Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1874-06-24
From the Christian Union.
The DrOll Little House.
A STORY FuR CHILDREN.

uOucc Wts Suiit tuS S'eS
a brook. 1t was put up so quietly that
nobody noticed it until it was all dOue,
and the family we're in. 1t was a drOll
little house, neither white nor brown, but
a beautiful green outside.
For some time every door and window
was shut, aud no one could see what was
going on inside. But at last, when eve
rytbipg was ready, aud all in order, from
top to toe, the little house was suddenly
thrown open, and all the world invited to
call.
And they did call, tell you-the whole
Butterfly family, in gorgeous dresses oil
blue and gold-tbe plainly dressed, but
highly respectable Bee family,-and |
can't tell you how many Of the modest In.
sect family. r,'s q,
The little house was well worth going
to see, too. 1t was no common bulldog,
made of wood or brick, with plain bare
wallis by no means! Every room-and
there were dozens of them-was hung with
the most elegant gold colored curtains
They were finer than silk, and softer and
daintier than anything you ever saw, and
all fragran: with a delightful, fresh per-
fume. 1t was q home 6t for any queen,
1 tell you.
Almost every room Of this curious house
was a nursery, and in each one sat a pa
tient little mother. Droll little creatures
they we're. dressed in pale gold, and never
stirring an inch away from the cradles of
their babies; with funny little husbands
besides, dressed in the SAM lovely color,
and wearing brown caps on their heads.
The husbands were SO tall they could
stretch up over the golden walls into the
wide world outside, aud they got uneasy
and longed to go out. But the little mo-
theirs would not go, and they didn't want
to leave them, so they stayed in the nur-
scry too.
Every night when the sun went down,
the curtains were all drawn close together,
and the whole family went to sleep, and
nobody could see anything but the plain
little house. But the first rays Of the
sun opened the whole hou:e again.
This life went on for SOME time, until
the little mother grew brown with age,
the gorgeous curtains faded, wore out, and
at last were blown away, the tall husbands
got tired of staying and went away. and
left the little mothers alone with their ba.
bics. They had no curtains to keep them
warm, the little house was open night and
day, and allthe winds could blow right
through 1t.
A sad change it seems to us, but little
do the mothers care. They did not mind
the cold, and they were not afraid Of the
dark, and the babies we're growing every
day bigger, and would soon be able to
care for themselves. Aud hen the little
mothers would be satisfied and happy.
They were the most comical babies YOU
ever saw; each one cuddled up in an odd
little cradle, shaped like an egg and orn-
amented and carved outside. They never
cried; and if they had plenty to eat, and
all the time to sleep, that was all they
wanted.
So the little mothers kept them fed, and
watched while they grew browner and
browner till they were nearly ready to 60.
At last, on each droll little cradle came a
small pair Of wings, white and ieecy, and
light as air, and they stood out around
tho bare little house like a ball,
Then the little brown and wlthered up
mothers knew that they had finished their
work, aud the babies could take care of
themselves; so they were satisfied and
happy, and died. And then cam along
q playful breeze, gave the little house a
shake, and away went every baby on its
own wings. and left the droll little house
deserted and bare.
And the babics--still in their cradles
flew away off over the fields, playing with
the breeze, and seeing the world, till the
,uu went down and it grew dark. Then
each one sank to the ground and settled
itself. the comical cradles burst open, and
each little baby came out, ready to build
q house just like its mothers.
Maybe you think this is a fairy story,
but it's every word true. And the gor.
gecus little house, with its patient little
mothers. and dozens Of babies, is after all,
nothing but a--dandelion. Aud if you
look carefully into one you'll see the whole
fa%mily--just as l said.
m 4