The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-05
FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS.
The Two Trees.

The Two Trees.
have favorite tree, my child;
whether II Is also yours or not, / shall |
be clad to know when you have heard |
nv little story. This favorite of |
mine is called the birch, and 1 am
going to tel you something about it.
In front of q little lonely house
stood q birch and a fir-tree. There
had they first sprung from the earth
and grown up together, side by side.
Many years before the great-grand-
father of the man to whom the house
now belonged had sOwn the seeds OF
both, and they had grown so fast as
to become splendidly tall and stood so
close to each other that the dark FIR
had shot out its prickery boughs into
the midst of the birch's pretty,
bright green twigs. You would al
most have thought that they were
standing arm in arm as we men do.
l really believe that trees which
grow so close to one another, like
brothers and sisters, and live on to-
gether through rain, snow, storm,
heat, dust and sunshine, do actually
when anybody Is SO cruel as to up
root either of the two and set it out
somewhere else, the transplanted one
is sure to die. Perhaps you have
never noticed how sad it is to see
such beautiful tall tree after it is
dead, standing at midsummer quite
bald and bare among its green COM
panions, good for nothing but to be
cut down and burned, or sawed into
boards to make chests and boxes of.
/ just wanted to say this about it.
Now we will return to our birch and
fir tree.
Year after year they lived on to-
gether in peace and joy. The birch
had a slender trunk that shone like
pure silver, and was very smooth and
delicate; for that reason did Spring,
when he come, always Chamber first
to its top, and deck 1t before all 9TH
ers with a multitude Of little leaves
that shimmered with golden light,
and punches of wonderfully tiny
blossoms. You know them well,
dear, children are always plucking
them and call them pussies," as
they do the first plump buds on the
hazel nut bushes. The birch in
spring time is really pretty enough
to kiss.
The fir now did not fare half as well,
but had to be cOntented with mere
fresh, bright green spikes on every
bough; so the birch, nodding and
smiling at him, flung over his head,
by way of decoration, her long, slight
tWigs, and that looked drOll enough,
for the fir must needs put on very
grave face. He hardly liked the jest.
Every one admired the lovely birch,
and could not understand how she
,, could so tenderly embrace the solemn
fir. How can she be so fond of the
surly fellow? thought they.
In summer nobody took much no.
tice of the fir, with his stiff, sharp
needles, because there were plenty
prettier and livlier things to look at,
you know, but the time came when
the leaves of the lovely birch became
brown and dry, and after trembling
= on the branches for awhile, fell to the
? ground. Then she stood there naked
| and weary, terrified at the coming Of
cruel Winter, until the fir threw his
dark, strong arms about his beautiful
r friend and in them she fell fast asleep
, like tired child i'm the embrace of q
/. fond mother. All winter long did he
keep faithful watch that not one
branch of hers should be carried
away by the storms, not one of hel
twigs broken by the heavy snow
Gladly did he bear all for her, and the
fir can bear a great deal, for through.
out the whole winter he never loses
his sharp needles, but remains fresh
and bright when all around is dead
, and cOlOrless then is he held in spe.
cial honor, and so we admire his
dusky coat a. to be ready to stroke i,
in our pleasure at beholding a bit OF
green.
The people who live in the small
cottage loved both the fir and the
birch very dearly. You can scarcely
imagine how much. They would
not have expected the house
itself to stand had the trees been
taken away. They had but one
child, boy just two years old
who looked out upon the world with
, bright glad eyes. lie had often run
about beneathI the trees all day
long, playing i'm their shade and
sometimes his father would take him
! i'm his arms and hold him up SO high
, that he would snatch at the slender
birch-boughs, laughing merrily; but
with the fir he would have nothing
to do, for once when he made a. bold
clutch at its branches they had prick.
I ed him terribly. Often too had he
|, gone to sleep under the trees, they
, sang such lovely lullabies. Now that
f it was winter he had to stay indoors
of course, and could no longer visit
f them. They were sorry for that and
the little one more so. eff never
60 out there, they'll suppose I've for.
, gotten all about them," said the dear
child, and was always thinking Of
them by day and dreaming at night
that they were veXed with him.
Atlast came dear, delightful Christ
mas Eve, when the dear little boy
sat with his old nurse, in dark room
until his parents should call him.
You can guess why they were no.
with their child, 1 know. Because
they were decorating a Christmas
tree for the good, little fellow, and II
, must have given them great dea
to Edo, for they kept running in and
. out, and 1t was a long, long time be-
fore all was ready and the call came
If you think he sat quite still in the
spot all this while, you make great
mistake. No, small as he was, he
kept trotting back and forth and
would have peeped through the key
hole, If it had not been stuffed with
something, and was besides continu
ally calling his mother, who actually
came at last, and leading the little
rogue by the hand, knocked at the
door of the gift chamber. 1t was
J opened by his father, wide, very
; wide. Oh! oh! what was il thai