The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-04-26
Young Folks.
Hares and Easter Eggs.

indeed, but German children believe 1t as
devoutly as they do that the "Christkind"
brings their Christmas presents, or as our
own little ones do in Santa Claus. No one
knows exactly whence came this myth.
Many think it relic OF heather worship |
but writer named Christoph Won Schmid,
in an interesting spry for children, suggests |
this much prettier origin:
Many hundred years ago, a good and no.
BILE lady, Duchess Rosilinda Won Linden
burg, at a time when a cruel war was devas-
tating the land, was obliged to fly from her
beautiful home in Germany, accompanied
by her two-chidrcn and one old man-ser-
want.
They found refuge. in n small mining viii
lsge in the mountains, where the simple but
contented and happy inhabitants did what
they could for their comfort, and placed the
best of all they had at the disposal of the
wanderers Nevertheless, their fare was
miserable no meat was ever to be found,
seldom fish, and not even an egg this last
for the very good reason that there was not
single hen in the village These useful
domestic fowls, now so common everywhere
were originally brought from the East, and
had not yet found their way to this secluded
place. The people had not even heard of
such ''strange BIRDS This troubled the
kind duchess, who well knew the great help
they are in housekeeping, and she deter
mined that the woman who had been so
kind to her should no longer be without
them.
! Accordingly, the next time she sent forth
her faithful old servant to try and gather
news of his master and of the progress of the
war, she commissioned him to bring back
with him a coop full of fowls. This he did
to the great surprise of the simple natives,
and the village children were greatly excited
n few weeks later at the appearance of a
brood of young chickens They were so
pretty and bright, were covered with such
!, soft down, were so opened-eyed, and could
ra.- about after their mother to pick up food
: the very first day, ana were afvvsvther such
A0ontrast,t to the blind, bald, unfedged ,tstp
nests in the hedges, that they could not find
-ssoeds enough 10 express their admiration.
The good lady now saved up eggs for
some time, then invited all the housewives
OF the.silage to a feast, when she set be.
fore them eggs cooked in variety of ways.
She thentaught them how to prepare them
for themselves, and, distributing a number
OF fowls among them, sent the danes home
grateful and happy.
., When Easter approached, she was anx.
ious to arrange some pleasure for the village
children, but had nothing to give them
mot even an apple or nut" only some
eggs: but that, she concluded, was after all
an appropriate offering, ''as an egg is the
. first gift ofthe revining spring" And then
it oecutred to her to boil them with MOSES
and roots that would give them variety Of
brilliant colors, "as the earth," said she
has just laid aside her white mantle, and
decorated herself with many colors; for the
dear God makes the fruit and berries no,
only good to eat, but also pleasant 10 ruu,
npon," and the children's pleasure would
be all the greater
Accordingly, on Easter Sunday, after the
church service, all the little ones of about
the age of her own met together in a garden
and, when their kind hostees had talked tc
them awhile, she led them into a small
neighboring wood. There she told them tc
make nests of moss, and advised each tc
mark well his or her own. All then re.
turned to the garden, where feast of milk
soup with eggs and egg-cakes had been pre-
pared. Afterward they went back to the
wood, and found to their great joy in each
nest five beautiful colored eggs, and on one
of these a short rhyme was written.
The surprise and delight of the little ones
when they discovered nest of the gayly
colored treasures, was very great, and one OF
them exclaimed:
"How wonderful the hens must be that
can lay such pretty eggs; How should like
to see theml'
"Oh no hens could lay such beautiful
e eggs" answered little girl. 81 think it
must have been the little ,hare that sprang
out of the juniper bush when | wanted to
build my nest there"
Then all the children laughed together.
and said. ''The hares lay the colored eggs.
Yes, yes the dear little hares lay the beau
tiful eggs!' And they repeated it till they
n began to believe it,
's Not long aiterward the war ended, and
Duke Arne Won Lindenburg took his wife
and children back to their own palace; but,
before leaving, the Duchess set apart sum
of money to be expended in giving the vii
lage children every Easter feast of eggs.
She instituted the custom also in her own
duchy, and by degrees it spread over the
whole country, the eggs being considered
symbol of redemption or deliyerance from
sin.
To this day the children living in the
country go to The woods just before Easter
aud return with their arms full of twigs and
moss, out of which they build nests and
houses, each child carefully marking his
own with his name. They are then hidden
behind stones and bushes in the garden, or
II the weather be cold, in corners, or under
furniture in the house. And on Easter
morning what an excitement there is to see
what the good little bare has brought Not
only real eggs boiled and colored, but SUI
gar ones too, and often wooden ones that
open like boxes, disclosing, perhaps, pair
of new gloves or bright ribbon He even
sometimes brings hoops and skipping ropes,
and generally his own efiigy in dough OF
candy is found trying to scamper away be.
hind the nest.-,S. Nicholas for AprA
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