The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-06-29
, selected story. sg
rHE FAIRY FLOWER.

sa
Once there was a itttle girl whose name was
Clara Size had . very kind heart, but she
Mas an unly chi Id and had been petied so much
that she was ike to become very selfish. : Too
late her mother lanentcd that she had indulg-
"a her So much, and stroye TO repair the mis-
Chief and 10 make Clara think otother peoples
haftJlness, and not solely OF her own.q On
some days nothing could be more charming
than Clara's ways. She was gentle and oblig-
ing, and sang all day long, and made every one
VINO came near her happy by her agreeable
manners. Then everybody admired Grand her
mother and aunt were sure that she was cured
OF her pettish dispositions. But, the very next
day, oil her charming ways were exchanged,
She carried moody lace. she was no longer
courteous, and every one who came near her
felt the chill Of her manner, as II AN east WIND
were blowing with her breath. One summer
night alter such a miserable day, Clara went
to her room. The moon was at lts null, anu
poured through the window in such floods that
She needed no other light, Clara sat down by
the window very unhappy. She thought over
the day and wondered at herself, and tried TO
imagine why ii was that Oh some days she was
so happy and on others so wretched. As she
unused she laid her head back on the easy
chair. No sooner had see shut her eyes, than
a strange thing happened. An old man, very
feeble came in, and in his basket which he
seemed hardly able TO bear, was a handful Of
flowers, and two great stones. He came TO
Clara and said, My daughter, will YOU help
CEN 4
make it lighter Then Clara looked at hun
with pouting, and said, Go away Ihen ne
said 4 poor and suffering. WIN you not
tighten my load" Then Clara condescended 10
TO take the flowers out Of the basket. Ihey
~ We're very beautiful, and she laid them III her
lap. '.5 ...l--pl r .-t - - 80 - /
The old man said s. -
"My daughter, you have not lightened my
basket-you have only taken the pleasant
things out OF it and left the heavy, heavy
stones. Oh please lit one of them out of the
basket -
Then Clara was angry and said: ~ a
"Eo get you gone-l will not touch those
No sooner had she said this than the old
man began to change before her, and became
SO bright and white, that he looked like a col
umn of crystal. Then he took one of the
stones and threw it cut of the window and it
new, ana flew, and flew, and fell down ON the
eastern side of a grove, where the sun shone
first every morning-and close by it ran
brook that laughed and loitered aud sported
all day and all night, and played with every
thing that would come to It,. o'i,4t sasssia
And then the crystal old man took the flow
ers out of her lap, and they were wet with
moisture, and he shook them over her head
ald said: ...-.--.s.,t I
.'Change to fowerl Go and stand by the
stone, till your shadow shall be marked upon
this rock l.a. .sas4 r. a % 5.-s lszF 30
In a second, Clara was growing by the side
CT a wide tat stone, and the moon cast the
shadow OF beautiful flower, with long and
slender stem upon the rock. She was very
wretched, and the dew came and comforted
her, and III the morning she could not help
looking at herself IN the brook, aud that came
close To the stone, and she SAW how beautiful
sae was All day her shadow fell ON the rock |
and when the sun went away her shadow went
away too. Ali nght she threw pale shadow
On the rock, and IN the morning when the
moon went away the shadow went away too
And the rock lay still all day and all nig hit and
i NOT f.ax.lr
and iouged and longed; but what could a ten.
der flower do with hard rock? And the
flower asked the brook, Can you help me p
And the brook laughed out louder than ever
q Defoge, and said, Ask the birds. And so She
asked Bobolink, and he came frisking to her
with wonderful speech, in Latin, Greek and
Syriac, with some words from the great lam
guage that was before ali other lang uages
And he ALT upon the flower, and teetsred up
ami down Till she Thought her back would
break; nothing could she learn how to make
her shadow stay upon the rock. . s b
Then she asked spider; and he spun a
web from her bright blossoms, aud fastened it
to the rock, and pent over her, and tied her up
till she feared She should never get loose But
all his nice films did her no good, and her
shadow would not stay upon the rock. & gae I
Then she asked the wind to help her, and
the wind blew away the spiders weD, and blew
SO hard that the flower lay its whole length up-
on the rock, but when the wind lett her and
she rose up, there Mas no shadow there - 4
And size said-'What is beauty worth, if it
grows by the side OF a stone thar does not feel
lt, or care for ity's- IN fRF - 4
s"rhen she asked the dew to help her And
the dew said, How can help you? l hvs.
contentedly in darkness. l put OH my beauty
only 70 please other things. l let the sun
come through my crops, though know it viii
Consume me-.
The flower said, & wiahF 1 were dew. I'll
would do some good Now my beauty does
me no good and l anu wasting 1t every day up-
an Sa rock. When the Hover breathed thus
pers ali around, but he 5Ewtf aRd yA!
only the brook. $500 ~ 80 f.l-,- 4, 5,s,,-sl n
girl. She was gathering ferns, and nlosses and
flowers. Whenever she saw a tuft Uf nloss
she SAID, Please, dear moss, may cake YOU?
And whenever she saw beautiful branch
with scarlet leaves, she said, Dear bush, may
/ take these leaves And then she saw ii
beautiful Columbine growing by the edge Of a
rock, and she sad, OH, SWEET Coluinbine, may
L PLUCK you2' Aud the flower said, 'please, 4
.-.Ist not go till my shadow is fastened on the
rock Then the young lady took from her
case a pencil, anu III moment traced the
shadow of the Coiumbine upon the rock, and
wDen she had done she reacned her hanu and
took the stem low down and broke it Off,
Then Clara sprang up from her chair by the
window, and there stood her mother, saying:
My dear daughter, you should not rail-
asleep by an open window, not even iii sum
mer, my child. How damp you arei Come, .
hasten 10 bed. s ...a z "a. s#.-s f.-.r-.r
"1t was many days before CLARA could .,e.-
suade herself that she had only dreamed Ii
was many months before she told the uream
to her mother. And when she did, ner moth
er said: . rrLg ,E.-t# 4
''Ah, Clara, would that all girls might
cream, II only It made them as good as your
cream has made YOU y Beechers No,rcood.