February, 1920
THE
A Pine Forest
T
•
HERg wn."l oncf· a pmo forest. that hvcd far
away i n tho co unLry. Ii was HO far away that
no huma.n })(>mg had cvor VJ tt<·d the great family
of t roes ; but thoy had for ih<'Jr frif>nd s the Sun,
tho Moon, nnd tht.. Groat Wmd.
Ev<-ry mornmg, as tho s un crept ~lowly up in
tho oaat, tho trocs unfolded their arms and lift(•d
thci r heads for the first ku~~ of t ho s un one exception.
The fathe r and moth<'r of the exception hvcd on
tho edge of the forest, w1th thNr faces turned from
the orookcd littlo tree who was thei r son. All day
lon g they gazed straight out over tho hills and trird
to see only the wind playmg w1th the clouds; but
LA!\DSWOMAN
•
Tht~
trocg ~lowlv dro('J,..'d thPir he ud~ and curled
thmr hranchc:i, r~ady for the fa-.t n.pproachin,g w~ht.
Th, moon shone brightly on tlw .tlent fon~ t ,
turmng their drooping hNtdh to si)Yf"r nnd -penetrat-
ing to tht' great ~jJont d epth bdow whMe our
crooked trc.e mo~cd reF.tlc~sly.
Jt was not th<• wmd for thf·re "il !l no "lTJd; th•
moon kn<.'w that. So ti10 moon left the "ilcmt paths
of the fott. t, and forgot the o\\1. and tbc n~ght-bi~ds.
and drown<'d one !'mall crooked tree Jn a sth·cr mlst.
'rho night-birds called t() the moon, and the fern~
~h.JHred ~Ji~htly , waiting forth,. h1ddcn light. But
one crooked tn•(• droo_[)(:d his head and sl<·pt.
:\f.Y.
Daffodil
HO pasQcq down the wintry "'trN·t '!
Hev,
ho, daffo(li),
•
A sudden flame of gold and q"ect.
W
\Vith sword of emerald ~irt so nea+.
And golden gay from head to ff!ct.
["Da rlJI Jhrrt r
Pl10to. 1
t ACI• ne.,.
PRIMITIVE PLOUGHING - A pea1ant wom an of Cent ral Siberia auidea the ox while her huaband preues
their home-made plough of wood into the aoil.
abovo ovorything thoro alwa~ roso tho picture. of
a crookod littlo tree, and thou hoarts burned Wlth
s hame.
As tho day wore on the s un became hottor and
hotter and tho treos drooped their hoads a. li ttle
and l~okod down into the cool shade. This was
whon the c rookod tree was happy; ho seomcd to
havo a. roa.llife of his own, and he forgot his crooked
little body and liftod up his face to catch a fe w ra.ys
from the kindly s un, who had neve r boon known to
turn his face awa.y.
But evon the s un's time was not his own. H e had
to travel round to the wes t, and the troos raised
thoir h eads U> watc h him go. Tho evening camo,
and he gave thoro ono last farewell before h e sank
behind tho hills. The straight old pines took all
hls gra-cious kindness for themselves , but the crooked
tree had felt the warmth of that farew ell too.
•
H ow aro you here thts wintry day !
Hey, ho, daffodil,
Your r adiant fellows yet delny.
No windtiower dances scarlet ga~,
Kor crocus-flame light up the , .. n)
\V hat land of cloth o' gold and gn•t•n,
H ey, ho, daffodil,
Cloth o' gold \Hlh the green b<>twccn.
Was t hnt you left but ye~t('l' e'en
To h ght a. gloomy world nnd mean ?
King trump<-'tcr to Flora, (pwrn.
H ey, ho, daho