Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-10-27
THE COw.TREB.

"Mamma," said little Robbie Wood,
one day, at the d~inner-table, chow does
butter grow?'
''Oh, ho!" cried out his brother Har-
~, before mamma could answer; ''what
a goose you are, Rob! butter don't
grow"
Mamma looked across the table and
saw u little lip quivering, for Robbie
hated to be laughed at. Harry saw it,
too, and was sorry.
"No matter, Rob-" said he; 81 had
no business to laugh at you; but it was
such a funny idea;'' and Harry had
hard work to keep back another shout.
81 suppose you would think it was
very funny said mamma, putting
some milk into her cup of tea, "f
l told you that there is a country
where the people get milk from trees"
The great tears in Robbie's eyes for
got to roll out, and Harry stared at his
mother to see if she was joking
cit is true," said she.
CHOW, mamma" said Harry, in a
very coaxing tone, ''you are going to
tell us about it, aren't youP It will
make such a splendid story"
81 haven't time now,' mamma said;
"but come to me after supper and you
shall hear it."
The boys went out to play that after
noon, and perhaps you think they forgot
all about the story; but they didn't do
any such thing, and Just as soon as sup
per was over, and mamma had taken
her sewing and sat down to the table,
the boys brought their chairs and sat
down in front Of her.
CHOW, mamma, for the story"
"Well," began mamma. Some way
or other all mammals stories began
with ''well." The boys had learned to
like it very much. 1t was like smelling
hot gingerbread when they went into
the Kitchen; they always knew then that
mamma would give them a piece. So
when mamma began a story with
"well," they knew something nice was
coming.
"Well," said mamma, .far away
from here-so far away that people 20
in ships, tossing up and down on the
waves -"
"That must be great fun. I'd like to
co." said Harry.
"Don't talk, Harry" said Robbie,
with his eyes on mammals face.
$50 far away" continued man.
ma, ''that very few travellers go there,
there is a country very different from
ours. There is never any cold weather,
any snow or ice. There are won
derful things there. The fishes are of
lovely colors, blue and yellow and or
ange and red; you can see them shining
far down in the clear water. There are
sharks, and alligators, and crocodiles,
too, and they are not lovely at all"
Don't they eat people sometimes?"
asked Harry.
"Somctimes," said mamma.
Rob looked frightened, and mamma
hurried on.
"But the birds are even more beauti-
full than the fishes; some Of them are as
white as snow, and some of them are
as pink as baby's cheeks, and some of
them have bright red wings; some of
them are green and gold, with lovely
dropping tail-feathers a yard long. One
of them has a cry that sounds just like
a child in trouble-it would make YOU
sad to hear it; and there is one that has
a spur as sharp as steel under his wing,
so he can fight his enemies. There are
q great many gay little humming-birds
that fly in and out among the trees, and
everywhere green and purple dragon
flies dart about in the bushes.
"But the plants and trees are the
most wonderful of all. There is a flow
er called the fever flower, because at
certain times in the day it gives out
heat; and there is u plant called the
pitcher plant, because its leaves are
folded up into little green pitchers that
hold water. One of the plants has a
very big flower that just before it bios
SONS looks like a swan held by its bill,
but when it is all open it turns into a
l~berty-cap with a violet lining. The
vines climb way up to the tops of the
tall trees and blossom there; and ferns,
that grow close to the ground here,
grow there till they are as high as trees.
You would like to go to walk there and
see the strange trees: cotfee-trees, with
shining evergreen leaves, and little
white flowers, very sweet to smell; CO.
coa-trees, verytall and straight, witE a
cluster of leaves at the top-ereat
leaves twenty feet long; and orange
NNS"' "toA ASuNSo dLu blossoms ana
green and ripe oranges all on the tree
at once. Butt think you would like
best of all to see the cow-tree-only
you would have to climb up very high.
for it likes to live on high places"
81 wouldn't mind that" said Rob-
bic; ~ can climb"
"Guess you would get tired" said
Harry.
"No, Wouldn't, either" said Rob.
bic. "Would l, mamma?"
"!f you lived down in the valley. it
would be a long walk said mamma:
"tor these trees grow way up on the
sides OF the mountains. Sometimes #
doesn't rain in that part of tie country
TOR weeks, and weeks. and Il Antbs. and
the leaves droop, and the poor cow-trees
look as If they were dead; but if Won
were to cut a little place in the trunk of
n of them, what DO you think would
come out? Nice, sweet milk!n
lis it just like cows milk?r asked
Harry. ~
Not just exactly like it, said man.
ms, "but almost like it, and lust as
good to drink. You would think So If
you could see the little boys and girls