Evening journal., 1891-11-28


| & the doctor consents"
He drew a deep sigh, and Macha re-
gamed reading In few minutes he said:
"Pve heard enough for now. I'm tired
| aud sleepy"
The sister arranged the pillows and coy
erings. He turned painfully toward the
wall and was silent
| The sun shone through the window that
/ opened on the parterre, and the bright
( rays fell on the bed, bathing the pillows
| with light and gliding the short hair and
| puny neck of the child.
The rose knew nothing OF all this. 1t
| was expanding every hour. The next day
| it would be fully open, but the day after it
would begin to fade and lose its petals.
| That is the whole life of a rose. But in
| that brief existence it was to experience
| many fears and troubles.
The toad had perceived it. When his
ugly eyes first rested on the flower his
heart was touched with strange feeling
He could not keep his face turned from
those delicate petals. The rose pleased
| him He felt an irresistible desire to be
as near as possible to an object so beauti
| full and fragrant. But to express his ten
der sentiments he found only these words;
"Waitl / will eat you up
The rose trembed Why was she fas-
tened to the sten2
The little birds were free and twittered
around her, hopping from branch to
branch, and at times flying far away
The butterflies, too. were free. How she
envied them Oh, that she had wings like
them to escape from those mischievous
eyesl She had not learned that the toad
| sometimes lay In wait even for butterflies
II will eat you up" repeated the reptile
u. III. a 4.
but which sounded only the harsher He
undertook to climb and get near the rose.
81 will eat you up" he kept saying, as he
gazed increasingly at the flower. The rose
saw with horror the clammy repugnant
paws catching on to the twigs below her,
but the toad had great trouble in climb.
ing His fiat body was made for crawling
and leaping on a smooth surface After
each fruitess effort he looked up eagerly
at the branch where the flower was sway
ing and exerted himself anew.
The rose believed its destruction near
and prayed, "Oh. that | might die some
other deathp
The toad climbed higher and higher but
at the spot where the old wood ended and
the young branches commenced, he met
new difficulties. The smooth green bark
was armed with sharp thorns. He pricked
his paws ard body, and rolled down Gov
cred with blood He now stared at the
flower with venom in his heart.
81 tell you" he squeaked, that will
yet eat you up
Night was coming on, and it was needful
60 hunt for his supper. Dragging himself
along he watched for imprudent insects.
Anger prevented him from gorging him
self as much as usual His scratches were
not dangerous, and he resolved to take q
good rest and then return to the flower
which had such strange fascination,
though it was now odious to him.
The next morning the rose had almost
forgotten her enemy She was approach
ing full bloom and was the most beautiful
one in the parterre. Still there was no one
10 admire her. The young master was
helpless on his bed. His sister did not
leave him, and did not appear at the win
dow. Only the birds and butterflies hut
tered about the rose, and the buzzing bees
at times plunged into the corolla for the
honey, and flew away covered with the
, | perched on the bush and commenced
| soLg which was quite unlike the hoars
, | croaking Of the toad. The rose listened
and felt happy. She thought that the bir'
was singing because she was there, an'
perhaps she was right
She did not notice that her enemy wa
again slyly working his way up th
| branches This time the toad did not spar
his paws or sides He mounted higher an
I still higher In the midst Of the swee
song of the nightingale the rose heard th
q dreaded croakng:
/. II told you that I'd eat you up, and
q will eat you up"
! In fact, clinging to the nearest twig, /
4 was devouring her already with his eye
q One moment more and he would be able
4 reach her She felt that she was about
8 perish
The young master had for long tin
"A lain motionless. The sister, seated in
se armchair at the bedside, thought that
st was nsleep For several nights her wax
~ full eyes had watched over the sick on
or Little by little the hand holding the DO,
"a was relaxed, her head inclined, and 81
It. fell into doze,
Ne ''Machar cried the brother.
or She started up. In her dream she W
Of sitting at the window, as the year befoi
and her brother was playing in the garde
t. When she opened her eyes and saw hi
Ia stretched on the bed, thin and feeble, $
he sighed moarnfully.
ch what, my dearY
ck "Maeha, you told me that the roses We
lis open. Can have one?n
lin YES, dear, certainly"
"a She looked ont on the parterre where I
he superb rose fourshed in beauty and (
,ur GRANGE.
er. "Ohl There Is just the one for you
splendid rose. Shall put it in glass
OF | your standw
an. Yes would like it on the stand"
md The young girl took her scissors a
md went to the garden. She had been c
nd ! fined to the chamber SO long that She v
ice dazzled by the sun and benumbed by
IN cool air. She reached the shrub just wi
and the toad was about to spring on the flow
on what a horrorr she exclaimed.
tile Selling the branch, she shook it smart
He The toad fell heavily 70 the ground.
neir covering himself, he leaped furiously
Itch the young girl, but could not get M
sed higher than the hem OF her dress.
, ia | threw il to a distance with the tip OF
I its shoe He dared not come near again,
re- his envious eyes beheld the watchful {
its with which she removed the flower
carried it to the house.
hog As the brother caught sight of the r
rain the FIRST he had seen for so many mon
nds he smiled feebly and made painful m
cklv ment to reach it.
med LET me smell Of it," he moaned.
hted The sister put the stem in his hand
its helped to bring the flower TO his face.
,ha | hreathed the delicious nerfume and n