- f in search Of fire as a love O fering . It is fo r this reason th at we see many thousand insects hovering a round the evening lights in the vain hop e Of secu ring a flash Of fire that shall win d them their p rize . ( Adapte )

WHEN the scarlet cardinal tells

H er d reams to the d ragon - fly And the lazy breeze makes a nest trees

And mu rmu rs a lullaby ,

It is July .

SUSAN HARTLEY SWETT .

1 70 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK hop ing to catch this one befo re he could get to his hole . But the woodchuck , seeing the dog come labouring up the hill , sp rang to the of mouth his den , and , when his pu rsuer was

O ff only a few yards , whistled tauntingly and ld . o went in This occu rred several times , the dog marching up the hill , and then marching down again , h aving had his l abou r fo r his p ains . I susp ect that he revolved the subject in his mind while revolving the great wheel O f the or chu rning machine , and th at some tu rn other brought him a h appy thought , fo r next time f he showed himself a strategist . Instead o

C giving hase to the woodchuck , when first dis covered , he crouched down to the ground , and ,

on . resting his head his p aws , watch ed him The woodchuck kep t working away from his nu hole , lured by the tender clover , but , not

O f on mindful his safety , lifted himself up his h aunch es every few moments and su rveyed the app roaches .

Presently , after the woodchuck had let him sel f down from one o f these attitudes of Ob s rv an f e ation d resumed h is feeding, Cu f start C UFF AN D TH E WOODC H UC K 1 7 1 w ed s iftly but stealthily up the hill , p recisely in the attitude O f a cat when she is stalking a Wh bi rd . en the woodchuck rose up again , Cu ff was p erfectly motionless and h alf h id by the grass . When he again resumed h is clove r , ff Cu sped up the hill as be fo re , this time c ross

ing a fence , but in a low place , and so nimbly

that he was not discovered . Again the wood chuck was on the lookout ; again Cu ff was mo

tionless and hugging the ground .

As the dog nea red his victim , he was p a r

tially hidden by a swell in the earth , but still th e woodchuck from his lookout repo rted “ All ” w ff w right, hen Cu , h aving not t ice as fa r to

run as the chuck , th rew all stealthiness aside

and rushed di rectly fo r th e hole . At th at mo ment th e woodchuck discovered his dange r

and , seeing th at it was a race fo r li fe , leaped

as I neve r saw ma rmot leap befo re . But he

was t wo too seconds l ate , his retreat was cut off w , and the powerful j a s Of the Old dog closed upon him . ‘ The next season C ufi tried the same tactics w t e again with like success , but hen h thi rd 1 72 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK woodchuck had taken up h is abode at the fatal ’ hole , the Old churner s wits and strength had

baflfled begun to fail him , and he was in each attempt to captu re the animal .

1 74 T H E TU RQUO I S E STORY B OO K a My lo rd , I h ve discovered you r broth ’ er s mu rdere r, and have had him brought here that he may appea r befo re you . “ ” Let him be brought to me , said the lo rd ,

and i f you see in me any signs of mercy , of remind me the c rime h e h as committed , ” th at I may punish him as he deserves . Grondas made a sign to the servants ; and they brought in a peasant with a white , on shocked face , who fell his knees befo re his

: master, exclaiming “ ! H ave mercy upon me , my lord I swea r to you I h ave committed no c rime !” When the lo rd demanded of C rondas the ’ r ndas p roofs of the man s guilt, C o showed him a purse , saying “ ou My lo rd , i f y a re inclined to believe what this man says , I only beg you to ask the scoundrel how he happened to h ave in his house this pu rse , which belonged to you r dead ” brother . “ ” I recognize it, said the lo rd , with deep

feeling . “ And this , my lo rd , do you also recognize ” ? C rondas it said , showing him a gold ring . T H E LADY - B U G 1 75

“ Yes , said the lo rd again ; it is the ring my brother always wo re on the ring finge r of his ” left hand . “ “ on C rondas My lo rd , went , I found

- these things myself , in a h iding place in this ’ on man s house . Now , does he da re say , h is

of knees , that h e is innocent the d readful c rime with wh ich he is ch a rged ?” Not being able to explain the p resence O f the th ings in his house , the poo r p easant was j udged to be guilty , and condemned to be ’ killed on the very spot where his victim s body h ad been found . While he lay in p rison , waiting fo r his execution , all the p easants round about visited the lo rd and begged him f not to punish th e man . They all said O him wh at we say when we wish to c redit anyone with unusu al kindness and gentleness “ We h ave known him long , my lo rd , and we know he would not even c rush an insect ” in his p ath .

C rondas But , who neve r left the lo rd , said to each one “ B ah ! that is no reason why h e should not kill a man ; and i f he is not punished , many 1 76 TH E TU RQUOI S E STORY BOOK others will be encou raged to be murderers . ” Let him suffe r fo r h is misdeeds . And to every effo rt the peasants made to ff C rond as re put o the day Of punishment, plied “ Ah , my lo rd , these people know how mer

c iful . an you a re They think that , the first guish Of you r grief once p ast, you will p a r ” don the mu rderer . At this the lo rd neve r failed to c ry “ NO ! , no , neve r H e shall be punished .

SO C rond as the lo rd , u rged by , o rdered the men to p rep are to execute the p easant , add a ing th t he wished to be p resent , that he might see perish the wretch who h ad killed his brother .

C rondas was very active in the p rep arations , bringing faggots to help build the fi re , and arranging with his own h ands a sort of th rone made of branches fo r his lo rd . Then he went to tell him all was ready, and the lord came,

followed by a c rowd of people , who wept and ’ l amented ove r the peasant s unjust death . Grondas then said to the servants : “ Tie him , and set fire to the p ile .

1 78 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

one where h is knee was at rest, he put it to not side gently, with his hand , so as to crush

it . Then , kneeling down , he began to p ray .

As the lo rd watched him , he noticed that the W little c reature , hose life he had just spared ,

suddenly opened its bright wings and , taking ’

on C rondas s . flight , lighted left hand C ron

das , fo r no reason except that he was perhaps annoyed at h aving to wait so long fo r the

execution , put a finger Of his right hand

on . the insect, and almost crushed it When

he lifted it, a p ai r Of broken red wings faintly quivered . fin At this moment the peasant , h aving

i hed s . his p rayer, rose from the stone The

lo rd , descending from his th rone , c ried sud denly “ Let that man go ! DO not kill him ; he is ’ i not my brother s mu rdere r . That is mpos sible !”

While speaking thus , the lo rd kept his eyes

on of C rondas fixed the face , which suddenly

. C rond s a grew white with fea r However, a p roac hed p his master, saying “ ? But the proofs , my lo rd The p roofs are T H E LADY - B U G 1 79

ou not ffi there . I f y do find them su cient to ou of convict this man , whom can y accuse the mu rde r ? ’ C rondas s Then the lo rd , taking hand , cried loudly ° “ ? ou Whom can I accuse Pe rhaps y , C ron das , fo r there is blood upon you r h and . At the very moment when you p retended to be f full o ho rro r fo r the c rime o f mu rde r, you killed for mere pleasu re this poo r little c rea tu re , which h ad lighted unsuspectingly upon you r h and , but which the p easant , unj ustly own condemned , had sp ared when h is death sta red him in the face . G Then , seizing rondas , and looking ste rnly

and fixedly at the cowering fellow , the lord thundered ' “ ” Now Sin ! , con fess you r

C rondas grew mo re ghastly than befo re and ,

out : trying to control h is voice , faltered “

. ! I confess H ave mercy, my lo rd I killed you r brothe r because he th reatened to tell you of my dishonesty towa rd you. I took his pu rse ’ and ring , and h id them in this man s house , to ou make y think it was he who had sinned . I 1 80 TH E TURQUOI SE STO RY BOOK

e D O am the guilty on . with me as you will . ” Punish me in his place . C rond as The lo rd did as had said , and the mu rderer suffered fo r h is sin instead Of the ’ C rond as s peasant, who was made steward in ’ NO one place . pleaded fo r the guilty man s

life , fo r he h ad been h ard and c ruel , and no

man was his friend . N ow all the people Of the country felt the good G od himself h ad sent the little red l ady bug that it might teach the lo rd to administe r justice . S ince then everyone who sees such

: an insect takes care not to hu rt it , and says “ That is the insect beloved Of God . Per

haps it is on its way now to help someone . I

for would not h arm it , my h and would be ” stained with blood . And the sto ry has been handed down from

p easant to peasant, and is known th roughout o of the wh le France .

And that is why the lady - bug is called in “ ” t au bon France La petite be e Dieu , which “ ” means the little insect beloved of God ; and that is why eve ryone h as reverence fo r it and l oves it, and would not take its life .

AN angula r sp ider weaves

G reat webs between the trees , ’ Webs th at a re witches sieves .

And honey and bumble - bees G O d roning among the leaves ’ Like the fai ries oboes .

MADISON CAWEIN . TH E STORY OF ARAC HN E

( GREEK MYTH )

ONCE upon a time there lived a beautiful

G recian maiden n amed Arachne , who could card and spin , weave and embroider with ma rvelous skill . She became so p roud Of he r a rt that she boasted no one in the whole land could equal he r . SO great was he r fame th at many traveled from afa r to see the beautiful ga rments which sh e made . Wheneve r she sat at her loom a group Of people stood nea r so that they might see he r wo rk in the making . Indeed , it is said , th at even the nymphs left thei r h aunts among streams and groves to behold the grace and ease with wh ich this m aiden wo rked . One day a group of people stood watching

Arachne at her loom . Thei r admiration 1 83 1 84 T H E TURQUOI S E STO RY BOO K

knew no bounds . They looked at each other in astonishment . “ See how deftly she rolls the wool into soft

fl e ec one. yballs , said “ And with what delicate grace She cards ” “ it, said another It is as light and fine as f o . the mists the mo rning She is wonderful , ’ indeedf “ Su rely the maiden h as mo re than human ” k “ skill , added the fi rst spea er . I believe

of weav M inerva , the goddess spinning and ing, taught her how to th row that swift ” shuttle . When Arachne heard these last wo rds she s topped he r wo rk , tossed her head , and said h “ aughtily, I did not learn my a rt from M ’ ine rva , but I m quite su re I can equal the ” goddess in Skill . ” Hush ! c ried one of the bystanders .

NO Those a re rash wo rds , indeed . mo rtal ” can comp are with the gods . ’ She But Arachne s p ride knew no bounds . “ ’ tossed her head again and said , I m willing ’ at any time to match my skill with M inerva s .

1 86 THE TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

Then a marvelous thing h appened . In a twinkling the bent figu re o f the old woman changed to the shining form of the goddess

M inerva . The nymphs who stood nea r bowed reverently and the people d rew back in breathless awe . “ A contest in weaving shall begin at once ,

decla red the goddess . Arachne ’s face flushed and then grew p ale but she was not daunted . In her foolish p ride f sh e felt su re o victo ry . M inerva now commanded that two looms be

e set up . In a few moments this was don ; then each took her place and made ready by tying

the web to the beam .

Now began the famous contest . With rare grace and ease th e goddess and the maiden

th rew thei r swift shuttles . Silently the skilled

weavers wo rked until each web was finished . Then Arachne glanced at he r rival ’s mar v l e ous web . The maiden neve r had d reamed

O f . a vision so beautiful H er heart sank , fo r,

in a moment, she knew how foolish she had ’ been to match her skill with M inerva s . Poo r Arachne could not be ar the great blow to her THE STORY OF ARAC HNE 1 87

p ride . In he r grie f she hung he r head . But quickly M ine rva sp rinkled the maiden ’s “ body with magic juices and said , Boastful

C . Arachne , thou a rt now hanged into a spide r Thou and thy descendants shall spin th rough ” the ages to come . And there hanging to a slende r th read was

the first spide r . H OW TH E S PI D ER MAKES ITS WEB

C . WILLIAM BEEBE

NATURE has p rovided sp iders with an o rgan l on filled always with iquid which , being ex posed to the ai r, h ardens , and can be d rawn out into the slende r th reads we know as cob

- webs . The silk wo rm encases its body with a or of mile mo re gleaming silk , but there its usefulness is ended as fa r as the silkwo rm is c oncerned . But spiders have found a hun for of d red uses thei r co rdage , some which a re startlingly Simila r to human inventions . Those spiders which bu rrow in the ea rth h ang thei r tunnels with silken tapestries im ' same time p ervious to wet, which , at the , act as lining to the tube . Then the entrance m ay

- o be a trap do r Of soil and silk , hinged with or strong silken th reads ; in the tu rret spid ers , our wh ich are found in fields , there is reared

’ om B eebe s The L o o the S un b e mission of H en Fr g f , y p r ry

H olt Comp any. 1 88

1 90 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

- S yellow garden p ider , hanging head down

in of a wards the center his web , when we p p roach too closely, instead Of deserting his snare , set it vibrating back and fo rth so rapidly that he becomes a mere blu r ; a mo re certain method of escap ing the onslaught of a bird f than i f he ran to the Shelte r o a leaf . Those Spiders which leap upon thei r p rey instead Of setting snares for it have still a use out fo r thei r th ready life , th rowing a cable as they leap , to b reak thei r fall if they miss thei r foothold Wh at a strange use Of the cobweb is that Of the little flying sp iders ! Up

of they run to the top a post , elevate thei r abdomens and run out several th reads which lengthen and lengthen until the breeze catches them and away go the W ingless aeronauts fo r ya rds or fo r miles as fo rtune and wind and weather may dictate l We wonder if they can cut loose or pull in thei r balloon cabl es at will . M any sp ecies of sp iders spin a case for

holding thei r eggs , and some ca rry this about with them until the young a re h atched . A most fascinating tale would unfold could ’ TH E S PI DER S WE B 1 9 1 we discove r all the uses Of cobweb when the spiders themselves a re th rough with it . Ce r tain it is that our ruby - th roated humming bi rd robs many webs to fasten togethe r the plant down , wood pulp , and lichens which compose he r dainty nest . S ea rch the pond and you will find another membe r of the spide r family swimming about at ease beneath the su rface , tho roughly aquatic in h abits , but breathing a bubble O f ai r which he ca rries about with him . When his supply is low h e swims to a subma rine

- castle O f silk , so ai r tight th at he can keep it filled with a large bubble o f ai r , upon which he d raws from time to time . And SO we might go on enume rating almost endless uses fo r the web which is Natu re ’s gifts to these little waifs , who ages ago left the sea and h ave won a pl ace fo r themselves in th e sunshine among the butterflies and flowers . TH E FAI RY S PINNER

( SOUTHERN TALE)

MANY years ago there lived at a swamp ’s edge a tiny fai ry who occupied her time in sp inning , and made the most beautiful and f delicate abrics imaginable . H e r wheel whi rled so fast th at it was noth ’ ing but a blu r such as a fly s wings make when

was he is tangled in a flower, and her spindle — — the sting Of a bumble - bee her uncle who

s had left it to he r, fo r any good use in amend fo r a life so grouchy that none of the other creatu res would have anything to do with him . one Still , inh abitant Of the swamp was wo rse than the bee , and the fai ry was mightily dis turbed when she discovered that he had taken up his abode in the very next bush . He was an eno rmous sp ider, big as a bird and hide 1 92

1 94 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

the th e ground . In anoth er second flower

C the r h losed over fai y, gat ering its p etals so l tightly that th e sp ider cou d not get in . H e wove h is web about it, believing that he would catch her when sh e ventu red out in th e mo rn

B a a ing . ut when mo rning c me she did not p

p ea r . The sp ide r kep t watch , but finally the p etals d ropp ed to the earth and when he saw n no fai ry he k ew it was all up , so h e bit his

own body and died . But the fai ry was not

dead . She remained snuggled in th e little ball that the pl ant put out behind the blossom and in a few days the ball op ened and all the beau tiful fabric sh e h ad been sp inning while in

hiding pou red out in a tassel O f snowy white . And men wove th e th reads to make garments y fo r themselves , and the bless the fai ry of the cotton plant and are gl ad when she escap es

th e weevil as well as the sp ider. M OTH ER S PI DER

FRANCES GILLESPY WICKES

IT was a beautiful day in midsummer . Th e meadow was alive with busy little people asti r in the bright sunlight . A long line Of ants came c rawling down the p ath ca rrying p ro visions to thei r home unde r the elm tree ; and an Old toad came hopping down th rough the grass , blinking in the warm sun . Just a l ittle higher up the bees were d roning d rows ily as they flew from flowe r to flowe r ; and above them all , seeming almost in th e blue sky , a robin was calling to h is m ate .

Pretty soon M rs . Spide r came down the p ath . She seemed to be in a great hu rry . She looked neither to the right no r to the left , but kep t straight ahead , holding tightly to a little white bag which sh e ca rried in he r mouth . She was just rushing p ast M r . Toad 1 95 1 96 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

when a big black beetle came humping by, stumbled against M rs . Sp ider, and knocked u f the bag o t O he r mouth .

In an instant M rs . Sp ider pounced down upon him , and , though he was so much bigger

She on . than , he tumbled ove r h is back While h e was trying to kick h imsel f right side up once mo re , M rs . Sp ider made a quick little

O ff dash , took up her bag, and scuttled th rough the grass . “ Well , I never, said G rasshoppe r G reen ,

- n f who was playing see saw o a blade o grass . “N ” O . , no r I , grumbled M r Beetle , as he wriggled back to his feet “ I didn ’t want her ’ bag . She needn t have made such a fuss . She must h ave had something very fine in ” “ that bag, said G rasshoppe r G reen , fo r

She was so frightened when she d ropped it . I wonde r wh at it was ” — and he balanced him sel f on his grass blade until a stray breeze blew off him , and then he straightway fo rgot about

M rs . Sp ide r altogethe r . Two weeks afte r this Grasshoppe r Green started out fo r a little exe rcise after break f fast . Just as he reached the edge O the brook

1 98 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

i f only the children a re well and safe . In a ou little while, y know, they will be able to r un about by themselves , and then we sh all be ’ s . O o happy here in the m eadow grass h , it s n r well wo rth the trouble , eighbor G ass ” hopp e n “ “ e Yes , said G rasshopp er G reen , I h av a do zen wee boys O f my own at home ; and that reminds me that it is time to go home to

- ! . breakfast Good bye , neighbo r I hope the child ren will soon be running about with you . Y ou ce rtainly a re taking good ca re of them . ” - Good bye .

Then home he went ; and the p roud , happy mothe r Sp ider kept on her way to hunt fo r a for breakfast the babies she loved so well . IN B ROOKS AN D PON D S THE BROOK

I chatter over stony ways

In little sharps and trebles ,

I bubble into eddying bays ,

I babble on the pebbles .

I slip , I slide , I gloom , I glance , Among the skimming swallows ; I make the netted sunbeams dance

Against my sandy shallows . F AL RED TENNYSON .

202 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK the chief d reamed that a beautiful maiden “ s tood by his side and said , Young brave , how beautiful your wo rld is when the Summer r Queen eigns . G reat stretches Of p rairie glisten with dandelions and red lilies ; butter flies flit about in the sunlight ; gentle breezes touch the fo rest leaves and they sing soft an swe t s to the rapture of the bi rds ; little chil d ren shout fo r joy in merry laughter . I long to live among you . Ask you r wise men how I may become a p art Of this beauty, and how I ’ ” may add to the child ren s happiness . n H e The the young chief awakened . s p rang to his feet, called h is braves together in - the council lodge and told them his d ream . “ ’ ” It s the message Of the radiant sta r, they “ the f a said . Let us smoke p ipe o p eace as ” Sign of ourwelcome . Acco rdingly a band Of young brave s led by the Chieftain climbed the wooded h ill and smoked a p ip e of peace filled with sweet scented herbs . Then they stretched forth thei r hands towards the sta r and bade wel f come to he r . At the close o thei r ceremonies the light grew more luminous than ever be TH E WATER - LI LY 20 3 fore and the braves knew thei r welcome was understood . They walked back to the village and the sta r followed them all the way , and shone ove r thei r wigwams until d aybreak . At night th e ch ief d reamed that the beau “ ’ tiful maiden stood again by his side . I m coming to dwell among you r people , she said . “ I ’m wonde ring what fo rm I shall take in ’ o rde r to add to th e child ren s j oy.

They love to hea r the bi rds sing, said the

C hief . “ But the maiden shook he r head . I sh all ” - not . live in the tree tops , she answered “ own Choose you r way to live , Sta r ” M aiden , said the chief . “ I sh all l ive among you as a flowe r , she ’ said . Su rely the child ren s hearts a re glad ” de e n d by the blossoms of the earth . “ ” They a re , indeed , decla red the chief .

- The mountain rose is wond rously beautiful . “ too Oh , but it is fa r away from the chil ” d ren , sighed the maiden . “ The p rai rie d andelion makes Ou r little ones ” clap thei r h ands in glee , suggested the chief .

The maiden thought awhile ; then she said , 204 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

’ The buffalo s hoof Often c rushes the p rai rie ” d andelion . The chief was so rely puzzled . Finally he “ You said , would be safe from h arm if you should choose the rocky cliffs foryou r bloom ” ing place . “ But the maiden said , The child ren seldom

C f climb the li fs . I must live where the chil d ren can see me .

Suddenly he r face brightened and she said , I know ! I know ! I ’ll live in the clear n streamlet and bloom o its surface . I Shall

feel so ft breezes blow and hea r the bi rds sing . In the branches which bend ove r me the wa r blers will build thei r nests . The children will

on play the banks , and they will touch me with thei r little hands as they glide safely along in ”

for . thei r canoes . Look me in the streamlet

Then the young brave awakened . H e sp rang up and w alked to a clear stream which

wa flowed nea r the Indian V illage . On the ters floated beautiful white blossoms with deli

cate waxen leaves . Hund reds Of lovely wate r lilies were waiting there to su rp rise the Indian

child ren and bring added joy into thei r lives .

2 06 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK B arefooted boys and girls peeped ove r the edge o f the water to watch the tadpoles dart w ing h ither and thither ; then , ith merry w t o n . shouts , re u rned to thei r play ’ ’ T addys and Pollie s round eyes watched h w t em cu riousl y. Sometimes hen the land babies waded in the shallow water these tiny water - babies played fearlessly a round thei r or feet , nibbling thei r toes playing leap frog ove r them . So they p assed merry da ys and when th e twi

T add light came , yand Pollie were ready to

nfortu . u listen to the band concert This , m was on n ately , given la d , so the little tadpoles w could not be p resent , but from the ater they could catch glimpses Of Father Frog booming y on w awa his big bass drum , and hea r the s eet ch irp ing Chorus of the tiny frog violinists in

e y the m arsh n ar b . “ ” “ o we Oh , P llie , c ried Tadpole , if could ! Wh ’ only go to the concert y, I d be willing to give up hide - and - seek fo r a week just to get a ” little nearer to the music . “ ” w “ I know , said Polly og gloomily . I want

he e f a t w O w . to go myself , v ry o rst kind y T H E TALE O F T W O TAI LS 29 7

’ wishin thou h for There s no use g , g , we have no clothes that would be suitable . Only green silk d ress suits with polka dots a re wo rn this ’ out yea r . Besides , we can t stand it Of the ’ r ’ . too o wate r It s wa rm something , I don t know just what , but I always feel hal f smothe red i f I try . “ “ ’ T add Besides , reflected y, we h aven t been invited . Only musicians a re asked , and ’ ” we can t sing , you know .

Splash ! Ke r - Chunk ! Fathe r Frog hopped

out into the wate r , then again on a broad stone , whe re he began thunde ring a bass solo

Come along , come along Come along !”

” O s ! h , how I wi h we could c ried the little

inv i tadpoles , feeling th at this was a p e rsonal ration . Th ey swam as close as possible to the stone , and gazed admi ringly at the great singe r . “ ? ” Could wh at grumbled Fathe r Frog . ” Wish we could go to the concert . ” - ! Ke r chug answe red Fathe r Frog . 208 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

It sounded very much like a hoarse chuckle . Why don ’t you go ?” “ ” No invitation . ” N0 d ress suit . ’ e f Can t br athe out o the water . The tadpoles ’ voices were ve ry mournful

as they gave thei r reasons . “ ” “ I invite you , said Father Frog, to the

- July concert th ree weeks from to day . You r

d ress suits will be ready, and as fa r as breath ’ ing is concerned it s all p ractice . Would you ” “ e ? beli ve it he said in a hoarse whisper , I ’ couldn t stay out Of the water very well my

at one self time , but I p ractised breathing

every day, until now it is the easiest thing in f the wo rld . But speaking o p ractice making perfect reminds me I must rehearse my song

fo r the concert .

Come along, come along, Come along !”

’ Let s go down in the sand , whispered “ Pollie . I can always think better down

there ; and , really, this is all so su rp rising I

2 1 0 TH E TURQUOI S E STO RY B OOK

“ ’ T add Frog advised , suggested y; let s go to the top of the water and see who can keep his ” head out the longe r . This new game interested the tadpoles very ’ much , and in a week s time they began really to enjoy the ai r . “ ou an I can stay t a long while now, “ nounc ed T add ytriumphantly, and since my

front legs appea red I can jump quite high . “ ” “ Ou r tails are quite gone , said Pollie , and ’ I don t know but th at it is an imp rovement . I think I like legs better than tails , and hopp ing is much more fun than swimming . Some day I mean to hop up on that wet stone where ’ Fathe r Frog sits so Often . Wouldn t he be sur p rised to see me there ? ” “ !” T “ What fun exclaimed addy. Try it n w ! o . There , you did it Oh , Pollie , how fine ’ you look ! D O you like it up there ? I m !” too e. coming, , Polli Hu rrah “ !” Ho , ho chuckled Father Frog from the “ land . Are you ready fo r the concert, little frogs ? T addyand Pollie looked at each other in

astonishment . TH E TALE O F TWO TAI L S 2 1 1

” Are we frogs ? they c ried . ” Why , yes . ” T add ou ! Oh , y, and y h ave you r green suit

SO ou . have y , Pollie ’ Why, I shouldn t be su rp rised at anyth ing ’ ” now , not even if we could sing . Let s try , and both little frogs lifted up thei r voices and

sang . “ - - - Che Che . Che weep , weep , weep

They looked so d roll , and sang with such a

O ff funny chi rp , that Father Frog fell the bank splash into the wate r with laughte r . ’ T addy and Pollie didn t mind this in the

- least , fo r they were su re th at Ch e weep was the most beautiful song in the wo rld .

And this is the way T addypole and Polly! wo g lost thei r tails , and gained thei r voices in

time fo r the July concert . O RI GIN O F B ULLFRO GS

ONCE upon a time in a mountain valley there was a group of Indian lodges where the peo ple dwelt very h appily . It was an excellent place fo r a village . In the thick fo rests which covered the mountain slopes there was abun

O f dance game , and th rough the valley flowed a sp a rkling clea r brook fed by a full to rrent and m any Slende r rills which leaped down

0 the wild mountain sides . S pu re and deli cions was the water from this stream that the Indians felt su re it was a gift to them from the G reat Sp irit . Each day it was the custom fo r the Indian maidens to take thei r kettles to the brook and

fill them with wate r . They were much su r p rised one summe r mo rning to note that the stream was not so deep as usual .

2 1 2

2 1 4 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

wise man rose in the council lodge and said , “ Let us send one of ourfl eet - footed braves on a jou rney to discover this village which we have heard about but whose people we know n ot. Perhaps they can tell him what h as f stopped the flow o waters . Let the runner follow the bed of the mountain stream which r leaped most willingly to ou p recious brook . Acco rdingly a swift runner was chosen to

search fo r the othe r Indian village . He was advised to follow a trail which led to the

sou rce Of the brook . It was a h azardous jou r ney up the slippery p ath of the mountain slop e which was covered with dense thickets of d tangle underbrush and fo rest trees . Fo r th ree days the young brave pu rsued his f task o climbing the mountain . At last he came to a small stretch of level plain and there f h e saw a group of wigwams . B ack o the village the runner could see a clea r stream of water whose cou rse fu rther down the moun tain had been stopped by a la rge dam which checked the water and tu rned it into a great

o t of pond . Seve ral Indians came u thei r wig ORI GIN O F B ULLFROG S 2 1 5

Not wams and gazed coldly at the strange r . a wo rd of welcome did they give . “ Why h ave you done this mischief ? asked “

to . the runne r , pointing the dam Know you not that this stopp ing of the mountain b rook h as cut O ff the supply of wate r to us who live in the valley below ? ” “ The dam was built by th e o rde r of our

e f on o . ch ief , replied the men “ Lead me to him that I may tell him the misery h e has caused my p eople . Su rely he ” will be merci ful , said the runne r . f But no one O fe red to lead the way . In a little while one o f them pointed to the pond “ and said , Th e chief lives there . Th e runne r went quickly to the edge Of the pond and there , lying in the mud , h e saw a monste r whose bloated body of giant size was h al f hidden . H is great yellow eyes bulged out like knots on a tree - trunk ; his mouth

a reached almost from ea r to ea r . At the p p roach of the Indian this c reatu re a roused out himself and stretched . his great bro ad skinny feet . 2 1 6 TH E TU RQUOI SE STORY BOOK

In a hoarse frog - like voice the monster chief “ ou ? ou croaked , What do y want What do y want ? ” “ I came to see why the brook which brought ou r village water h as d ried up . I t is because ” you h ave built a dam to stop its cou rse , said the runner . “ Wh at do I care ? lazily replied the ch ief . Wh at do I care ? ” “ We cannot live without the wate r from ” our . brook , pleaded the Indian “Wh at do I care ? ” again c roaked the mon ster “ I f you want water go somewhere else ! Go somewhere else !” “ My p eople a re dying from thirst ! No one may rightfully keep fo r his own use the water from a mountain stream . The G reat ” Sp i rit sent the brook to ourvillage ! said the runne r earnestly . Th e monster rolled his great yellow eyes fo r “ several minutes . Then h e said , Shoot a hole in th e wall of th e dam with one of you r a r

rows . You r p eople may h ave as much wate r ” as will flow th rough the a rrow hole .

Very swiftly the runner sp ed an arrow . It

2 1 8 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

C . the greatest risk , with the monster hief While several b raves were clamo ring for this great p rivilege of fighting fo r the good of the of village , there appeared in the doo rway the council lodge a warrio r who was ma rvelous to see enc I rc led . H is fl ashing eyes were with

green rings ; h is cheeks were as red as blood .

G reat clam shells hung from his ears , and tall

eagle plumes nodded on his head . I t was

Glossc a p, the sp i rit who brought great bless ings to the Indians and who sometimes took human sh ap e in o rder to help them . The silence Of the council was broken by “ this mighty warrio r who said , I will under take to do battle with the monster who has

stopp ed the flow Of water to you r brook . He

shall account to me fo r this wicked deed . Then swiftly he dep arted and followed the

mountain trail to the upper village . In a sho rt time he reached the place and

sat down near the group of wigwams to rest . f The people saw him , but they O fered him

neither food no r d rink . “ Fetch me water to quench my thi rst, said

Glossc ap to a small boy who came near . ORI GIN OF B ULLFROG S 2 1 9 Afte r a long while the lad retu rned with a

d rinking vessel h alf filled with muddy water .

Glooscap took the cup , emptied the contents “ on the grass and said I want Clean wate r from

th e mountain brook . “ I cannot give it to you , said the lad . Ou r ” chief d rinks all the clean wate r . “ Gloos Then lead me to you r chief , said “ ”

r . cap . H e shall give me pu e water

Quaking with fea r , the Indian boy led Glooscap to the pond whe re the monste r Chief

lay sunning himself . Wh at do you want ? c roaked the yellow

eyed c reatu re . “ ’ I ve come to you fo r a d rink of pu re ” wate r , said Glooscap . “ G O somewhere else ! G O somewhe re else !

said the monste r hoa rsely . The mighty Glooscap now rushed fo rwa rd ’ with his spea r , th rust it th rough the chief s

! of great body, and lo a stream wate r rushed fo rth with such fo rce th at it broke th e dam

and flowed down the mountain in a clea r,

sp arkling to rrent . The monster chief had 2 20 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK swa llowed all the pure water of th e mountain streams . ’ Then Glooscap rose to a giant s height, caught the monster in his powerful hand and squeezed him with all his might . When he loosened his grasp there in his hand was a great bull frog with crumpled back, yellow ,

S bulging eyes , wide mouth , and broad , kinny n feet . Glooscap flu g the c reatu re back into the pond and ever since th at day croaking bull frogs may be found in muddy streams .

TH E GRU B BI EST GRU B

V J . BE AN

’ THERE S no use trying, said the newest newt ; ” ’ t you ll never be anything bu grubby . The newest newt lived at the bottom o f the

garden pond . H e was a very elegant newt . The o range spots on his waistcoat were the

brightest to be seen in all the garden .

The grubbiest grub was not elegant . He was unquestionably the very grubbiest thing in

the garden pond . However , he had ambi

tions . “ ’ But there s no use trying , said the newest “ newt again . I myself saw you fall from a

S willow leaf not so long ince , and had ideas

about you . I thought, perhaps , you might be some new kind of egg and h atch into a royal ’ turtle . But I watched you , and you didn t 222 T H E G RU B B I EST G RU B 2 2 3 — hatch you grew just like a tadpole . Only ’ you didn t grow even into a frog .

The grubbiest grub said nothing . H is heart “ grew a little bitte r as he thought , Not even ” into a frog . “ But chee r up , said the newest newt, “ the re ’s mud enough at the bottom o f the ga r ’ den spot fo r all o f us . And it s not a bad place

a ristoc ratic tu rtles in the neighbou rhood , ” and I live here . H e was O ff with an extra swi rl o f his extra ’ shiny tail . H e was due at the tu rtles ball at

sunset . He was always being invited some of on where because the o range h is waistcoat . The grubbiest grub was neve r invited any ’ where , and h e didn t look like anything th at ’ anybody h ad eve r seen , and didn t seem related

to anybody . And his heart rebelled . “ Up above th e pond the re is light , he said .

I know that , and the re is some strange — — thing tall , and colou red like like H e ’ couldn t think wh at . H e h ad only pond grass

and pond c reatu res to comp are it to . “ Like A little fish swam Slowly p ast

h im , and , as it tu rned th e long light , sifting 2 24 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

th rough the wate r from the sunset, caught col ” n ! ours o its body . Like that said the grub biest grub .

The fish was swaying slowly . Then it saw “ ” the grubbiest grub . Good evening , said the “ ’ ” sp arkling fish ; and isn t there a p arty ? “ T o be su re answered the grubbiest grub , ” but you see I m not invited . “ The sp arkling fish looked again . Why, “ ou O f she said , I thought y belonged to that set of newts and tu rtles , and the better class pond ’ ou ? frogs . Anyway, why a ren t y invited “ ’ ” too I m fa r grubby, said the grubbiest “ ’ grub ; didn t you know ? The little silve r fish swam slowly a round the grub . “ ou I think y belong above , she said at last ; don ’t you ever want to go up there ? ” “ I have d reamed of a thing gleaming like like “

o . Rainb ws , said the shining fish

Rainbows , repeated the grubbiest grub ,

and I h ave wanted so to find one. But I neve r

could tell anyone . The newt would have died ” laughing .

226 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

” “ ’ hea rt, he said ; I m only looking fo r a thing I— ” d reamed . ’

w . Strange , the ave didn t laugh H e only “ looked mo re closely at the grubby grub . Oh ’

tha t . . you re kind , he said Su re enough

Well , go along . Take the first turning by the ” moss roots , and good luck to you . w Th e grubbiest grub ent on . H e found moving upward easie r as he grew mo re used to it . At the place where the moss roots clung off most closely to the lily stem , h e turned , then along the moss roots to the edge of the on pond , and up to a broad shaft of green pointing still h igher .

Th e grubbiest grub p aused . H e was very , very ti red , and everything was new and strange to him . He had neve r breathed the ai r befo re , nor seen the stars .

About him were many voices , and there were points Of light and trails , and flashes of gold , such as the silver fish h ad scattered in th e water . There was darkness , too , reaching beneath to clutch him . The grubbiest grub clung tightly to the shaft “ ? of green . What am I doing here What T H E G RU B BI EST GRU B 2 27 ? ” am I doing here he asked h imsel f , and his back ached and his sides ached , and his heart was numb with aching . “ ou Why, y a re waiting fo r the mo rning , “ ’ said a l ittle voice beside him . Don t be ’ You frightened . I ve seen you r kind befo re . l came up from the mud , and i f you wait til ’ daylight you ll h ave wings and fly away . The child ren in the big house will Clap thei r h ands “ - fl ! and say , Look , look , another d ragon y ” You r wings a re like rainbows . “ ’ You can t be laughing at me , said the “ grubbiest grub ; you r voice is kind . “ ” Why Should I l augh ? said the little voice .

one of - I am the grass blade sp i rits , and I love ” all things with wings .

But I h ave no wings , said the grubby “ grub , and it seems darker . “ ” “ ’ N - O . , no , said the grass blade sp i rit I t s ” oh ! only the moon gone fo r a moment . But, sh e c ried , as the moon flickered th rough on th e “ S broad green h aft again , you r shell has broken ’ openf of And su re enough , there sat a p ale wisp a “ - fl d ragon yin the moonl ight . But I h ave no 2 2 8 TH E TURQUOI SE STO RY BOOK

” “ wings , he c ried in disappointment . I can not fly. “ ” - Only wait, said the grass bl ade sp irit , and he waited in eage r, trembling excitement . H e waited while the stars tu rned round the heavens and the moon sank .

Then his heart lifted up , and he felt his wings , and he flew .

H e flew, trembling, quivering , white but

on on e touched with i ridescent colou r , , abov

on . the pointed sh aft, still in the dawn “ - The grass blade spi rit watched . Yes !yes “ — he c ried from below ; splendid O beautiful spi rit —but highe r !”

H igher h e went, and then he sank ex

hausted .

“ You have found you r dream , c ried the

- - fl grass blade spi rit , as the d ragon y felt the warmth about him .

H e opened his eyes . He saw blue and gold and yellow of sunlight flashing in the dawn . About him was fragrance and rest and peace . “ e I lov you , said the iris flower, where he

2 30 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK

- find her . And as the little grass blade fairy knelt there at her feet, she p roclaimed him “ f - of Knight o the G rass Blades , Keeper the of Dewdrops , and Lord H igh Admiral the ” Garden Pond . of The folk at the bottom the garden pond , on of however, went just the same in spite the

— - New D ewd rop H igh Lord , Grass Blade ’ Admi ral . In fact , they didn t even know th at

there was a new admi ral , and they never d reamed of the great co ronation ceremony that was to make the poo r little despised f grubby thing the king o the winged c reatu res . They just thought about themselves as Usual

and the success of the last ball , and the aristo

e mud c ratic turtles , and the xtra shiny floo r where the newest newt with the o range spots on his waistcoat had danced so beautifully ’ - with Si r Fat Frog s fattest daughter . TH E D RAGON - FLY

To - day I saw the d ragon - fly Come from the wells where h e did lie ; An inner impulse rent the veil Of h is old husk !f rom head to tail

C ame out clea r plates of sapphi re mail .

H e d ried his wings : like gauze they grew ; Th rough c rofts and p astu res wet with dew

A living flash of light he flew . F AL RED TENNYSON .

Out of a tuft a little lark

Went higher up than I could mark, His little th roat was all one thirst

To sing until his heart should bu rst, To sing aloft in golden light ut f H is song from blue ai r o o sight . F JOHN MASE IELD .

I love to rise on a summer mo rn

n e When bi rdies Sing o ev ry tree .

The distant huntsman winds his ho rn ,

And the skylarks sing with me ,

0 what sweet company .

WILLIAM BLAKE . HOW WOOD PECKER C HAN GED H I S COLOURS

( MICMAC LEG END)

LONG , long ago Woodpecke r wo re a plain suit of da rk grey feathe rs with a few white p atches on it . H e o ften looked admiringly at the

of bright colou rs which many the bi rds wo re , and sometimes his gay comp anions taunted h im about h is plain clothes . Then G rey Woodpecker would leave the woods fo r awhile and flit about an Indian village . H ere he made friends with an Indian gi rl whose name was Pretty - D ancing - M aiden who f was the p ride O her p eople . Th ere was no spo rt she loved so much as dancing , and the graceful movements o f he r slender figu re and dainty feet made all the p eople call he r the best dance r in the village . Wheneve r this maiden d ressed fo r a dance G rey Woodp ecke r helped he r p aint he r face 235 2 36 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

with many colou rs . When she was ready he ho off would p a l ittle distance and , with his “ n one S - head o ide , say, Pretty D ancing M aiden is mo re beautiful than any bird of the ” forest . One day after she had finished p ainting he looked admi ringly at he r but said nothing .

The maiden laughed merrily and asked , “ What colou r needs deepening , G rey Wood p ecker ?” “ ” ! R ed! R ed! Red was h is answer , fo r the bi rd loved the brilliant colou r best which the maiden used on her cheeks and smiling lips .

Then Pretty - Dancing - M aiden always took

O f up the bits wood which she used fo r brushes , dipped them into red p aint , and again touched daintily her cheeks and lips . And with a m erry good - bye to Grey Woodpecker she ran lightly out of the W igwam to the dance . It h app ened one evening after the maiden had gayly d ressed fo r the dance and waved

- good bye to her little feathe red friend , the bi rd looked intently at the bits Of wood which the maiden h ad used to put on the beautiful red p aint . In a little while his eyes twinkled mer

A RETORT FROM TH E CATB I RD

I heard the Catbi rd in the bush With breathless ecstacy ; NO bobolink or fluttering th rush

M ade carol sweet as he . I t bubbled like a mountain rill

D renching the weary day,

With eddying turn and rippling trill ,

A magic roundelay .

I heard the Catbi rd once again .

A h arsh , disco rdant note , Which p ierced the shuddering ea r with

p ain ,

Came from the selfsame th roat . O bird p erverse ! Th at heavenly voice Tuned to so sharp a key ! Why cease to m ake the ai r rejoice Debasing minstrelsy ? Why not be eve r at you r best ? Again the peevish mew

Answering , accusing me with zest “ ” “ ? - o- u? Are you he c ried , are y

ABBIE FARWELL BROWN . 238 WOOD PECKER LI FE

MARGARET COULSON WALKER

ON the thi rteenth of J uly a red - mutched woodpecke r knocked on the stricken bough of a lofty elm to c rave of the D ryad within hos li ita t . p yfo r a season Yes , her wish would be

on She granted , but only condition th at would

out for dig a shelter herself there in the h ard , d ry wood . Wh at had gone wrong in the woodpecke r family that she was in need o f shelte r this late in the yea r ? Earlier in the summe r she and he r mate had bu rrowed out a comfo rtable home in a great oak tree not two hund red ya rds on f away . Then they we re the best o terms and h ad relieved each othe r at th e task of dig r ging out thei r dwelling place . Twenty o twenty - five minutes at a time was thought long enough fo r eithe r of them to devote to so la 239 249 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK bourious a task in the sp ringtime ; then the

the other sp ent an equal time at wo rk , while the one off duty hurried away to p artake of re freshments or to seek rest in change of ocen

ation p . Then there seemed to be some joy in thei r for lives , when they h ad occasionally found time fo r rec reation , they h ad chased each other a round the tree trunks and given utterance to thei r enjoyment of the game in many a peal

of Of cackling laughter . Nea r the base a tree the game began , and , sp i rally round and round

one its trunk , they pu rsued each other, the in the lead every now and then casting a chal lenging look behind , then hu rrying upward faste r than befo re Thei r playtrmes were for brief , however , the unfinished burrow was calling . When th is was completed and later a hal f dozen o r mo re eggs were laid , though madam sp ent most of her time in dispensing warmth to them , he r mate also did his sh are . Togethe r they had devoted thei r energies to p roviding fo r the little ones that p ecked thei r way out f o . the round , white eggs M any long jou rneys

24 2 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK ing of one of them ; the gladness which ar tended the home - coming of a fo raging mother squi rrel marked the taking O ff of another ; so two they h ad gone , till only these remained , wheezy and exacting . Of late the care of them had fallen mainly on the fathe r, who p icked up a living fo r them as best he could . At times he seemed to try to

— a f get away from them futile e fort, fo r when they did not follow his undulating flight in

u - - thei r awkward p and down fashion , they went in search of him if he was gone a few minutes overtime . Here on the thi rteenth of July was the mother seeking shelter away from her fo rmer home . H ad there been a family disagree ment ? Was the home - nest no longe r large enough fo r the p arent birds and thei r now al most grown - up family ? Was she planning fo r a new brood ? Su rely not ! It would be im possible to rear in a single season two broods requi ring so much care .

Wh atever her pu rpose , here she was , d raw ing her plans on the under side Of the d ry old out en bough . Soon she began to peck an WOOD PECKER LI FE 243

trance , and it was not long befo re th e ch ips

we re flying in eve ry di rection . Mo re than an

of hou r she wo rked , then flew to the dead top for a tree ac ross the way, where she sat a brief

time resting and sunning herself . Twice she

left he r p erch to da rt out afte r p assing insects ,

then retu rned to her labou r . Occasionally she swung a round to the top side of the dead off of branch , and to re bits bark either fo r th e pu rpose of seeing if the hole was going clea r th rough or for secu ring the insect fa re lurk ing unde r it . This p a rt O f the wo rk continued

at intervals , till the bark was removed from all

of . the excavated po rtion the bough All d ay , ’ until about five o clock , she spent at he r task with but little rest , then the re was a long visit to the rest pe rch in the neighbou ring treetop . The early mo rning hou rs were p robably de voted to commissa ry tou rs ; for it was almost ’ eight O clock when she appea red on the scene of her labou rs and again began to wield th e ’ p ick . About ten o clock he r spouse app eared and a rranged himself comfo rtably on the same limb about a foot away from the hole She was digging , but not by so much as a single stroke 2 44 T H E T U RQUOI S E STORY BOOK

did her. he assist Soon a wheezy, whistling c rycalled him to duties as insistent as home building , and he dep arted . Afte r watching the p rogress of woodpecker f a fai rs fo r some time , a dweller in the house u nde r the tree decided to lend a hand . A

- - on wo rm eaten hitching post stood near, which was placed pieces of bread fo r the hungry lit

le f t wielder o the p ick . This not only satisfied

her wants , but served also to bring her mate f and O fsp ring near occasionally . At first the young members of the family refused to pick

up this food set befo re them , but, instead , clung to a neighbou ring tree and called voc if

ero l us yfo r help . Then the fathe r took the bits of bread and pushed them fa r down into the

sc reaming th roats . The young Romulus must have possessed wonderful powers of endu r ance if the woodpeckers of Old ministered to him as vigo rously in response to his infantile

wails as the woodpeckers of to - day respond to

the screaming demands of thei r own offsp ring . H owgentle the wolf must have seemed in com p arison ! S everal times the young woodpeckers fol

246 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK and though squi rrels were sp ringing about among the branches , she was not distu rbed , n but went steadily o with her task . While she on was away sho rt vacations , the wren , dwell in ing in the po rch roof beneath , frequently — vestigated the hole she was digging sp a rrows examined it, and squi rrels looked into it , but it was very noticeable th at they all h ad an eye

on . one of he r return Once , in her absence , he r own young woodpeckers scrambled to the edge o f the hole , and peep ed in fo r a moment, then scuttled back again to the place where the dead branch joined the trunk of the tree , and , in his usual noisy manne r, demanded food . ’ I t was near the end of the thi rd day s labou r “ ” th at the woodpecke r was first seen trying on he r new home . Then she went into it , and , nestling there , with head up fo r the first time

ut . looked o Of the window Evidently, the pocket was neithe r deep enough no r wide on enough , fo r after this she wo rked both bot

of C . tom and sides it, scattering hips as befo re The wo rk periods were sho rter now and the

rests mo re frequent , showing th at her strength

a O of w s failing . n the afternoon the fifth day, WOOD PECKER LI FE 247

when the bu rrow was finished , completely ex hausted , she made he r way to the roof o f the house , where , with wings sp read , she lay fo r too mo re than an hou r . S eemingly ti red to reach he r usu al resting place in the treetop ac ross the way , she lay there gathering strength for the longe r flight . Though the sexes a re alike in the redhead

not fi family, it was dif cult to distinguish them in this case , fo r the feathers about the head and neck of the mothe r were much mo re wo rn f than those o he r less industrious mate . Yet it may be an injustice to him to accuse h im O f indolence , fo r was h e not pu rveying to thei r — younglingS P a task which may h ave taxed h is ene rgies to the limit . Perh aps , after all , it was f f only a case o division o labou r .

Afte r the completion of the bu rrow , though the woodpecke r was anxiously watched fo r ,

She fo r several days , was not seen nea r it again , though the usual bits of bread placed on the h itching - post brought he r to its neighbou r hood . The exp eriment was tried o f putting some of the c rusts on the top of the post and stuffi ng 248 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

- others tightly into the large worm holes . The

latte r were invariably taken first . Though the

young birds came there regularly to be fed , mo re than a week p assed befo rethey made the

slightest effo rt to help themselves . They

Si would cling to the des of the post , and , with

- asthmat upwa rd pointing , op en bills , whistle

ic all y fo r the food , which the p arents were r compelled to place in thei r th oats . Whethe r it was wilfulness orinability that caused them

to act as they did , it was impossible to deter

mine . of The whistling the young bi rds , which was or once believed to p redict rain , to be a demand for t it from a thi rsty h roat, always p recedes r f o o . accomp anies the taking food It is ,

doubtless , a little mo re frequent befo re show for ers , at such times the olde r bi rds a re able to collect mo re beetles and other insects that come out then from thei r shelters into the

open . The old belief that woodpeckers are ever athi rst because of thei r inability to d rink any save the rain th at falls into thei r open th roats orthe drops that fall from the leaves , may have

259 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK enla rged the opening before dep arting fo r the or South , whether this had been done by mis c hievous on squi rrels mu rde r bent, is not known ; but certain it is that the red - mutched of labou rer was gone . Others her kind lin

ered or g in the grove fo r a week more , and though food was placed on the accustomed

of e post, neithe r she no r any her immediat family appeared to claim it .

When he is gone , the most accomplished songsters a re not missed more than the red of headed woodp ecke r , whose broad p atches clea r colou r enliven the wood . Though he may no longe r assist in the growth of the fo rests by bringing refreshing showers , as he is said to h ave done in the long time ago , he certainly is doing much in his own way to p reserve them . Well might the ancients have made a

f one god o him . H e still possesses of the gifts — which won that honou r fo r him the power of p roducing thunder— and in a way that mo rtals

can understand . Hear it rumbling among the on dead treetops , as the bi rd d rums rapidly the

V d ry wood and sets it to ibrating , then quickly lays his hollow bill against it to add resonance WOOD PECKER LI FE 2 5 1

to the peal . Vulcan h imsel f could not h ave

felt greate r satisfaction than he , as he stops to listen , in conscious p ride ove r his accomplish ment . Whether he is a god made manifest in feath r old ers , o me rely an woman unde r a cu rse , ex piating the c rime of selfishness in picking up a living whe re there seems to be no life , and in sha ring this scant fa re with the hungry, as we see this bi rd with breast flattened and shoul

our ders bent by h a rd wo rk , while symp athies

are awakened , we bless the day that gave to the wo rld this ti reless little labou re r Of the woods . KINGFISH ER’S NECKLACE AND RU FFLE

F KING ISHER is very p roud , indeed , of his white

ruflfled - colla r and head dress , but there was a time in the long , long ago when he h ad neither f o these o rnaments . He wo re a plain suit o f gray - blue feathers and his head was as smooth ’ as a robin s .

In th at fa r - off time Kingfisher lived near a large lake , which was bo rdered by long stretches of pine trees . He chose this place fo r a home because h e could catch plenty o f f fish in the clea r waters o the lake . Also , he h ad made a friend o f Wolf , who lived with the

- great sp i rit, M anabozho , in a bear skin wig wam , which stood on the sho re . Wolf was a mighty hunter and p rovided

M anabozho with plenty of food . It h appened one season that game was scarce in the fo rest 252

2 54 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK

M anabozho h ad no game fo r supper . All night he listened fo r the footsteps of his faith

ful hunte r, but Wolf did not return to the

lodge . In the mo rning the great spi rit began

,to search fo r his comp anion . H e traveled all of a round the long ma rgin the lake , but not a of single trace Wolf could he find . Near Big

on . Rock, a tall p ine tree , sat Kingfisher M anabozho had never befo re spoken to the

plain little bi rd , who was very much su rp rised “ when the great sp irit said , Kingfisher, can you tell me what h as happened to M anaboz ho ’s brothe r Wolf ? I ’ll give you a beautiful necklace of wampum if you can help me find ” him . Kingfisher flew down from the p ine tree to “ a branch nea r the great sp irit and said , Yes terdayI saw you r brothe r Wol f fishing from

- Big Rock . A sea serpent pulled him unde r

the wate r . I f you would rescue him you must n f watch o this side o the lake . When the sun

is highest the sea - serp ents come to the rocks to ” sun themselves . M anabozho was so pleased with the infor mation that he put a necklace of beautiful ’ KING FI S HER S NECKLAC E 2 55

’ Kin er white wampum a round gfish s neck . “ You must not tell the se rpents that I am ” watching fo r Wolf , said M anabozho . But Kingfishe r was looking in the mi rro r

of the lake , admi ring his new necklace , so he ’ did not hea r the great sp i rit s wo rds . M ana boz ho became susp icious and seized the little

bi rd by the head . Kingfishe r wriggled and

twisted , and finally freed himsel f from the

h and of th e angry M anabo zho and flew away . ’ But the feathers on Kingfishers head we re fl ve ry much ruf ed in the struggle , and he h as

wo rn them so ever since ; also , to this day , he ’ wea rs M anabozho s gift of the beautiful white n ecklace . OWL WISDO M

FRANCES WRIGHT

ONCE upon a time the owls were the largest and the most dull and stupid of all the bi rds of the ai r . While the eagle soa red above the mountain ’s c rest to hail the sun befo re his ris ing, and the l ark ca rolled his matin in the blue of fields ethe r, the owls were sno ring ; when the th rush and the blackbi rd , retreating from

of e the heat noon , filled the de p groves with out thei r melody, the owls sno red the sylvan concert ; and when the soft cushat pou red his evening tale of love into the ea r of his listen ing mate , the owls were still sno ring in their unbroken and d reamless sleep . to I t chanced , most natu rally, that when

- wa rds midnight, the heavy, big headed c rea

- tu res h alf opened thei r stupid eyes , and half stretch ed first one drowsy p inion and then the 256

2 58 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

on a fat lamb , and the other a hen and chick ” ens . “ ” ’ - Chut , said the first Old grey beard , we ll on feast ere long sheep , lamb , hen , chickens , ’ and all ; ay l mayhap on the eagle s own little ” ones , to say nothing of his cousins . “ ” booted out How so , the whole junto you would not fight the king o f bi rds ? ” “ Let me alone fo r th at ; there are better weapons than beak o r talons ; and so he and his subj ects sh all find . But you must all aid in the ” enterp rise . “ I f there be no fighting , and not too much l abou r , and not too much “ Peace ! there shall be nothing but sleep ing !” Sleeping ?

Ay l and some talking . But leave that to me .

Here all the heavy heads poked fo rward , closing in a ci rcle round thei r Nesto r ; while all thei r great round eyes opened in full stare upon his . “ - un To mo rrow you must all sleep as usual , til I give a long hoot ; then you must all open OWL WI S DOM 259

you r eyes and observe wh at shall chance .

Ti red with so unusual a debate , all went to sleep acco rdingly, and sno red loude r than usual ; until , just as the sun h ad awakened to full life and sti r all the feathered tribe , the old owl hooted and sc reeched fo rth such a yell , on as first terrified and then attracted wings , spu rred by cu riosity, though still trembling

of with fea r , every bi rd the ai r from the giant eagle to the diminutive wren . ” A vision ! a vision ! c ried the owl ; and again he sc reeched and again he hooted , rust u ling p all his feathers , flapping h is wings , blinking his eyes , and tumbling head over tail like a bi rd d istracted . Every c reatu re p resent stared and won dered . “ ! !” A vision , a vision A mi racle , a miracle l again shouted the ow . “ I h ave seen a bi rd la rge r than the ostrich and stronger than the eagle . Lightnings flame from his eyes , and thunde r roars from his beak He has spoken ; and lo ! his command was The owls a re myserv a nts a nd to them I ma k e know l L et a ll the birds o the a ir n mywi l. f . 2 60 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

rk their oi e L e hea en to v c . et th m d o their bid din res ec t their re ose a nd eed them with g , p p , f the a t o the la nd or behold I will eed on f f ; , , f up

them .

b oot C Thereupon , the owls set up a in ho rus , and all the bi rds scattered to the fou r winds to un collect food fo r the servants to eat , lest the seen master should eat them . From this time fo rth these stup id owls were deemed the wisest o f the birds of the ai r ; they supped every night upon fat yearlings ; and when they hooted all the feathered tribe f clapp ed thei r wings and sang a song o p raise .

262 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK of the builders , whose only tools are their feet and beaks .

Take , fo r instance , the lovely hammock like basket, hung by its rim beneath the fo rk of some low branch , which is made by the lit

- tle grey, red eyed vi reo , which carols to us all the early summer days from every garden and o rcha rd . Such a nest was hung in a maple close to my po rch . The bird h ad built it within arm ’s length of where we were con stantl yp assing, yet we never saw it until it was quite finished ; and the only way we could get a look at it then was by pulling aside a branch .

e This car was not taken from fea r of us , but in th e hop e th at the c radle would escape the

weasles sha rp eyes of red squi rrels , , bluej ays , and other c reatu res who hunt fo r and rob ’ bi rds nests of eggs and young to get food fo r themselves . I am h appy to say, however , that ’ the vi reo s nest was not distu rbed . H ow to hide thei r nests safely is the great question in the minds of all the little birds .

The big , strong ones do not need to wo rry about that so much , because they can d rive away most robbers ; therefo re , we find that the ’ B I RD S NESTS 2 93

n h awks and c rows , j ays , ki gbi rds , and others

of able to take care themselves , usually set

of thei r baskets in the c rotch some tree , where of they can be seen easily enough , but all nests this kind a re strongly made , and fastened so th at the winds shall not rock them out of thei r places orsp ill the contents . But the little bi rds try to hide thei r homes in va rious cleve r ways . A good many seek holes and c rannies . The woodp eckers a re able to dig these fo r themselves , fo r thei r beaks are O C . like hisels thers , like the wrens , bluebi rds ,

c hic adees nuthatches , , and so fo rth , find knot off holes , places where a b ranch h as broken ,

to and va rious sm all hollows , in which make thei r beds , where the young will be snug in bad weather , and p retty s afe from all enemies exc ept snak es

- swal Others , like the kingfish e r, the sand

- or low , and certain sea bi rds , make find holes

- f in earth banks and rocky cli fs , so th at thei r

ourswal babies a re bo rn in a tiny cave . All of lows , befo re th e country was settled by white in or o people , lived this manner in holl w trees ; but as soon as civilization came those we soon 294 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK named barn - swallows left the wilds and put thei r nests under the roofs of ba rns and other

one outbuildings . Then some , remembering of old the ways England , began to put bird houses in the gardens ; and now , in all p arts of

ou the United States , y may find those cousins of the swallows , the pu rple martins , living by the dozen in these lofty little hotels on the top of a pole .

The nests of the cliff- swallows are little jugs of of mud , p lastered by thei r bases to the face the rock . The bi rds m ake them by bringing p ellets of mud in thei r bills from some stream

S one ide , and putting them upon anothe r, until

- each p ai r has fo rmed a windowless , bottle like of the house , with a front door like the neck jug , so small that no big bi rd can enter it .

These a re very safe and snug nests , and the bi rds can sit in thei r doo rways and gossip with each othe r very sociably, fo r the nests are c rowded together like the houses in a city block . This is the same kind of swallow that now puts its nest in rows along the outside of ourbarns unde r the eaves ; but o ften they a re of mere cups instead jugs , because the barn

266 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK ducks pluck a large quantity of downy feath ers from thei r breasts with which to cover the

of the eggs . The eide r the a rctic regions is

l - fo remost in this p ractice , and the e der down sold in shops is gathered from thei r nests ; but f O of it is a habit o many othe r ducks . ne the most interesting of these ground - nest bi rds is the least bittern , a solitary bi rd frequenting swamps and marshy places .

Not - r only the wate r bi rds , howeve , but some of the smallest and p rettiest of our songsters Choose to dwell and lay thei r eggs close to the ground , although they seem to be exposed the re to many mo re dangers than a re those in

anx the treetops orelsewhere . None try mo re iously to hide thei r homes than do these

- ground neste rs , arching the grasses above or of them , building little sheds leaves to p ro

e d t c t and hide the shining eggs . (Adapte ) HATTO TH E H ERM IT ' TH E LEGEND OF A B I RD ’S NEST

S ELMA LAG ERLO F

HATTO , the he rmit , stood in the desert and G od on p rayed to . The sto rm was , and his long hai r and bea rd blew about h im as wind

old whipped grass blows about an ruin . But he did not brush back the hai r from his eyes , no r did h e fasten his long bea rd to h is gi rdle , fo r his a rms we re raised in p raye r . S ince sun he out rise h ad held h is gaunt , h ai ry a rms stretched toward heaven , as unti ring as a tree out stretching its boughs , and thus he would remain until evening . It was a great thing fo r which he was p raying . H e was a man who h ad suffered much from f the wickedness and dishonesty o the wo rld . He himsel f had persecuted and to rtu red oth e rs , and p ersecution and to rtu re had been his po rtion , mo re than he could endu re . The re 267 268 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

fo re , h e had gone fo rth into the wilderness ,

c ave on h ad dug himsel f a the river bank , and h ad become a holy man whose p rayers of found hea ring at the th rone God .

on the H atto , the hermit , stood river bank befo re his cave and p rayed the great p rayer of G od his life . H e p rayed to send down the D ay

W e of Judgment upon this icked wo rld . H of w c ried to the angels the trump ets , ho a re to

herald the end of the reign of sin .

Round about him was the wilderness , bar

ren and desolate . But a little up the bank S old tood an willow with sho rtened trunk, which swelled out at the top of a round hump

like a queer head , and from it new, freshly

green twigs were sp routing . Every autumn the peasants from the unwooded fl atlands

robbed the willow of he r fresh new shoots .

But every yea r the tree put fo rth new ones , and on sto rmy days the slender, flexible twigs old whipped about the willow, as hai r and

W e beard hipp ed about H atto , the h rmit . It was just on this day that a p ai r of water

on th rushes , who usually built thei r nest the of old trunk the willow between the new twigs ,

270 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK be another old willow cut off by axe and s aw in its heavenward striving They flew about him many times , flew away and retu rned again , f on took note o the guide posts the way to him , calcul ated his position in rega rd to p rotection of from sto rm and birds p rey, found it rather on unfavourable , but decided to locate there account of the Close vicinity of the stream and f o . the reeds , thei r chief source supply One of the birds shot down suddenly and laid a bit ’ o f grass in the hermit s outstretched hand .

Th e sto rm h ad abated a little , so that the

straw was not blown from his hand at once ,

but the hermit did not p ause in his p raye r , to Come soon , O Lo rd , come destroy this of not in wo rld sin , that mankind may mo re f ” c rease its load o guilt . out of The sto rm roa red again , and the bit ’ grass fluttered out of the hermit s great bony

endeav hand . But the bi rds came again and ou t ed to erect the co rnerstone of thei r new

home between his fingers . Suddenly a di rty, clumsy thumb laid itself over the grass spears fin and held them in firm position , while fou r

gers reached ove r the p alm , making a peaceful HATTO T H E H ERM IT 2 7 1

niche whe re a nest would be safe . The he r mit continued his unti ring supplications , and befo re h is eyes danced feve r visions of the day f o . judgment The earth trembled , the skies

C of shot fi re . H e saw the black louds hu rry ing bi rds beneath the glowing firmament ; of herds fleeing animals sp read ove r the earth . But while his soul was filled with these visions of f feve r , his eyes began to watch the flight o the tiny bi rds th at came and went with light

ning dashes , laying new straws in the nest with of little chi rps pleasu re . old Th e man did not move . H e h ad made a vow to stand the enti re day with outstretched

arms , in o rde r to fo rce God to hea r him . The little th rushes built and built busily all

the day, and thei r wo rk p rogressed finely . There was no lack of material in this wilde r ness o f rolling ground with sti ff grass and brush , and on the rive r bank , with its reeds and

rushes . They could not take time fo r dinne r

o r suppe r . They flew back and fo rth , glowing

with interest and pleasu re , and when dusk

came they h ad reached the p eak o f thei r roo f . But befo re evening fell the he rmit ’s eyes 272 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOO K h ad come to rest on thei r labou r mo re and

he mo re . H e watched them in thei r flight ; scolded them when they were clumsy ; he f t grieved when the wind spoiled thei r e fo r s , and he became almost angry when they

stopp ed a moment to rest . Then the sun sank and the bi rds sought thei r

accustomed resting place among the reeds , safe for from all h arm , no enemy could app roach without a warning splash of the water or a of a quivering the reeds .

When the mo rning broke , the th rushes thought at first that the events of the p receding

day had been but a beautiful dream . They found thei r guideposts and flew

disa straight to thei r nest, but the nest h ad p

ea red out p . They peered ove r the moo rs and

flew h igh up to gain a wider view . But there

was no Sign of nest or tree . Finally they sat down on a stone by the water and thought the

matte r ove r . They wagged thei r tails and

tu rned thei r heads to right and left . Where were nest and tree ? But sca rcely h ad the sun raised itself a ’ h and s breadth over the belt of woods beyond

274 TH E TURQUOI S E STO RY B OO K should stand with outstretched arm until the — bi rds had raised thei r young could he do this,then would his p rayer be heard . But on this day his gl ance followed the mo f tions o the birds with greater attention . H e f saw the rap id completion o the nest . The tiny builders flew a round it and examined it f carefully . They brought a few rags o moss from the real W illow and plastered them on the outside as a finishing deco ration . They fe brought the softest young grass , and the male bi rd pulled the down from he r breast to fu rnish the inside .

The peasants o f the neighbourhood , who feared the evil power which the p rayers of G od the hermit might h ave with , were used to bring him bread and milk to soften his anger . mo They came now, and found him standing ’ tionless , the bi rd s nest in his h and . “ See how the holy man loves the littl e c rea ” tures , they said , and feared him no longer . They raised the milk can to h is lips and fed

e him with the bread . When he had aten and drunk he d rove them away with curses , but they smiled at his anger . HATTO T H E H ERM IT 2 75

H is body h ad long since become the serv ant of his will . H e h ad taught it obedience by of hunge r and scou rge , by d ays kneeling and of sleepless nights . Now h is muscles steel

held his arm outstretched days and weeks , and while the mothe r bi rd sat on he r eggs and

did not leave the nest, he would not go to his

cave even to sleep at night . H e lea rned how

S to leep standing with outstretched a rm . H e grew accustomed to the two uneasy little eyes th at p eered down at h im ove r the edge

f b ail o the nest . H e watched fo r rain and , and

p rotected the nest as well as he could .

One day the little mothe r left he r place . on Both th rushes sat the edge o f the nest, thei r

tails moving rapidly , holding great consulta

tion and looking very happy , although the Whole nest seemed filled with a frightened out squeaking . Afte r a little they set upon

an energetic gnat hunt . O ne gnat afte r another fell befo re them , and was brought home to th at which squeaked and

p eeped up there in his hand . And th e p eep ing grew mo re intense whenever the food was

brought in . It distu rbed the holy man at his 2 79 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

p rayers . Gently, very gently, his arm sank down on the joints that h ad almost lost the

of - power motion , until his deep set , glowing eyes peered into the nest . Never had he seen anything so ugly and so m — iserable naked little bodies , with a few no no scattered down tufts , eyes , strength to ix S . fly, nothing but great open beaks not H e could understand it himself , but he liked them just as they were . He h ad not thought to make an exception of the old bi rds in his p rayers fo r the great Doom , but when he now implo red God to release the wo rld th rough utte r destruction , he made a silent exception in favou r of these six little helpless c reatu res . When the p easant women brought him food he no longer rewarded them with curses . As he was necessary for the little ones up there in his hand , he was glad that the people did not let him starve . Soon six little round heads peered all day ’ H tt s over the edge of the nest . Old a o a rm sank to the level of h is eyes mo re and mo re out of frequently . He saw the feathers grow

278 THE TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK it not his duty to save these little ones from f beasts o p rey , from cold and hunger and all of the many ills of life ? But j ust as he was on on pondering this , a h awk swooped down the nest to kill the little ones . H atto caught the robber in his left hand , whi rled him out a round his head , and threw him fa r into the stream . Then came the day when the little ones were f ld ready to fly . One o the o bi rds sat inside out on the nest , trying to push the young ones the edge , while the othe r flew about and Showed them how easy it was i f they would only try . But as the young ones would not old out overcome thei r fea r, both birds flew

O ff befo re them , showing all thei r p rettiest

arts and tricks . They tu rned and twisted in

the ai r, they shot up straight as does th e l ark , or they hung motionless on rap idly fluttering wings . and But the little ones would not move , then H atto decided to interfere in the matte r

himsel f . He gave them a careful push with

one finge r, and thus ended the dispute . They out tumble , trembling and uncertain , hitting HATTO T H E H ERM IT 279 w at the ai r as bats do ; they sink do n , but rise up again ; they find the p rope r motion and ld use i t at once to regain the nest . The o bi rds come back to them in happy p ride , and

H atto chuckles . I t was he who had brought the matte r to such a happy conclusion . And now he pon de red most se riously the question as to W hethe r a loophole of escap e could be found f r o God . one Perh aps , when comes to think of it , ’ God holds this earth like a bi rd s nest in H is right h and a nd perhaps He loves those i — within t all the helpless child ren of ea rth . Pe rh ap s He is merciful to them whom H e had vowed to destroy, just as the hermit was me r ’ c iful to the little bi rds . O f cou rse the he rmit s bi rds we re much better th an God ’s human

e b ings , but h e could still understand th at God f r might h ave p ity o them in H is heart .

Next day the nest was empty, and the bitte r of ness loneliness came ove r the hermit . H is

a rm sank slowly down at h is side , and it se emed to him that all natu re held its breath to hea r the roa r of the trumpets announcing 80 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

the Last Judgment . But in the same moment all the bi rds retu rned and settled down on his

e head and shoulders , fo r they had no f a r o f

h im . And a light Shot th rough the to rtu red b rain of the old hermit . He had lowered his

d a t a rm every ay to look the birds .

And then , as he stood there , the six young

birds flying about him , he nodded , smiling , to

ne w some o hom h e could not see . “ ” “ Thou art free , he said . Thou art free .

t needst I did not keep my vow , herefo re Thou ” not keep Thine . And it seemed to him that the hills ceased from trembling and that the river sank quietly

into its bed to rest .

SONG

Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me And tune his merry note Unto the sweet bi rd ’s th roat

e ! Come hither , come hither , come hith r H ere sh all he see N 0 enemy

But winter and rough weather .

WILLIAM S HAKESPEARE . TH E PLUC KY PRINCE

ONCE upon a time there lived a king who was f exceedingly rich . H is p alace was built o ’ ra re m arble ; in his majesty s dining room food was served on plates and in vessels of pu re gold ; the royal family wo re robes fashioned from richest silk and costliest e rmine . But , although the king’s household lived in this royal way , his maj esty gave strict o rders to all in the p alace th at nothing should be wasted . The command was intended p articula rly for the c rown p rince who spent money lavishly It seemed as if he h ad neve r learned the of p roper value things , and his extravagance was the talk of all the people in the kingdom . The king h ad h ad many sto rmy interviews with h is reckless son . Again and again did this wasteful p rince p romise to mend his ways , 283 2 84 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

but befo re long he fo rgot his pledge , and did something which was marked by astonishing

extravagance . ’ At last the king s p atience came to an end . He decided to disinherit the p rince and banish him from the royal household . Filled with wrath his maj esty sent fo r the youth and in sternest wo rds gave the following decree : “ Hencefo rth you are banished from this ” palace ! Flee from my p resence l Th e carefree manner of the p rince at these wo rds exasp erated his maj esty who grew wh ite “ with rage and said , Prodigal , listen furthe r to my stern decree . I fo rbid you to wea r any clothing made from skins of beasts or the th reads of the silk - wo rm ; you r exile c ave shall oil or not be lighted by tap er, no r by candles r of tallow o wax . You shall taste no vegetables th at growunder the earth or on vines in the sunlight . You r hunge r shall not be fed by ! or . fish , flesh , fowl B egone , thou Prodigal ! Go , starve upon the plain Nevermo re shalt ! thou waste my wealth . Thou art banished This is my stern decree !” The young p rince was too much astonished

2 86 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

chai rs , tables , and couches made from rose

- wood , black walnut , and fragrant sandal wood . Nothing was lacking in this home of beauty

and comfort . The merry p rince examined his house with “ ” “ great p ride . Now , said he , I mean to give

S o a ball , and h w his maj esty, the king, wh at luxu ry is mine even though he left me nothing

but the p recious trees to fu rnish my house , ” C ! lothing, and larder

Acco rdingly, invitations were sent to the of royal family, and many knights and ladies

high degree . The king was very much su rp rised to receive

wo rd from his banished son . ’ ” Tis a huge joke , said his majesty . ’ Howeve r, we ll accept th e invitation , and see f ” what sport the p rodigal can o fe r us . On the night o f the ball the p rince was

d ressed in a superb robe , made from the fiber

of the cocoa - tree ; his fine dancing shoes were

e mad of caoutchouc , and on h is brow he wo re

a co ronet of l au rel leaves . With p rincely n grace he received the king, k ights , and ladies in a large hall brilliantly lighted with candle T H E PLUC KY PRINCE 2 87

nuts in Sconces . The rooms we re fragrant

- with p ink apple blossoms from M aine , and rich magnolia and o range blossoms from the

Southland . The king and his train could not hide thei r astonishment at the sup erb beauty of the rooms and deco rations . I wonde r what the scapego at will o ffe r us to eat ?” whispe red the king to the H igh Chan o c llo r . Providing refreshment from trees will tax h is wits mo re than building and fu rnishing a ” house , answered the ch ancello r , smiling . I t was not long befo re the guests were in v ited into the dining room , where a sumptuous W feast awaited them . H is m aj esty looked ith astonishment at the variety of luscious fruit heaped on la rge wooden platters cu riously f of carved . Some o them held the p roducts — the No rth , apples , p ea rs , plums , cherries , O grap es , and peaches . thers were filled with — tempting fruit from the South , bananas , o ranges , pomegranates , figs , dates , ripe Olives , juicy sou rsops , and c reamy du rions . Delicious breadfruit , from the trop ics , and rich cassava 2 88 TH E T U RQ U O ISE STORY BOOK cakes from J ava were served with luscious guava j am . Beautiful Wooden bowls held al

filberts monds , English walnuts , , pecans , chest nuts , Chinese nuts , and B razilian creams . D ainty wicker baskets held sweets made of maple suga r c ream covered with chocolate or

cocoanut . The king declared that the grap e juice and sweet p ea r cider were daintier than

any wine he h ad ever tasted .

Afte r the feast was ended the p rince , with “ : merry, twinkling eyes , said to his fathe r See ” wh at a man banishment h as made of me ! ’ To the youth s astonishment, his maj esty of smiled graciously, and , in the p resence the H igh Chancello r and all the knights and la “ the dies , king embraced his son and said , B an

ishme of ! nt h as made a man you And , fu r

thermore of , you h ave taught all us the won f ders o the woodland . Welcome back to my O !” heart, Prince

And the H igh Chancello r , knights , and l a “ f our dies o high degree all said , Long live ” plucky Prince . ! n Adapted from a poem by May B ryo .

S U M M ER SNOW

E R MRS . HUMPHR Y WA D

of A KING once lived in a very hot p art Sp ain , where they h ave little rain and where it h ardly eve r snows orfreezes . This Fing had a very beautiful wife whom one he loved very much . But the queen h ad great fault . She was always wishing fo r the most impossible things . The king always tried to give her everything she wanted , but she was neve r satisfied .

one At last, day in winte r, a very strange f thing happ ened . A shower o snow fell in the town where the king and queen lived . I t made the hills white , so th at they looked as if some one h ad been dusting wh ite suga r ove r them . ow N snow was ha rdly ever seen in the town , so the people talked about it, a great deal . 290 S UM M ER SNOW 29 1

Afte r the queen had looked at it a little while , she began to c ry bitterly . of None the ladies could comfo rt her , no r

ne would she tell any o what was the matte r .

The re she sat at he r window weeping , till the king came to he r . H e could not imagine why she was c rying, and begged he r to tell him . “ I am weep ing , she said , sobbing all the “ time , because the hills a re not always covered ! with snow . See how p retty they look And yet , I h ave neve r , till now, seen them look like that . I f you really love me , you would find some way orother to make it snow once a yea r ” at any rate . “ But how can I make it snow ? c ried the king , in great trouble , because sh e would go on weeping and weep ing, and spoiling he r p retty eye s “ ’ the I am su re I don t know , said queen c rossly .

Well , the king thought and thought, and at last h e hit upon a beautiful plan . H e sent to all p arts of Sp ain to buy almond trees to plant .

The almond tree has a lovely pink - white blos m so . , you know 2 92 TH E TURQUO I SE STORY BOOK

When the next sp ring a rrived, thousands o f these almond trees came into bloom on all the hills a round the town . At a distance , the hills looked as if they were covered with wh ite snow. Fo r onc e the discontented queen was de a lighted . She could now keep saying nice “ ” Thank you to the king forall the trouble he had taken to please he r . And suddenly it seemed to the king as if a black speck in the queen ’s hea rt had been washed away and so they lived happy eve r afterwards .

2 4 9 r TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

“ — and then a voice called out : Here he is the ” boy who h ates trees ! There was the strangest p rocession coming f f toward him . It was made up o trees o all

kinds . The Pine and Elm came first ; the ’ M aple and O ak followed : the M aple s leaves

were flushed scarlet, she was so excited . The w Willow was eep ing , and the Popla r was

trembling all over .

Next came all the fruit trees , led by the

Ch erry, while the Walnut , the White Bi rch ,

and the Palm were behind . Wh at did it all mean ? D ick was frightened of fo r a moment . I t seemed as if every tree w he was hich had ever heard there , and he

wondered how the room could hold them all .

When they h ad all grown quiet , the Pine “ : said Dear brothers and sisters , here is a boy who hates trees ; h e cannot see th at we a re of

any use . It is mo re than I can stand , and I h ave called this meeting to see what can be ? ” done about it . H as anyone anything to say “ The Cherry looked very sou r . I cannot see f “ that boys a re o any use , she said M any

years ago , when cherry trees were scarce in TH E B OY WH O HATED TREES 2 95

this country, a boy named Geo rge cut down

my great - grandfath er just to try his new ” h atchet . “ And boys know so little , said the White “ Bi rch ; they a re always h acking me with off knives , and taking my coat , no matte r how

cold the weathe r is . I loved a boy once , but

it was many years ago . H e was a little Indian

boy . H e loved trees . I remember how he stood beside me one day and said :

! Give me of you r bark , O B i rch Tree For the summe r time is coming ,

And the sun is wa rm in heaven , ’ And you need no white skin wrapp e r .

Then he took off my bark so ca refully that h e did not hu rt me a bit . But he is not l iving w no . This boy is not like him . “ ’ ” I don t like boys , either , spoke up the “ Apple . One day a boy climbed up into my

ff ne f branches and b roke o o o my limbs . H e

a was a very silly boy, fo r he wanted green p

ples . H ad my fruit been rip e , I would h ave 2 96 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

one tossed down to him . How happy we should be i f it were not fo r boys !” “ The M aple was very angry . This boy said of we were no use , but it was only this morn ing th at I heard him tease his grandfather fo r ” of a cake my sugar . “ He ate it as if he liked it , too , said the “ Palm . I saw him ; he was fanning h imself ” one of with my leaves .

The Willow wip ed he r eyes . Boys , boys , ” “ ’ ! of ! boys she said . I m so sick boys This same boy made a whistle out of one of my chil

d ren this very night, when he went fo r the ” cows . Then a queer tree in the co rner spoke in a “ f ? thick voice : We are o no use , are we I f f r it were not o me , where would he get the ti res fo r his bicycle ? There are his rubbe r

too. boots , Why, h e uses me every day about ’ ” something . But I ve thought o f a pl an .

The trees c rowded around him , talking to “ ?” gethe r excitedly . But how sh all we do it “ O ” D ick hea rd them say . h , said the Elm , “ ” our . the Wind will help us . He is friend

298 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK N . ow in the distance it looked larger . He brushed away something that looked very

much like a tear, though he told himself that

it was only because he was so warm .

Yes , th at speck su rely moved , and was com

ing neare r . Wh at i f it were a bear !

There is no tree to climb , and I cannot —I ” run am so ti red , and it is very hot .

Nea rer and nearer it came , moving slowly .

Dick watched it with a beating heart . At last

h e saw that it was not a single animal , but a

great many in line . “ ” “

! . Oh , they a re camels he c ried Yes , I

know they are . Once at a circus I saw some that looked just like them— but wh at queer ” looking men a re on them !

one of They were now very near him , and the men beckoned with his hand and said

something . “ ’ I can t understand him , said Dick to him “ ’ self , but I suppose he meant he ll give me a

ride . The man helped him up and they jou rneyed on. After a time Dick grew very ti red even f o riding . T H E B O Y W H O HATED T REES 299

“ ” The camel joggles me so , he said , and I

am so thi rsty I shall die . I f they would only stop a minute !” Wh at was the matter ? Wh at were they saying ? Each man was bowing h imsel f

towa rd the ground and waving his h ands . “ I don ’t see wh at they are making all that ’ fuss about . I can t see anything ; the sun hu rts my eyes so . And Dick covered his eyes with his h and .

Suddenly there was a shout , and the camels

stood still . Dick lifted h is head . Could he believe his eyes ? Right befo re him was a

of wa little spot green grass , a sp ring o f cool

e f — on o a . ter , and those things he h ated tree H ate a tree ? H e thought th at he h ad neve r seen anything so beautiful in his life . H e fai rly tumbled off the camel in his h aste to reach it . The tears ran down h is face as h e

th rew h is a rms a round its trunk . “ !” Dea r tree h e c ried .

Dick , Dick a re you going to help me plant th e new trees ? called h is fathe r . O pening his eyes , Dick found himself in goo TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

own c las m his little room , both hands p g his p illow .

Dick was soon d ressed and downstai rs , and so anxious was he to plant trees th at h e could hardly eat his breakfast .

In just one night he h ad learned to see

The wonderful beauty there is in a tree .

30 2 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

own trees , in thei r society and in thei r native s u rroundings . We shall then understand them much bette r than when we find them on our lonely city l awns . The re is a glo rious wealth waiting fo r us when we come to choose our tree friends fo r our homes . There are the elm , several kinds

of of maples , two kinds sycamo res , the linden , of many sorts oaks , the pines and the sp ruces ,

and almost a hundred others . Besides these

- big , lusty, shade yielding trees , there a re many

small , mo re cu rious o r mo re o rnamental ones .

- Such are the magnolias , the maidenhai r tree ,

f - - the Kentucky co fee tree , the sweet gum , and l the f owering dogwood . These smaller trees of a re , cou rse , p articularly suited to small w w la ns and close qu arters ; though , herever possible , the true American will give first place to the big , noble , native trees like the elm and the maple . Even if there is room fo r

one of one only these , it will seem to be the best friend in the garden . of And while I am speaking these trees , I would not forget the apple . There is no kind of tree mo re beauti ful in sp ring , more com FRI ENDLY S UM M ER TREES 3 0 3 fortable and homelike summe r and winte r , and

- R e mo re to be chosen fo r a life long friend . c ently I was consulted by a committee o f a M assachusetts town who wanted to cut down

- old a h al f dozen stu rdy apple trees , because a new libra ry had been built in thei r midst , and the committee thought some mo re ra re trees were needed to keep the balance . Blue sp ruce o r Camperdown elm would h ave been choice , strange , and outlandish , but the homely, com mon apple tree they would gladly sac rifice . We admi re the tree fo r its size ; the me re bigness of it d raws our attention ; we look up of to it . We admi re it fo r its fo rm , the fo rm

or or the elm , the maple , the p ine , o r th e p alm is wonde rful . We admi re the tree in its leaf age , fo r its textu re and colo r . Why , even the sh adow of a tree is beautiful . The cleve r ga r denerplaces his best tree where its shadow will be traced all the afternoon ac ross the l awn . H owcool and pleasant the sh adow lies the re ! Nowhere do trees seem so useful as in the street . Even the city yearns fo r trees , and the best residence and suburban sections make these thei r greatest p ride . The citizens turn 304. TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK to the city trees as one of the most important

f - fo rms o public p roperty . Tree planting is to no be encou raged , and the trees w grown to maturity must be saved at any cost . Leaky gas of m ains a re the deadly enemies street trees .

Electric wi res kill thousands mo re . For the p rotection of street trees and those on public p arks and grounds , every city should

- h ave a tree wa rden . These are p rovided fo r but by l aw in some states , the system should become gene ral . Truly modern cities h ave fi “ ” of cers with the title of city fo reste r, with the extremely useful occup ation of caring fo r

ofli c ers a the public trees . Such should be p pointed everywhere .

es The annual festival called Arbo r D ay, tablished in this country fo r the p romotion of

- tree pl anting, has , unfo rtunately, been tu rned ove r exclusively to the public schools , whereas it ought to be observed also by the chu rches , ’

olitic al . lodges , p clubs , and women s clubs At

- on all events , tree planting should go con stantl y, and should everywhere accomp any the campaign for the p reservation of street trees .

We may well remember that as a rough , gen

306 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK from the most exp ensive nursery in the coun try . Arbo r Day i s not necessarily the best day

- fo r tree planting, especially in the matter of big trees fo r streets , school grounds , and pub lic places . The exp erts p refer to handle such trees in mid - winter ; they do this even in sec tions where the ground freezes to a depth of or two th ree feet ; in fact , it is considered the height of good p ractice to take up the tree from its place , accomp anied by a huge block of frozen ea rth . Evergreen trees , such as pines and sp ruces , may be handled very successfully in August , and this season is widely chosen fo r the pu rpose by knowing treemen.

M any tree - lovers make the mistake of c rowding thei r small p rivate grounds with n thei r pets . I f o e h as only a city lot thi rty feet wide by a hundred feet deep , he cannot grow r a l arge fo rest . One o two large trees will be all such a place can reasonably suppo rt ; any mo re will make the p remises too crowded . f The trees themselves will su fe r, and , besides that , there will be no opportunity to view FRI ENDLY S U M M ER TREES 307

for them . There will be no room a flower ga r den , and no lawn fo r any pu rpose . The common mistake in planting trees on small home grounds is to place the individual f of in the middle o the lawn . As a matter de

of sign , the cente r the lawn should be kept open , and trees , at any rate , should file along r the bounda ries . In ou no rthern climate stu rdy, p rotecting evergreens will natu rally choose a no rth boundary , and the shady sum me r trees with heavy foliage will cast thei r comfo rtable sh adows from the south side of the ga rden .

The tree - love r who hopes to get the most satisfaction out of his hobby will not always wait to see h is trees grow . It requi res too many yea rs . About the best way to do is to

- adopt a tract o f well grown woodland , and f then to make the most o it . Imp rovement cut tings will come first ; fo r the axe is as impo rt ant as the sp ade , and trees h ave to be cut as well as planted . The best trees can be left and nu rsed and admi red . I f there is sp ace enough , fo rest e ffects can be develop ed ; roads and p aths can be built ; game - cove r can be intro 30 8 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY B OOK

d ed uc . , and wild life encou raged B i rds and boys and others friends will visit you in you r woods , and the d ays will go by like a lusty ballad . B etween you and me and the beech

tree , it will be a jolly, pleasant company .

3 1 0 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOOK As soon as all were assembled they marched

in a long p rocession toward the fo rest . The on banner came first, with the teachers either f side o it . Then followed a couple of fo r esters and a wagon load of p ine sh rubs and

sp ruce seeds ; then the child ren . The p rocession did not p ause in any of the bi rch groves nea r the settlements , but n marched o deep into the fo rest . As it moved along the foxes stuck thei r heads out of thei r lai rs in astonishment and wondered what kind f o backwoods p eople these were . As they marched p ast the old coal p its where charcoal

- kilns were fired every autumn , the cross beaks twisted thei r hooked bills and asked one an of other wh at kind coalers these might be , who were now th ronging the fo rest .

Finally , the p rocession reached the big bu rnt mountain plain . The rocks had been

stripped of the fine twin - fl ower c reepers that once covered them ; they h ad been robbed of the p retty silver moss and the attractive rein

dee r moss . Around the dark water gathered in clefts and hollows there was now no wood

T e e of c s so rrel . h little p atch s soil in revice FOREST DAY 3 1 :

and between stones we re without ferns , with

- flowers out sta r , without all the green and red and light and soft and soothing things that

usually clothe the fo rest ground . I t was as if a bright light flashed upon the mountain when all the p a rish child ren c ov

ered it . H ere again was something sweet and

delicate , something fresh and rosy , something young and growing . Perh aps these child ren would bring to the poo r abandoned fo rest a

little new li fe . When the child ren h ad rested and eaten

thei r luncheon , they seized hoes and sp ades

and began to wo rk . The fo resters showed

out them what to do . They set sh rub afte r sh rub on every clea r spot of ea rth they could

find .

As they wo rked , they talked quite know ingly among themselves o f how the little sh rubs they were planting would bind the soil so th at it could not get away , and of how new

soil would fo rm unde r the trees . By and by w seeds ould d rop , and , in a few yea rs , they would be p icking both strawbe rries and rasp berries where now there were only ba re rocks . 3 1 2 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK The little sh rubs which they were planting would gradually become tall trees . Perhaps big houses and great splendid ships would be built from them ! I f the children h ad not come here and planted while there was still a little soil in the

clefts , all the earth would have been carried

away by winds and water , and the mountain could neve r mo re h ave been clothed in green . “ ” It was well th at we came , said the chil “

f . d ren . We were just in the nick o time

They felt very impo rtant . While they were wo rking on the mountain

thei r p arents were at home . By and by they began to wonde r how the children we re get ting along . Of cou rse it was only a joke about thei r

planting a fo rest, but it might be amusing to

see wh at they were trying to do . So p resently both fathers and mothers were

on thei r way to the fo rest . When they came to the outlying stock fa rms they met some of thei r neighbo rs . “ Are you going to the fire- swept moun

t ain they asked .

3 1 4 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

— f r f o o . pull up heather , j ust the fun it The for children were the instructors , they were already trained and had to show thei r elders a wh t to do .

Then it happ ened that all the grown - ups who had come to watch the ch ildren took p art

. of in the wo rk Then , cou rse , it became greater fun than befo re . By and by the chil d ren had even mo re help . Other implements

of - were needed , so a couple long legged boys were sent down to the village fo r sp ades and hoes . As they ran p ast the cabins , the stay “ ’ at - out ? homes came and asked , What s wrong H as there been an accident ?” “ ! No , indeed But the whole p arish is up ” fire- on the swept mountain pl anting a fo rest . “ ’ I f the whole p a rish is there , we can t stay ” at home . So p arty afte r pa rty of peasants went c rowd

ing to the top of the bu rnt mountain . They

em a stood a moment and looked on. The t pt

tion to join the wo rkers was i rresistible . “ It’s a pleasu re to sow one ’s own acres in the sp ring and to think of the grain that will FORE ST DAY 3 1 5

sp ring up from the earth , but this wo rk is ” even mo re th rilling , they thought . Not only slender blades would come from in m that sow g , but ighty trees with tall trunks and sturdy bran c hes . I t meant giving bi rth ’ t o a s not merely umme r s grain , but to many ’ years growths . I t meant the awakening hum of o f insects , the song the th rush , the pl ay of of on grouse , and all kinds life , the desolate mountain . Mo reover, it was like raising a memo rial fo r coming generations . They could h ave left a ba re , treeless height as an he ritage . Instead , they were to leave a glo ri o s u fo rest . Coming generations would know thei r fo refathers h ad been a good and wise folk and they would remember them with reverence and gratitude . WOOD MAN , S PARE THAT TREE

! Woodman , sp a re th at tree Touch not a single bough !

In youth it sheltered me , ’ And I ll p rotect it now . ’Twas my fo refather’s hand That pl aced it near h is cot ;

There , woodman , let it stand Thy axe shall h arm it not !

old That familia r tree , Whose glory and renown Are sp read o ’e r land and sea And wouldst thou hew it down ? ! Woodman , fo rbea r thy stroke

Cut not its ea rth - bound ties ;

O oak h , sp are that aged , Now towering to the skies !

916 9k eh ale

IN AN OLD - FASH I ONED GARDEN The ga rden was pleasant with old - fashioned

flowers , Th e sunflowers and hollyhocks stood up like towe rs ;

There were dark tu rncap - lilies and j asemine

ra re , And sweet thyme and ma rjo ram scented the

ai r .

WILLIAM BRIGHTLY RANDS .

- - Buttercup , Poppy , Fo rget me not, These th ree bloomed in a garden spot ;

And once , all merry with song and play, A little one hea rd th ree voices say “ Shine and sh adow , summe r and sp ring , 0 thou child with the tangl ed h ai r And laughing eyes ! We thee shall bring f ” Each an o fering p assing fai r . The little one did not understand But they bent and kissed the dimpled

hand .

EUGENE FIELD .

3 2 2 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

d red miles away , could smell the sweet odo rs “ and would s ay, The wind blows from the garden of the Princess Beautiful . Fo r I must tell you th at the garden was owned by a great Princess , and she was called Beautiful of by all who knew her, and every traveler to that distant country made his way to her wh ite marble p alace to seek p ermission to look upon the most beautiful ga rden in the wo rld . And many who came there were of high IIK of rank , B herself , and some them tried to win he r love , fo r the Princess was like her name and as beautiful as the rarest flower in all that marvelous garden . But to the p rinces and kings she would not listen , fo r he r heart and p ride were only in her flowers , and she wished to remain with them fo reve r and be happy in thei r beauty . She was only sad when she saw that some of those who came went away with heavy hea rts because she would not leave he r p alace fo r thei rs . Now once there came to the palace of the

Princess B eautiful a great queen . She had traveled fa r to see the splendid garden , and TH E ROSE QUEEN 3 23 when she came the Princess led her with all he r cou rt among the flowe rs . And all that sunlit day, under the blue , blue sky , the great queen and he r cou rt lingered in the ga rden of up and down the p aths wh ite shells , where hyacinths and lilies and daffodils and azaleas — grew on every side and rested in the shade of blossoming o rch ard trees . And when it fl ow was evening , and they h ad gone , and the e rs were left alone they whisp ered and mu r mu red together, fo r neve r befo re had they seen a queen and he r court . flow And by and by, as the days p assed , the e rs decided th at they, too , must h ave a queen — some rare flowe r, fine and stately, whom they would hono r, even as they h ad seen thei r beautiful Princess hono r he r royal guest . And night afte r night they talked of these of things , but neve r could decide wh ich thei r

number should be chosen for the high place . And then one day a great sadness came upon

the fai r ga rden between the hills . A young travele r from an unknown country h ad come

o t the wh ite p alace , and one sunny afternoon th e Princess Beautiful had led him among the 3 24 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

of f beds p rimroses and lilies and da fodils . And when the sun was going down and she

turned and looked into his face , and saw how

was fai r h e , and how the sun made his hai r on like gold , how it shimmered his beautiful f garments o velvet and fine lace . She felt fo r the first time a great love a rise within her heart . Then , all at once , she fo rgot h er gar

den , her p alace , and her pride , fo rgot every thing in all the world except the fai r youth — who stood there with her in the sunset and she told him he r great new love .

And as she spoke , softly and tenderly, the

one words she had never spoken to any befo re ,

be the breeze died , and the sun slipped down

- ff o . hind the far h ills And then , as the light

faded , it seemed to the Princess Beautiful

e . that the fai r youth b fo re her was fading, too — H is face grew dim and misty his hai r be — came a blur of gold his rare ga rments melted f back into the beds o bloom . And behold , instead of the fai r youth there stood befo re her in the twilight only a wonderful golden l ily with a crimson heart . Then the Princess B eautiful knew that be

3 26 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

“ My love is like a red , red rose , ’ ” That s newly blown in June .

And it was always in June that the great c rimson rose bloomed on the grave in the garden of the Princess Beautiful . MORNING GLORI ES

They swing from the garden - trellis

In Ariel - ai ry ease ; And thei r a romatic honey

Is sought by the ea rliest bees .

The rose , it knows thei r secret, And the j essamine also knows And the rose told me the sto ry

That the j essamine told the rose .

“ : And the jessamine said At midnight, ’ E re the red cock woke and c rew, The fays of Queen Titania de Came here to bathe in w.

And the yellow moonlight glistened On braids of elfin hai r ; And fairy feet on the flowers

Fell softe r than any ai r . 327 3 28 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

And thei r p etticoats , gay as bubbles , one They hung up , every , O ’ n the mo rning glory s tendrils ,

Till thei r moonlight bath was done .

But the red cock c rew too ea rly,

And the fai ries fled in fear , Leaving thei r petticoats pu rple and pink

Like blossoms h anging there .

MADISON CAWEIN .

330 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK ” f one o . Chief , said them H e will advise us ” what to do .

Acco rdingly, it was decided th at several messengers , chosen from the council , should seek the Great Chief and tell him how the animals were fast destroying the roses .

It was no easy matte r to find M anabozho , fo r wh ile he lived on earth among the Red

M en he took many disguises . They who sought him were carried by the swiftest wind th rough valleys and meadows and fa r over the hilltops . All along the p ath of thei r jou rney, “ a wheneve r they sked the question , Where shall we find M anabozho ?” they received the “

on the . same answe r, Travel toward sunrise

There you will find the Great Chief . He is ” tending a wonderful ga rden . At last one mo rning they saw the sun shin ing on a ma rvellous garden where vegetables grew in abundance There were beds of of cucumbers and squash , rows co rn and beans , and many other plants , whose names the mes sengers did not know . And what su rp rised them most was the beautiful hedge of rose bushes which su rrounded the garden . . They WHY ROS ES HAVE TH ORN S 33 1 looked anxiously for the G reat G a rdene r

Chief but h e was nowhere to be seen . Silently the messengers hid themselves in a fo rest wh ich grew nea r, fo r they believed M ana

z h bo o would soon retu rn . The thought of talking to him filled them with awe , but they were determined to be brave and tell him thei r mission . “ H e values roses or he would not have

whis chosen them fo r his ga rden hedge , they of p ered , looking with p ride at the beauty the

flowering bushes . While they we re waiting a su rp rising thing h appened . In the fo rest they heard quiet , stealthy steps app roaching . Soon they s aw a of p rocession animals from th e woods . There

c o were field mice , squi rrels , rabbits , foxes , y otes , elks , and bears , all making thei r way to ’ snifli n M anabozho s garden . They were g the O ai r as if they scented something delicious . n they came until they reached th e rose - hedge whe re they stopped to taste the dainty, fra of grant leaves . Va rious c ries satisfaction we re uttered and immediately they began fl on . L ow feasting the delicate bushes eaves , 33 2 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

ers , and stems were all devou red and in a

short time not one bit of the rose - hedge around ’ the G reat Chief s garden was left . I t could not h ave disapp eared mo re completely if

M anabozho himself had cut it down . The

of - dainty mo rsel the rose hedge , however, was not enough to satisfy the hunge r of th e ani

a mals from the woods . They tu rned thei r t tention to the vegetables and were devou ring the very choicest of them when suddenly the smalle r animals p ricked up thei r ears and

listened . The next moment they scuttled away as fast as they could into the fo rest The larger animals took this fo r a sign of dange r

and hu rried afte r them . In a little wh ile the messengers of the Rose

Council heard a loud voice Singing . M ana ‘ z h bo o was retu rning from his adventu re . As h e d rew nea r h is song ceased fo r h e saw th at

destruction h ad come to h is p recious garden . H is rage was terrible ! In a voice which shook the neighbo ring hillsides he decl ared he en would punish th e intruders . H e was p arti larly grieved at the destruction of his rose hedge which he valued not only fo r its beauty

E O O OO 334. TH TURQU I S E ST RY B K the c ruel animals will not venture to touch ” you . The messengers thanked M anabozho with all thei r hearts . Delighted with his gift , they h astened back to tell the Council how the

G reat Chief had saved the roses of the wo rld .

Ever since th at day roses have had tho rns .

SWEET PEAS

on HERE are sweet p eas , tiptoe fo r a flight , ’ With wings of gentle flush o er delicate white

And tape r fingers catching at all things ,

To bend them all about with tiny rings .

JOHN KEATS . A LEGEND O F TH E PRI M RO S E

IN a cottage which stood nea r a la rge meadow lived a poo r woman and her little ch ild Eliza beth . The mothe r ea rned a scant living by spinning and weaving . She was not strong and could wo rk for only a few hou rs at a time . Each mo rning afte r the little gi rl h ad swep t the cottage she ran to the meadow and gath e red a l arge bunch of golden p rim roses . They were he r mother ’s favo rite flowers and Eliza beth knew th at thei r sunny colo r brought good cheer to the room where her mothe r wo rked . One fai r mo rning Elizabeth wandered fa r ac ross the meadows sea rching fo r the b right est blossoms . She filled he r arms with the sweetest p rim roses she could find and turned to h asten back to the cottage wh en she saw 335 336 THE TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

standing near her a lovely little creature . He r dress was made from the golden p etals of the p rimrose and so were he r dainty shoes . On her h ead sp arkled a tiny c rown studded with a yellow j ewels . She ca rried a fairy b sket which held a number of wonderfully beau

tiful p rimroses . “ ” Elizabeth , said the little c reatu re , speak “ ’ ing in the most friendly way , I m the queen

- fl er of the key ow fai ries . Tell me why you r ” choose daily to pluck ou blossoms . “ These a re p rimroses , said Elizabeth ,

looking at the flowers in h er a rms . “ ou Yes , yes , I know th at is the n ame y mo r tals call them but thei r p rope r name is the ” - fl r owe . key , nodded the fai ry ” They a re the blossoms mother loves best, ’ said Elizabeth , answering the little c reature s “ first question . She is not strong enough to walk in the meadow so each day I fill a bowl with p rimroses and put them near her sp in ” ning wheel .

The queen of the key - fl owers fai ries came

close to Elizabeth , took a blossom from her f basket, and o fering it to the little gi rl said ,

338 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

- er stood the queen of the key fl ow fairies .

Elizabeth walked into the enchanted h all . Th rough a c rystal roof the golden sunlight streamed on lovely h anging - baskets filled with brilliant p rim roses . The floo r and walls were covered with rich green moss and the cu ri ous furniture was fashioned from p ale yellow p etals . On the tables stood baskets and vases holding large bunches of p rimrose blossoms .

Thei r delicious scent filled the ai r . “ - fl ower . This is key h all , said the fai ry

Then , pointing to some golden chests which “ stood nea r the walls she continued , You r key

- flower will unlock those treasu re boxes . Open ” of one them and see wh at it holds . Elizabeth tapped gently with her fairy on ne f p rim rose o o the boxes . Immediately the lid op ened and she saw that the chest was

filled with p ale golden flowe r petals . “ You may take home to you r mothe r as many flowe r p etals as you can carry in you r

ap ron , said the fairy . Elizabeth began to fill he r ap ron with the

soft golden disks , but, strange to say, she no A LEGEN D O F TH E PRI M RO SE 339

soone r li fted them from the treasu re - chest than they h ardened into golden coins . The fai ry laughed merrily when sh e saw ’ the astonished look on Elizabeth s face .

Then , suddenly , again th e little c reature van

i he s d . Elizabeth hu rried home as fast as she could ’ and gave the fai ry s gi ft to he r mothe r . There was p lenty of money to buy all the food and comfo rts which the poo r woman needed to make he r grow strong again . Elizabeth loved to tell h e r about he r ad ventu re with the queen of the p rim rose fai ries

and the treasu re which the magic key - flower

unlocked . EVENIN G PRI M RO SES

WHILE grey was the summer evening H ast never a small sp rite seen Lighting the fragrant to rches For the feast of the Faerie Queen ?

The buds in the p rim rose - bushes

e Upsp ring into y llow light , But eve r the wee deft spi rit

Escapes my bewildered sight .

Yet oft th rough the dusky garden

A dainty white moth will fly,

- Or, pink as a pink rose petal ,

One lightly will waver by .

Perhaps ’tis the shape he comes in

Perhaps it is he , indeed , S i r Moth or the merry Cobweb

O r the Whimsical Mustard - Seed !

HELEN GRAY CONE.

TH E TH REE LITTLE B UTTERFLI ES

one THERE were once th ree little butterflies ,

one one . was white , was red , and was yellow They played in the sunshine and danced from one blossom to anothe r . They never grew for ti red , they loved to pl ay among the flowers

in the ga rden . One day a heavy rain fell and the little but terflies became very wet . They soon hu rried home but when they got to thei r house they found the doo r locked and they could not find the key . So they had to stay outdoo rs and they became wetter and wette r . But by and by they flew to a yellow and red striped tulip and said “ Dea r Tulip , open you r little flowe r cup so that we may slip in until the rain is ove r ? “ The tulip answered , I will gladly open my 342 TH REE LITTLE B UTTERFLI ES 343 flowe r cup to the red butte rfly and the yellow

ne . one o . They a re like me But the wh ite ” n t may o come in .

But the butterflies , the red and the yellow “ : ones , said No , i f ou r white b rothe r may not

go into you r flowe r cup with us , we will stay ” out he re in the rain with him And away

fl ew they . It rained ha rde r and h a rde r and

they flew to a white lily and said Good lily, open you r flowe r cup a little so that we may ” n find shelte r from this rain . The lily a “ swered l , I wil open my flowe r cup so that the white butterfly may come in because h e is like me , but the red and yellow butterflies must stay ” t ou in the rain . Then the white butterfly said : No ; i f you will not shelte r my broth

ers , you cannot shelte r me . We would rathe r stay outside togethe r and be wet than leave ” one anothe r in need . And the th ree little butterflies flew farthe r

on togethe r . It h appened that the jolly old sun who was beh ind the clouds hea rd all th at was said and he knew how kind th e little butterfly b rothers t were o each othe r, fo r, h ad they not stayed 344 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

of ? 8 0 together in sp ite the h ard , h ard rain h is sunbeams pierced the clouds and drove

away the rain , and it was clear and bright once more in the garden . The butterflies were not wet long fo r the sunbeams soon d ried

thei r wings and warmed thei r bodies . Then how merry they were ! They danced again and played among the flowers until it was eve

ning, then they flew away together to thei r house— and the doo r was wide open !

TH E PINKS

The p inks along my garden walks

H ave all shot forth thei r summer stalks , ’ Th ronging thei r buds mong tulips hot,

- - And blue fo rget me not .

Thei r dazzling snows fo rth - bu rsting soon Will lade the idle b reath of June And waken th rough the fragrant night T o steal the p ale moonlight .

ROBERT BRIDGES .

346 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

washed it, fed it and brought it back to life .

When the sun broke th rough the clouds , two ’ great tears glistened on the little fl owers of cheek . They were tears th ankfulness . Then the flower lifted up its voice and said “ — Th ank you , raindrops , good raindrops , ” ou y have saved my life . “ But the raind rops answered , Thank not us ;

th ank the clouds ; they sent us . Then the flowe r lifted up its voice and said “ - — Thank you , clouds , good clouds , you ” have saved my life . “ But the clouds answered , Thank not us ; thank the sun . I t saw you dying and called

us from the ocean . The winds heard you

sighing, and brought us here to help you . Then the little flowe r turned to the wind

and the sun . The wind bent down to the

earth , and stopped fo r a moment to hear its

wo rds . The sun sent down its beams to receive the r’ fl owe s message . “ u — Thank yo , wind , good wind , said the

little flower. ’ T H E FLOWER S THANK S 347 — - o Thank you , sun , good sun , y u have ” saved my life . “ Thank not us , said the sun and the wind ; “ thank the good God . H e saw you dying ; He heard you sighing , H e took pity on you . We , sun and winds and clouds and falling rain ” of d rops a re only the givers H is bounty . And the flowe r breathed a p rayer of thanks to the great and good God .

PAN S I ES !

! ! Pansies p ansies How I love you , p ansies ,

- - J aunty faced , laughing lipped and dewy eyed with glee ; Would my song might blossom out in little

five- leaved stanzas

As delicate in fancies ,

As you r beauty is to me . M JA ES WHITCOMB RILEY .

! From the B i og ra phic al Edi tion o f the c omplete work s of h m R r h 1 1 U s d ma l Co t . e b s e J ames W i tec o b il ey. py ig 9 3 y p

- i n f h sh The H s ill m an . permi ss o o t e publi er s, obb Merr Co p y TH E LITTLE H EARTS EASE

ONE mo rning a king went into his garden fo r

i a walk . He not ced that the trees and flowers

were droop ed and somewh at withered . Tu rn

oak ing to a great branching tree , his maj esty “ said , Tell me what has h app ened to my ga r den ? “ “ oak S i re , moaned the tree , I am most

unhappy . S ee how thick my trunk is and how

gnarled and twisted my great branches are .

Now the p ine tree , which stands at the other of of end the garden , is a p icture grace and H ow e beauty . tall and slender the st m is , and — — what dainty needles like leaves ado rn the ” branches . The king walked on until he came to the

pine tree . As he drew near he heard a deep

sigh .

350 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK ing the morning dew, and beaming with h ap e pin ss. “ Heartsease , my brave little flower, said “ th e king, you seem very cheerful . Tell me what wish you are nu rsing in that golden heart ” of you rs ? “ Si re , answered the little flower, my dear est wish is to be the very best heartsease th at ever I can . LEGEND O F TH E RE D GERANI U M

ONCE upon a time the re lived in a country fa r ove r the sea a p rophet whose name was M O h ammed . He was a great leade r and trav cled many miles th rough h is country, teaching th e people who looked to him fo r guidance .

One sco rching hot day, afte r a long p ilgrim age th rough a dusty country, the great p rophet stopped to rest . A clea r stream flowed nea r h im , and Moh ammed bathed in its cool waters

- and then washed his travel stained clothes . H e sp read the clean linen ove r a tall mallow plant . Then he l ay down to rest while his ga r ments were d rying . Afte r sleeping for an hou r or two the p rophet wakened , much refreshed . He lifted ! h is d ry linen from the common plant , and lo a great su rp rise met his eye . The mallow h ad been ch anged into a magnificent ge ranium , whose red clusters were dazzlingly bright in the sunshine . ENCHANTED TULI PS

Tulips white and tulips red , Sweeter than a violet bed !

old S ay, Mothe r B ailey, say,

Why you r tulips look so gay, Why they smell so sweet and why They bloom when others die ?

By the p ixies ’ magic powe r

Do my tulips always flower, By the pixies ’ magic spell DO they give so sweet a smell !

Tulips , tulips , red and white ,

Fill the pixies with delight .

Pixie women , p ixie men , Seek my tulips from th e glen ;

M idnight comes , they may be heard

Singing sweet as any bi rd , S inging thei r wee babes to rest In the tulips they love best !”

MAUD KEARY.

354 TH E TURQUO I S E STO RY B OO K

” bow . I ris brings us a message from Juno . One day Juno invited all the flowers to a ’ festival , fo r it was I ris s bi rthday . M any flow

ers came clothed in wondrous beauty . While

- the merry making was at its highest, th ree

strange flowers , who were sisters , app eared .

One wo re a rich red gown , another a bright

yellow, and a third was clad in the softest vio

let . Each was ado rned with richest j ewels . “Who a re they and whence do they come ? ”

0 one asked the revelers . N could answe r, fo r no one knew the names of the strange visitors ; one indeed , not flower could remember eve r

having seen them befo re . When the strangers nea red the others to join in the festival , the rain began to fall , and the little raind rops laughed and frolicked and

danced in glee , while the flowers caught them in thei r cups and quickly let them roll away

again to join the rest of thei r playmates .

Soon the sun was shining go rgeously again . And right ac ross the sky sp read the splendid of one arch a rainbow, like bent sunbeams , end

Of which was held by the strange flowers . “ The rainbow, c ried the others , as soon as I RI S 355

“ ’ they saw it . See , I ris s bridge . And the col ors wo rn by the strange flowers a re exactly like of the red , yellow, and violet the rainbow . Let f us give ournew friends the name o I ris . It was they who brought he r lovely arched r ” bridge into ou midst . e Eve r since that day these tall , stately flow rs of have been called by the name I ris , the faith f ful messenger o the gods .

"‘é TH E YELLOW - B IRD

! - HEY my little yellow bi rd , What you doing there ?

Like a flashing sun - ray Flitting everywhere ; Dangling down the tall weeds

- And the holly hocks , And the lovely sunflowers

Along the garden walks . L JAMES WHITCOM B RI EY.

! From the B iog ra phical Edition of the c omplete work s of il i ht 1 s i l hi c m R . U d b ec a ames W t o b e Co 1 . se J y pyr g , 9 3 y p

- e mission of the ublishe s The B obbs Me ill om an . p r p r , rr C p y O RIGIN O F TH E S UNFLOWER

( GREE K MYTH )

CLYTIE was the name of a beautiful nymph who lived in a co ral cave far down in the

ne depths of the sea . It h appened o mo rning that she ventu red to the su rface Of the wate r and looked toward the east . In the distance where the ea rth and sky met she s aw a ma r

n . vello s sight Au ro ra , the goddess o f dawn , rolled aside the soft grey cu rtains O f the mo rn ’ ing sky and there , waiting fo r the day s jou r ’ ney, stood Apollo s jeweled ca r .

Clytie saw th e sun - god leap into his s eat and

a f take lightly in h nd the reins o his restless , p rancing steeds . Then up the steep slope O f

s the ea tern sky he d rove , and the gleam from his dazzling chariot filled the airwith golden ' o light . All day long Clytie sat n the rocks nea r the sho re and watched Apollo in his 356

358 TH E TU RQUOI SE STORY BOO K ch anged her into a flower. He r slender limb s a n e became tall gree stem , he r delicate s a green d ress turned into leaves , and her lovely face and golden hai r changed into sun - like flowers which faith fully follow the brillian t e god of day all through his cours . TH E B LUE BELL

There is a sto ry I h ave hea rd ; of A poet lea rned it a bi rd ,

And kep t its music , every wo rd .

two About thousand yea rs ago ,

A little flowe r, as white as snow,

Swayed in the silence to and fro .

D ay after d ay with longing eye , The floweret watched the na rrow sky

fl e And the e c yclouds th at floated by .

’ o er And swiftly its p etals white , There c rep t a blueness like the light

Of skies , upon a summer night .

And in its chalice , I am told , The bonny hell was found to hold

A tiny star that gleamed like gold . TH E D EW MOTH ER’S GI FT TO TH E ROS E

ON warm summe r evenings , when the after f glow o sunset tints the sky , the Dew Mother of comes to care fo r he r children the earth , the trees , grass , and flowers . She is dressed in of garments so ftest grey , so delicate and so much like the mists of the evening sky that it is very ha rd , indeed , to see her wande r about with her p recious refreshing gift .

One evening , afte r a sco rching hot day, the

D ew Mother h ad heavy wo rk to p erfo rm .

She was needed everywhere . The fierce rays of the sun h ad p arched the fo rest leaves ; the fruit in the o rcha rds and vineyards must be bathed in the li fe - giving dew ; the thi rsty fl ow e rs , h anging thei r heads , waited p atiently fo r her tende r care and they knew she would not fo rsake them .

A YELLOW PAN SY

To the wall of the old green garden

A butterfly, quivering , came ; H is wings in the somber lichens

Played like a yellow flame .

H e looked at the grey geraniums , ’ And the sleepy fou r - o c loc k s; He looked at the low lanes bo rdered

- With the glossy growing box .

H e longed fo r the p eace and the silence ,

And the sh adows that lengthened there, And his wee wild heart was weary

Of skimming the endless air .

old And now in the green garden , I w how kno not it came ,

A single p ansy is blooming ,

B right as a yellow flame .

s And whenever a gay gust passe ,

It quivers as if with p ain ,

For the butterfly- soul that is in it Longs for the winds again ! E R H LEN G AY CONE.

362 M IGNONETTE

TH ERE was once a queen who was so fond of flowers that she wished to make he r ga rden

e the most beautiful on in the wo rld . M es seng ers from he r cou rt were sent into strange lands , and commanded to bring he r maj esty ra re and wonderful flowering plants to fill he r ga rden with a wealth Of bloom . “ for It must be a ga rden fit a queen , she said to those who we re sent at he r bidding . ’ So great was this queen s love of flowe rs that she o rdered he r servants to keep a bou quet in every room O f the p alace du ring the

flowe r season . And every mo rning he r h and maidens gathe red the choicest blossoms and ’ placed them upon a table in the queen s own room . Now it chanced one d ay that while the 364 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK handmaidens were picking the flowers fo r one thei r queen , o f them looked over the ga r den wall to the blue hills th at lay beyond . To he r great su rp rise , she discovered that a field — alight with wonderful colo rs yellow, blue , — and crimson stretched befo re her . I t reached out toward a bank Of white daisies which bo rdered the distant h ills . “ !” Come , come sh e called to the others . ?” See , is this not a fai r sight The handmaidens came at the call and we re lost in wonde r at the beauty of the scene . “ Let us gathe r he r maj esty’s bouquet th is ” morning from the flowers here , suggested “ our one. I am su re queen does not know how ” much beauty lies so close to he r own garden .

The others were well pleased with the plan .

Togethe r they climbed the stone wall , ran into of the field , and gathered a wealth blossoms . In a little while these field flowers graced the royal table . ow N the queen who , as you know, loved he r flowers mo re than any other one thing in the wo rld , never failed each mo rning to look at her bouquet and examine with loving care

366 T H E TURQUOI S E STORY BOO K

But day after d ay the queen was disap pointed , because she missed from h er flowers the one whose p erfume was the sweetest she h ad ever enjoyed . Once o r t wice she thought the handmaidens h ad found the blossom , but in a little while she knew the scent was not the one she was hop ing to find . “ ’ One morning she said , I ll go with you to gather the blossoms , my h andmaidens . I sh all ” find the flower by its rare Odo r . Then the maidens told th e queen about the

the meadow outside royal p ark, and together

the they went to beautiful field , whose blos ’ er soms delighted h m aj esty s heart . M any times while they were all searching fo r the treasu re , they saw the queen stoop over a bright flowe r and linger fo r a moment or two . “ No Then she would sh ake her head and say, , ’ that is not th e p erfume I am searching . “ It must be in this meadow somewhere , “ one said Of th e maidens , fo r many days we ” have gathered flowers nowhere but here . “ ’ ” We ll search until we find it , then , said the queen . M I GNONETT E 367 As she spoke a light breeze began to sti r the

flowers , and a delicate perfume filled th e ai r . “ ” out I smell the ra re Odo r now , c alled her

maj esty . Come , stand nea r fo r a moment ,

and enjoy it . Su rely the flowe r is not fa r ” away . The h andmaidens gathered round thei r “ e f . on o queen Suddenly th em said , Can it be that this odo r comes from the little pl ant unde r ’ ne you r maj esty s foot ? asked o Of th e maidens . “ ” “ Surely not , answered anoth er ; those ” flowers a re so small and colo rless . The queen stooped down and took a sp ray from the humble little plant which h ad sent fo rth an exquisite pe rfume when a ca reless foot

h ad c rushed its blossoms . “ ” It is ! It is ! c ried th e queen in delight.

I have found it at last . I t shall be brought

into th e royal ga rdens , and shall be my special

treasu re . What a modest little plant it is , and

what ra re delight it gives . “ Sh all you give you r treasu re a name r

asked the h andmaidens . The queen looked fo r a moment at the sp ray “ she held . Then she said , I shall call it 368 T H E TURQUO I SE STO RY BOO K ‘ M ignonette , which means little darling .

Acco rdingly , the mignonette was taken from its wild life in the meadows and brought into the gardens , where it still gives forth the sweet of est all perfumes .

370 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK And beds of heliotrop e th at in the night f ’ O fered rare incense fo r the stars delight .

Robin and catbi rd sought her i ris pool ,

luttered F and bathed them in its shallow cool , Then poised one h appy moment on the banks

To offer to the stream thei r lyric thanks . R EDWA D BLISS REED . ON A M I D S UM M ER DAY - O , grown ups cannot understand

- And grown ups never will , ’ How sho rt s the way to fai ry - land Ac ross the pu rple hill

: They smile thei r smile is very bland , Thei r eyes a re wise and chill ; — ’ And yet at just a child s command ’ The wo rld s an Eden still .

ALFRED NOYES .

O OO .TH E TURQUOI S E ST RY B K

Red skyat night ’ Is the fai ries delight ; Red sky in the mo rning e ’ Is th fairies warning .

But there hasn’t been a cloud as big as my t humb nail in the sky all day long, said the “ c an e r n merry little fai ry. H ow ther be ai without clouds ?” The on shoemake r nodded his head , went with his wo rk , and sang again

The clea r blue sky

Means rain is nigh .

O ne hou r befo re midnight when the big round moon lit up the fields and dells a rain bowtroop of fai ries in dainty gossamer robes and sp arkling slippers came fo rth from thei r village in the hills for the midsummer night

- m merry aking . The dancing in a ring was the greatest s o i e p rt . F rst they fo rmed a ci rcl standing e o v ry cl se together Then , keeping time to of the music the fai ry fiddler , who stood in the TH E FRI ENDLY COWS LI P BELLS 375

center, the little revellers danced round and round in a ring which grew la rge r and large r until the dancers could scarcely touch one ’ of another s tiny fingers . Peals silvery l augh te r filled the ai r as they b roke away from the ring and h ad a merry game of h ide and seek ’ or fiddlers catch , until the fai ry music lu red

them back to the dancing ring . Th ree times they h ad danced in the ring ; th ree times they had frolicked among the grass blades in the merry games of hide and

seek and catch , when suddenly they noticed a

dark shadow fall on the green dancing rings . V V istfullythey pee red at the sky to see wh at

was the matte r . Soft clouds were sailing right ac ross the moon ’s face and the next moment

a few p atte ring raind rops began to fall , and

th e fai ry shoemake r , who h ad b rought h is wo rk out into the fields ( he neve r joined in out : the spo rt) , sang in a high , ringing voice “A clea r blue sky

M eans rain is nigh . The fai ries all knew what he meant fo r he had sung the same little rhyme seve ral times 376 TH E TURQUOI SE STO RY B OOK du ring the day when they had rejoiced about f the p romise o a clear, moonlight night . “What sh all we do ?” Where shall we go ? asked the tiny c rea the tu res , fo r raindrops were beginning to fall faster . “ See how the cowslip bells are bending . ” n Perhaps they mea to shelter us , said the fai ry queen . In a twinkling groups of fairies fled to the O stalks of cowslip tufts . ne after another each crept quickly into one of the hanging of bells the flowers , and there they nestled

softly, safe from the p attering raind rops , which fell faster and faste r in a midnight H ow summe r showe r . cosy they were , cud dled up in the golden bells which swayed gen tl yto and fro as light breezes touched them . SO delighted they we re with these lovely cra dles th at they sang one of thei r sweetest mel odies when the clouds disappeared and the full moon again flooded the meadow with

light . The fai ries did not fo rget the servic e of the er friendly cowslip bells . They gave the flow

RO BIN GOODFELLOW

ERNEST RHYS

O u NCE pon a time , a great while ago , when men did eat and d rink less , and were mo re honest, and knew no knavery, there was wont to walk many harmless sp rites called fairies , dancing in brave o rde r in fai ry rings on green hills with sweet music . Sometimes they were i ' inv sible and . , sometimes took divers shapes

M any mad p ranks would they play, as p inch of ing untidy damsels black and blue , and mis placing things in ill - o rdered houses ; but lov in l g ywould they use good gi rls , giving them silver and other p retty toys , which they would for leave them , sometimes in thei r shoes , other times in thei r pockets , sometimes in bright basins and other clean vessels . ow N it ch anced th at in those h appy days , a babe was born in a house to which the fairies 378 RO B IN GOOD FELLOW 379

did like well to rep ai r . This babe was a boy, and the fai ries , to show thei r pleasu re , brought many p retty things th ithe r, coverlets and deli

for d cate linen his c ra le ; and capons , wood cock , and quail fo r the ch ristening , at which the re was so much good chee r that the cle rk had almost fo rgot to say the babe ’s name

Robin Good fellow . So much fo r the bi rth f and ch ristening o little Robin .

When Robin was grown to six years o f age , h e was so knavish that all the neighbo rs did of complain him ; fo r , no soone r was his moth ’ e r s back tu rned , but he was in one knavish

or c on action othe r, so th at his mothe r was strained ( to avo id the complaints ) to take him with he r to market or whe resoeve r she went

or . or rode But this helped little nothing , fo r , i f he rode befo re he r , then would he make mouths and ill - favo red faces at those h e met i f he rode behind he r, then would he clap his h and on the tail ; so th at his mothe r was weary f o the many complaints th at came against him . Yet knew she not how to beat h im justly fo r it , because sh e neve r saw h im do that which was wo rthy of blows . The complaints we re 3 80 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK daily so renewed th at his mother p romised h im a whipp ing . Robin did not like that

and cheer , , therefo re , to avoid it , h e ran away ,

t a - in and left his mo her sorrow g fo r him . After Robin h ad travelled a good day’s ’ r y t jou ne from his mo her s house h e sat down ,

i N and . O , be ng wea ry , he fell asleep sooner

- t h ad slumber closed his eve lids , but h e hought h e saw m any goodlv p rop er li ttl e p ersonages in n antic measu res tripp i g about h im , and with al he heard such music , as h e thought

th at Orpheus , th at famous Greek fiddler ( had one of h e been alive ) , comp ared to th ese h ad been but a poo r musici an. As delights com monly last not long , so did those end sooner th an Robin would willingly th ey should have

and done ; fo r very grief h e awaked , and fou nd by him lying a scroll wherein was l written these ines following, in golden let ‘ ‘ teIS

n my n son and Robi , o ly hei r, How to live t ake thou no care t By natu re hou h ast cunning shifts , ’ Which I ll increase with other gi fts .

382 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK he had been in stable at rack and manger a full month . Then he wished himself a black dog, and he was so ; then a green tree , and he

. one was so So from thing to another , till he was quite su re that he could ch ange himself to anything whatsoever he liked .

! Thereupon , full of delight at his new pow out e rs , Robin Goodfellow set , eage r to put them to the test .

As he was c rossing a field , he met with a ’ red - faced carte r s clown and called to him to stop . “ “ ? Friend , quoth he , wh at is a clock “ A thing , answered the clown , that f shows the time o the day . “ ” Why, then , said Robin Goodfellow , be thou a clock and tell me what time Of the day ” it is . “ owe an I thee not so much service , “ swered the clown again , but , because thou shalt think thyself beholden to me , know th at it is the same time O f the day as it was yester ” day at this time ! These sh rewd answers vexed Robin Good so in re fellow, that himsel f he vowed to be RO B IN GOOD FELLOW 383 venged of the clown , which he did in this manne r . Robin Good fell ow tu rned himsel f into a bi rd and followed this fellow , who was going into a field a little from that place to catch a ho rse that was at grass . The ho rse , being wild , ran ove r dyke and hedge , and the fellow afte r , but to little pu rpose , fo r the ho rse was too swift fo r him . Robin was glad of this or occasion , fo r now neve r was the time to h ave his revenge . Presently Robin shaped himsel f exactly like the ho rse that the clown followed , and so stood right befo re him . Then the clown took hold ’ on of the ho rse s mane and got his back , but he h ad not ridden fa r when , with a stumble ,

Robin hu rled his ride r ove r his head , so th at he almost b roke his neck . But then again he stood still and let the clown mount him once mo re . By the way which the clown now would ride

was a great pond of wate r o f a good depth ,

NO wh ich cove red the road . soone r did he ride into the very middle Of the pond than

Robin Goodfellow tu rned himsel f into a fish , 384 T H E TU RQUOI SE STORY BOOK and so left him with nothing but the p ack saddle on which he was riding betwixt his

legs . M eanwhile the fish swiftly swam to the

a . b nk And then Robin , changed to a naughty “ ” H O ! boy again , ran away laughing , , ho , hoh leaving the poo r clown h alf drowned and c ov

e red with mud .

’ As Robin took his way along a g reen hedge side he fell to singing

And can the docto r make sick men well ? And c an the gipsy a fo rtune tell

- ? Without lily, germander, and cockle shell

- With sweet brier,

And bon - fire

And strawberry wine , ” And columbine .

o e to And when he had sung this v r, he fell wondering what he should next tu rn h imself

into . Then , as h e saw the smoke rise from of the chimneys the next town , he thought to h imself it would be to him great spo rt to walk n the streets with a broom o his shoulder, and c ry

3 86 T H E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

on But it befell that, the very next night

- to his playing the chimney sweep , Robin h ad a summons from the land where are no chim n eys . Fo r King Oberon , seeing Robin Good

fellow do so many merry tricks , called him out of his bed with these words , saying

Robin , my son , come ; quickly rise

Fi rst stretch , then yawn , and rub you r

Fo r thou must go with me tonight, ’ ” f - And taste o Fai ry land s delight .

Robin , hea ring this , rose and went to him .

There were with King Oberon many fai ries , all atti red in green . All these , with King did Oberon , welcome Robin Goodfellow into thei r company . Oberon took Robin by the hand and led him a fai r dance : thei r musician ’ had an excellent bag - p ip e made of a wren s quill and the skin of a G reenland fly . This pipe was SO sh rill and so sweet that a Scottish p ipe , comp ared to it , would no mo re come ’ nea r it than a J ew s - h arp doth to an I rish O h arp . After they had danced , King beron said to Robin ' RO B IN GOOD FELLOW

’ Whene e r you hea r the p ipe r blow, Round and round the fai ries go !

And nightly you must with us dance ,

In meadows where the moonbeams glance ,

And make the ci rcle , h and in hand

That is the law of Fai ry - land ! There thou sh alt see wh at no man knows ; While sleep the eyes of men doth close !”

SO ma rched they, with thei r p ipe r befo re ,

- to the Fai ry land . The re did King Obe ron show Robin Goodfellow many sec rets , which he neve r did open to the wo rld . And the re ,

- in Fai ry land , doth Robin Goodfellow abide now this many a long year. A QUARREL IN FAI RYLAND

“ ’ ( ARRANGED FROM A MIDSUMMER N IGHT S DREAM ”) — Time M idsummer Night . — An Place ench anted grove .

Cha ra c ters — OBERON King of Fa iryla nd — TITANIA Q ueen of Fa iryla nd — FUCK R obin G oodfellow — ' BOTTOM A c lowmsh fellow

PEAS - BLOSSOM COBWEB MOTH Fa iries MUSTARD SEED ATTENDANT FAIRIES SCENE I

Enter rom o osite rid es a ( , f pp , FAIRY PUCK )

PUCK . ! ou? How now, sp irit whither wander y 388

390 TH E TURQUO IS E STORY BOOK

A lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king . She never h ad so sweet a Changeling ; And j ealous Oberon would have the child K of night his train , to trace the forests wild .

But she perfo rce withholds the loved boy, C rowns him with flowers and makes him all her joy or And now they never meet in grove green , or d By fountain clea r, sp angle starlight

sheen ,

But they do squ are , that all thei r elves fo r fea r

- C reep into acorn cups and hide them there .

FAIRY. Either I mistake you r sh ape and making

quite , O r else you are that sh rewd and knavish sp rite

C alléd Robin Goodfellow . Are not you he Th at frights the maidens of the villagery ;

Skims milk , and sometime labou rs in the

quern , And bootless makes the breathless housewife churn ; A QUARREL IN FAI RYLAND 301 And sometime makes the d rink to bea r no ba rn ;

- M isleads night wande rers , laughing at thei r harm ? Those th at Hobgoblin call you and sweet

Puck , You do thei r wo rk and they shall h ave good

luck . Are not you he ?

PUCK . ’ Thou speak st a right ; of I am that merry wande re r the night . O I jest to beron , and make him smile ,

- When I a fat and bean fed ho rse beguile , Neighing in likeness o f a filly foal ; ’ And sometime lu rk I in a gossip s bowl , In ve ry likeness of a roasted c rab ;

And when she d rinks , against he r lips I bob i ’ And on he r w therd dewlap pou r the ale .

The wisest aunt , telling the saddest tale ,

Sometime fo r th ree - foot stool mistak eth me ;

Then slip I from he r, and down topples she , “ ” And tailo r c ries , and falls into a cough ; And then th e whole quire hold thei r hips

and laugh , 39 2 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY B OOK

and And waxen in thei r mirth , and sneeze , swear

A merrier hou r was never wasted there . ! O But , room , fai ry here comes beron .

FAIRY .

And here my mistress . Would that he were gone !

E nter rom one sid e with his tra in ( , f , OBERON ;

rom the other with hers f , TITANIA )

O BERON .

Ill met by moonlight , p roud Titania .

TITANIA .

! . Wh at, j ealous Oberon Fai ry, skip hence O BERON . : ? Ta rry, rash wanton am I not thy lo rd

TITANIA .

Then I must be thy lady . ’ And neve r, since the middle summer s

sp ring, on Met we hill , fo rest, o r head , or By p aved fountain by rushy brook ,

e of O r on the beached marg nt the sea , T r o dance ou ringlet to the whistling wind ,

394 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

’ Fetch me that flower ; the herb I show d

thee once . The juice of it on sleep ing eyelids laid Will make orman orwoman madly dote

Upon the next live c reature that it sees .

Fetch me this herb , and be thou here again .

E re the leviathan can swim a league .

PUCK . I ’ll put a girdle round about the earth in

fo rty minutes . Exit OBERON . ( PUCK )

H aving once this juice , ’ 18 I ll watch Titania when she asleep , li r f And d rop the quou o it in her eyes .

e The next thing th n she , waking, looks upon , on or or B e it lion , bea r, wolf , bull , oron On meddling monkey, busy ape , She shall pu rsue it with the soul of love ; And ere I take this ch arm from O ff her

sight ,

e As I can tak it with another herb , I ’ll make he r render up her p age to me

( R e- enter PUCK ) ? H ast thou the flower there Welcome ,

wandere r. A Q UARREL FAI RYLAN D

PUCK .

Aye , he re it is .

OBERON .

I p ray thee , give it me . I know a bank whereon the wild thyme

blows , Whe re oxlips and the nodding violet grows ;

- Quite ove r canopied with lush woodbine ,

- With sweet musk roses , and with eglantine .

of There sleeps Titania sometime the night, Lull’d in these flowe rs with dances and de

light . ’ And the re the snake th rows he r enamell d

skin , Weed wide enough to wrap a fai ry in ; And with the juice of th is I ’ll streak he r eyes f And make her full o h ateful fantasies .

S CENE I I

( Another pa rt of the wood )

E nter with her tra in ( TITANIA , )

TITANIA .

Come , now a roundel and a fai ry song 396 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOOK

of Then , fo r the third p art a minute , hence ;

Some to kill cankers in the musk - rose buds ;

Some wa r with rere - mice fo r thei r leathern

wings , ’ T o make my small elves coats ; and some keep back owl The clamo rous , that nightly hoots and wonders our At quaint spi rits . Sing me now asleep ; fi Then to you r Of ces , and let me rest . ( The FAIRIES sing ) FIRST FA1RY

You spotted snakes with double tongue ,

Tho rny hedgehogs , be not seen ;

- Newt and blind wo rms , do no wrong,

Come not nea r our fairy queen . h r C o us.

Philomel , with melody, S ing in our sweet lullaby ;

Lulla , lulla , lullaby, lulla , lulla , lullaby .

e Nev r h arm , no r spell , no r charm , Come our lovely lady nigh ;

SO i . , good n ght , with lullaby

SECOND FAIRY .

Weaving sp iders , come here ;

398 TH E TURQUOI S E STORY BOOK

Wake when some vile thing is near . !Exit OBERON!

The ( mischievous little PUCK , wandering in the fo rest , meets a clownish fellow named ’ BOTTOM . Very slyly PUCK slips an ass s head ’ over BOTTOM S h ai ry p ate ; and in this strange disguise the clown walks very near the flowery bank where TITANIA lies sleeping . He sings in a h arsh voice and awakens the Fairy Queen . The ch arm makes her fall in love with BOT

TOM , since he is the first creatu re she sees upon waking . )

sin BOTTOM ( g s) . of The ousel cock so black hue ,

- With o range tawny bill ,

The th rostle with his note so true ,

The wren with little quill , nin TITANIA ( a wa k e g ) . What angel wakes me from my flowery bed ?

s BOTTOM ( ing s) .

The finch , the sp arrow , and the lark ,

T he - plain song cuckoo grey, Whose note full many a man doth ma rk A QUARREL IN FAI RYLAN D 399

And da res not answe r nay ;

fo r, indeed , who would set h is wit to so foolish a bi rd ? Who would give a bi rd the “ ? lie , though he c ry cuckoo never so

TITANIA .

I p ray thee , gentle mo rtal , sing again ’ M ine ea r is much enamord o f thy note ;

8 0 e is mine eye enth rall d to thy shape , And thy fai r vi rtue ’s fo rce perfo rce doth move me

V On the first iew to say, to swea r, I love

thee .

BOTTOM .

Methinks , mistress , you should have little for : reason that and yet , to say the truth , reason and love keep little comp any to

- a - gethe r now days ; the mo re the pity, that some honest neighbou rs will not make them

friends . Nay, I can gleek upon occasion .

TITANIA .

Thou a rt as wise as thou art beautiful .

BOTTOM .

: Not so , neither but i f I had wit enough out of to get this wood , I h ave enough to

se rve mine own turn . 400 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOO K

TITANIA . Out of this wood do not desi re to go W Thou shalt remain here , whether thou ilt r o no . of I am a sp i rit no common rate , The Summer still doth tend upon my state ;

And I do love thee . Therefo re , go with me . ’ I ll give thee fairies to attend on thee And they sh all fetch thee j ewels from the

deep ,

on e And sing , while thou p r ssed flowers dost sleep

And I will pu rge thy mo rtal grossness so .

That thou sh alt like ai ry spi rit go . Peaseblossom ! Cobweb ! Moth ! and Mus

tardseed !

E nter PEASEBLOSSOM a nd ( , COBWEB , MOTH , MUSTARDSEED)

P EASEBLOSSOM . Ready .

COBWEB . And I . I MOTH . And .

MUSTARDSEED . And I .

40 2 TH E TURQUO I S E STORY BOO K

SCENE I II

Enter a nd PEASEBLOSSOM ( TITANIA BOTTOM ; , ‘ D ED a nd COBWEB , MOTH , MUSTAR SE ,

other a ttendin O behind FAIRIES g ; BERON ,

unse en. )

TITANIA . h Come , sit thee down upon t is flowery bed , While I thy amiable cheeks do coy

And stick musk - roses in thy sleek smooth

head . ’ Pe e l BOTTOM . Where s as b ossom? P A E SEBLOSSOM . Ready . Pe e l as b ossom. BOTTOM . Sc ratch my head , Where’s Monsieu r Cobweb ?

COBWEB . Ready . C d o u BOTTOM . Monsieu r obweb , goo m nsie r,

get you r weapons in you r h and , and kill me

a red - hipped humble - bee on the top of a

thistle ; and , good monsieu r, bring me the

- D honey bag . O not fret you rself too much

in the action , monsieu r ; and , good monsieu r,

have a care the honey - bag break not ; I would be loath to have you overflown with A QUARREL IN FAI RYLAN D 40 3

’ - a honey bag , signio r . Whe re s Monsieu r M usta rdseed ?

D D bow MUSTAR SEE ( ing ) . Ready .

BOTTOM . Give me you r neaf , Monsieu r

Musta rdseed . Pray you , leave you r cou r

tesy, good monsieu r . D ’ ? MUSTARDS EE . Wh at s you r will M BOTTO . Nothing , good monsieu r, but to

v ler help C a a yCobweb to sc ratch . I must ’ to the barber s , monsieu r , fo r methinks I am ma rvellous h ai ry about the face ; and I

am such a tende r ass , i f my hai r do but

tickle me I must sc ratch . N TITA IA .

What , wilt thou hea r some music , my sweet love ?

BOTTOM . I h ave a reasonable good ea r in ’ music . Let s h ave the tongs and the bones . ( R oug h m usic is pla yed )

TITANIA . ’

d esirst . O r say, sweet love , what thou to eat

BOTTOM . Truly, a peck o f p rovende r ; I

could munch you r good d ry oats . Me thinks I have a great desi re to a bottle o f

: . h ay good hay, sweet h ay , h ath no fellow 404 TH E TURQUOI SE STO RY B OOK

TITANIA . I h ave a ventu rous fai ry th at shall ’ seek the squi rrel s hoard , and fetch thee

thence new nuts . M BOTTO . I h ad rather h ave a handful ortwo of d ried peas . But, I p ray you , let none o f

you r p eople sti r me . I have an exposition of sleep come upon me .

TITANIA . Sleep thou

Fairies , be gone , and be all ways away . ( Exeunt FAIRIES)

( E nter PUCK )

OBERON ( a dva nc ing ) . ’

. u Welcome , good Robin S ee st tho this sweet sight ? He r dotage now I do begin to p ity ; For of , meeting h er late behind the wood , S eeking sweet favou rs fo r this h ateful fool I did upb raid her and fall out with her Forshe his h ai ry temples then had rounded With co ronet of fresh and fragrant flowe rs ; on And th at same dew, which sometime the buds

406 TH E TURQUOI SE STORY BOO K

’ ’ ’ Dian s bud o er Cup id s flowe r

H ath such fo rce and blessed power . Now e ou , my Titania ; wak y , my sweet ( Queen !

TITANIA . My Oberon !what visions have I seen ! ’ e m r M ethought I was na ou d of an ass . O BERON . ! Sound music Come , my Queen , take h ands

with me .

PUCK .

Fai ry King, attend and mark

I do hea r the mo rning lark .

OBERON .

e Th n , my Queen , in silence sad , Trip we afte r the night sh ade ° We the globe can comp ass soon ’ Swifte r than the wand ring moon .

TITANIA .

Come , my lo rd

Exeunt a nd tra in ( OBERON , TITANIA, )

PUCK . f I f we shadows h ave o fended ,

Think but this , and all is mended , That you have but slumbered here A QUARREL IN FAI RYLAN D 40 7

While these visions did appea r .

O - S , good night unto you all ;

Give me you r hands i f we be f riends ,

And Robin shall resto re amends .

WILLIAM S HAKESPEARE . IN TH E COOL O F TH E EVEN ING

IN the cool Of the evening, when the low sweet

whispers waken ,

When the labou rers tu rn them homeward ,

and the wea ry h ave thei r will , ’ When the censers Of the roses o er the fo rest

aisles a re shaken , Is it but the wind that cometh d er the fa r green hill ?

Fo r they say ’tis but the sunset winds th at wan

er d th rough the heather ,

Rustle all the meadow - grass and bend the dewy fern ; ’ They say tis but the winds that howthe reed s

in p raye r together , And fill the sh aken pools with fire along the shadowy bu rn