The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1875-02-12

I
their house and laid it upon the fresh
( brown earth, while he began loosening
the ground little with his rake
The lady-slipper seeds crowded to the
place where the roof of their house used
to be, and peeped out.
Then they all commenced whispering
together rs fast as they could ION
how lovely Here's everything the
canary sung about this morning-the
great trees nearly touching the sky, the
tab green grass, the birds singing, and
don't crowd and push so). And oh oh!
oh are we going to hive here always, and
do nothing but lie in the warm sunshine
and listen to the birds sing l-(don't
crowd and push so)-and-"
Before they could say another word,
tho gardener took up the paper house,
and pouring some of the seeds into the
palm of his hand, scattered them on the
ground, and began raking the dirt over
them.
Those left behind commenced talking
again, this time not so fast, but III II low
whisper /: 90 dear "-(such different
90 dear !" from the first one)-" what
has he done with our brothers and sis
ters ! Shall we never see them again
And will he cover us up in the ground
tool 1t is dreadful to think of-better a
thousand times be back in the seed-box,
listening to the song of the canary"
" BE quiet moment, do, dear ones, l"
said wee brown seed, land listen to
me. Have you all forgotten the last
song we heard the canary sing
First a seed 20 tiny,
Hidden from the sight;
Then two pretty leadets
Struggling toward the light;
Soon bud appearing,
Tdrns into flower.
Kissed by golden sunshine,
Washed by silver shower,
Growing sweeter sweeter,
Evry happy hour J"
kissed 10y golden sunshine.
Washed by silver shower"
echoed the others. "That was the song,
sure enough. Can we believe it "
1.-The songs of the birds are Arrays
true" said the wee seed, for they are
taught to them by the angels.
eve do believe-we do believe, J"
cried the others, hopefully. eve are
no longer afraid, though the gardener is
coming. He viii put us in the dark
ground, but we shall come up again, 10
longer seeds but green leaves. buds and
flowers.
But one little seed that had said moth
ing all this time now hid itself away III
corner, saying: "I'm not going into
the ground" And when the others rolled
merrily ont into the gardeners hand the
paper house tiuttered away with her i'll it
to short distance from the tlower-bed,
and fell on the ground between two cold
gray stones.
Nearly two weeks went by, and the
lonely seed, looking toward the spot
where the lady-slippers had been sown,
one warm summer morning, beheld rows
on rows of bright green leaves peeping
out of the ground and heard them saying
gayly to each other "Well met,
brother" "Good day, sister" How
pleasant it is to be i'll the air and sun
shine once more.
But no one saw or spoke TO her, poor
little thing
Time went on, and the plants grew
larger and stronger, and ut last came
pretty, tender buds, which soon unfold
ed into fragrant flowers of every beauti-
full hue, and the sun, wind, rain and dew
loved them dearly, and 10, bees, birds
and butterflies thought them the sweet
est things on earth.
As for the lonely little seed, it lived a
dreary, friendless life between the two
cold gray stones, and every day it said to
itself, over and over again
ooh would that /, too, had had faith
i'll the song of the canary, then should
have been beautiful and beloved with my
brothers and sisters
Kissed by golden sunshine,
Washed by silver shower,
Growing swecter-sweeter
Evry happy hourr
Margaret Eytinge, in 81. Nicholas.