American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-07-05
THE PANSY BOXES.
BY MARY L. BOLLES BRANCH.

BY MARY l.. BOLLES BRANCH.
On a broad w1ndow-seat, where the sun
shine lay all the forenoon, were two square
wooden boxes, full of rich black earth land
near by were two little girls talking about
the beautiful flowers they expected tc
have. Both the boxes would have belong
ed to Hetty, the little girl in the blue frock
and white ruffled pinafore, if her cousin
Bessie had not come. Bessie was an or
phan, who had been living with her grand
mother in the country, but now she had
come TO Hetty's home to live, and they
were to be like sisters.
Hetty had never had any one to divide
her things with before, and she felt 6
novel, pleasant importance in setting
apart half her book-shelves, half of heI
closet room, and half of her bureau draw
ers to Bessie; while Bessie, for her part
skipped about like a kitten, arranging
over and over her few possessions, as con
tented as if they had been kingdom.
"And now, mamma" said Hetty, may
l give Bessie one of my pansy boxes?"
Certainly" said mamma, and away the
girls ran to the sitting-room window to
ready, but the seeds had not yet been
planted, and Hetty held the little seed
paper in her hand. 1t had cost all her
fortnight's allowance, but that was moth.
ing, for the pansies were going to be of
all colors and kinds. 1t was the only
garden Hetty could have, for there was no
room out of doors in the little paved
court.
"There'Il be ali colors," said Hetty, as
she poured out the seeds in order to divide
them. 'There'll be purple and golden,
and white, and spotted and black, and
velvety crimson, and the very loveliest
sky-blue"-and there she stopped sudden
ly, and looked rather gravely at the little
bright seeds.
81 never saw so many cOlOrS, but I've
seen violet" said Bessie, delightedly.
Hetty did not answer. She was think
ing how very, very much she wanted sky
blue pansies; she had set her heart upon
them more than upon all the rest, and now
she could not tell the seeds apart, and
suppose all the sky-blue ones should hap
pen to get into Bessie's half! Wouldn't
that be too bad? A wish crossed her mind
that she had not shared her boxes. She
might have kept just one thing to herself.
"I'll put mine in this piece of soft
paper" said Bessie, watching the seeds
with eager brown eyes, and thinking how
slow Hetty was.
Hetty was ashamed to mention the
thought that was in her mind, SO she went
on slowly, and hesitatingly divided the
seeds If she could only tell which were
the sky blue ones! Some of the seeds
were darker than others, and it seemed to
her that the sky blue ones would be more
likely to have light seeds, and she tried
to manage it so that most of the light
seeds would fall to her share. Bessie was
not at all critical, and took what was
given her with great glee.
"Now Pm going to plant them!" she
exclaimed RUNNING to her box
"Mamma told me how" said Hetty:
'you press the seeds down ever so gently
a little way in the soft earth, and then
push just a little over them. I'm going
to plant mine in circles"
Then I'll plant mine like wheel, with
spokes," said Bessie, and both began dill
gently tracing out lines in the black earth,
and laying the little seeds atfectionately
away.
Now we'd better, each of us, lay
over the top" said Hetty, when
they had finished planting. mamma says
pansy seeds jump sometimes"
Jump exclaimed Bessie.
Eyes, when they're growing, and get
out of their places, and we don't want
them to, you know"
No, indeed" said Bessie, my pretti-
est ones might jump over into your box,
and then what should l do?"
am sure I don't know what makes Won
say thatr said Hetty, little tartly.
,,,,',d 80, Ia hnr nS,,s;r Iannb
s.,
The little gardeners lowered
ABOUT their poAes uay ai,er uay' moving
them IN ana out OF tne sunshine, sprlhK-
ling the earth win tepid wafer, ana re
coverlf?! every !i'.Ie seeo ti,a' peePeu oul
mnei, ~ ouno no. 10 ,d ar is. ome ,,my
Sieeii n,ases app1",::u' an" 10y one T Tas
carefully coun'eu' u an were up. lne
littie plants grew raploly anu ninety III the
rich earlh, ana then the girls began 10
wa.cn eagerly lor 'ne sign. Oh puu;
nope il;ihe II 1G ple,.s oplois' saio
-, J "
my aIc an pre.'y ooiols, saiu r,e,ty,
VINO ieit il'tie uls.urpe9 whenever bessie
l ~ such a reiiaIh, anu ,iien sue thougnt
lnal IL sue snu',io a,aTG an int sha-plue