The Sun's Babies Part 3

He brushed tiny pollen grains off his head and gave them to the Violet.

"Thank you," said the Violet. "Please take some of mine back to my cousins." She laid some of hers on his head, and he flew off.

Filled with joy, the Violet set to work to make her little green b.a.l.l.s into seeds.

"Well, if I had thought a bee really would come, I would have made a flower too," said the Pansy.

THE CHERRY CHILDREN

It was early spring. The Cherry Children woke up and called: "Mother, may we go to play now?"

"Wait till I have made your fairy boats," said the Cherry Mother.

They lay still and waited, and she made their fairy boats, with white silk sails. Then they sprang up and played in the suns.h.i.+ne, sailing to and fro on the spring winds, and throwing tiny scent-b.a.l.l.s out into the air. The bees and b.u.t.terflies and silver moths came to visit them; everybody laughed and chattered and was happy.

After a while the Cherry Children grew tired.

"Mother," they called, "we have played enough. We should like to rest now."

"Creep into your little green cradles," said the Cherry Mother. "Rest there and grow while I make your cradles big."

They crept into their cradles. The mother gently loosened the white sails and dropped them on the ground, where they lay like scented snowflakes. Then she made the cradles bigger as the children grew.

She lined the wooden walls with softest satin, and covered them with a thick green covering. The winds blew and rocked the little cradles to and fro; from the neighbouring trees the birds sang soft lullabies, and watched and waited.

The green cradle coverings turned deep red. Once more the Cherry Children woke up.

"Mother, we wish to grow," they called.

"The birds are coming. They will carry you away to grow," replied the mother.

The birds came in flocks and carried the Cherry Children away in their beaks. They pecked off the sweet red coverings and ate them, dropping the hard wooden cradles on the ground. There the autumn leaves covered them when they fell, and the rain showers washed them farther and farther into the soft earth.

One day the wooden cradles split open at the sides, and out peeped the Cherry Children. They grew down and up, and soon wherever a cradle had fallen there stood a young cherry tree, slender and green.

THE DAISY FAIRY

She was a dainty little fairy, and all her work was daintily done. The river bank was so gay with her sweet, pink-tipped daisies that everybody admired it. The bees loved the spot.

One day she noticed that a hill standing near had no flowers on it.

"I must make that beautiful too," she thought, so she flew across and planted a daisy-seed near the top.

"That is absurd," said the Hill. "How can a thing so tiny be of any use to me?"

"Wait and see," said the Fairy. To the seed she said: "Swell and sprout and grow up and down."

The seed swelled and sprouted, and grew up and down; when the Fairy came again it had a root and a stem.

"Now make your leaves," she said; when next she came the leaves were made. "Very well done," she said. "Now I will help you to make your flowers, for they are most important."

So she and the daisy worked together at the flowers. First they made a stem, slender and green, with a k.n.o.b at the top. On this they seated the flowers like tiny golden bells round and round in rings. In each flower they put a store of honey for the bees and of pollen for the neighbour flowers. Then they set a row of fine large white petals round the edge to catch the eyes of the bees, and the Fairy tipped them with pink. Last they made the green leaf coverings for the outside to keep away unfriendly insects.

"Fold yourselves over the flowers till the morning," the Fairy said to these leaves, "and then open widely to let the bees come in."

From her river bank the next morning the Fairy saw the daisy s.h.i.+ning in the sunlight. She pointed it out to a bee. "There is a fresh daisy full of honey-cups," she said. The bee flew to it at once. He stood in the middle of the flower, unrolled his long tongue, and supped up the sweet honey from flower after flower, turning himself round and round till he had dipped into every one.

"Thank you, tiny daisies," said the Bee. "That was delicious honey."

"Thank you, Mr. Bee," said the Daisies, "for you have mixed our pollen, and now our seed will grow well."

The Daisy Fairy came again and said: "Drop your petals, close your green leaf coverings, and make your seed."

She came again when the seeds were ripe.

"Now scatter your seeds," she said to the daisy, and to each little seed as it fell she said as before: "Swell and sprout and grow up and down." The seeds did as they were told, and soon there was a ring of strong young daisy plants growing round the first one. Again the flowers were made and the seeds scattered; in a short time the hill was starred with pink and white.

"It is wonderful!" said the Hill. "I should never have believed it if I had not seen it."

"It was a tiny seed," said the Fairy, "but it has made you beautiful."

MY GARDEN

I have a garden of sweetest flowers, Beside the orchard wall.

The sun sends sunbeams, the clouds send showers, To make them gay and tall.

Marigolds, wallflowers, cowslips, pinks, Pansies, and mignonette!

Forget-me-not blue its star-eye winks; Roses their buds have set.

But dearest of all, in their border low, Bloom the daisies so wee.

Pink and crimson, or as white as the snow; Daisies, daisies for me!

BED-TIME

Ticketty Tacketty, tick, tack, tock!

Now then, young man, just look at that clock!

Off with your shoe, and off with your sock.

Ticketty Tacketty, tick, tack, tock.