The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-12-03
A Thanksgiving Apple Tree.

SSiF APplS-AIee.
The Pansy.
Dolly Parsons and her little broth
Were coming back from the apple
tree, somewhat tired and decidedly |
discouraged. 1t was a fine afternoon
near the first Of October, and the
path to the apple-tree lay through
tall grass and nodding golden-rod
where the bees hummed softly. The
sky was as blue as one could wish,
and the leaves on the trees were just
beginning to be tinted by the earliest
frosts. Certainly it was not the
weather nor the scenery that made
the children sad.
Dolly had her apron filled with
apples, and Bobby held one in his
hand, but they were not very attrac-
overlooking fruit. They were hard
and dingy and small ; you could tell
by looking at them that it would
wrinkle your face to try to eat one ;
and worst of all, almost every
had a little black hole somewhere in
its skin.
"Ugh" said Dolly, as she reached
the kitchen, and dumped them on
the floor before her mother. "I'm
glad | didn't have to carry them any
farther. It's not because they are
heavy a cat could carry them; but
every single M of them has a hor-
rid fat worm walking around in it |!
l nearly bit into one in the first ap-
pie l tried. Wah !" and she gave a
little shiver at the thought of the
bite.
Mrs. Parsons looked at them ST.
Then she said, "They do
look rather discouraging. But don't
think about them any more, my dear.
A great many worse things might
have happened to us, you know"
go, dear! | suppose So" said Dol
ly, "but L think l shouldn't have
minded them SO much. It's the only
bit of fun we have that has to be
spoiled. There hasn't anything hap
pened since spring that hasn't seem
ed to go straight for our apple-tree !'
And then she dropped into a little
heap Oh the floor, and let some tears
roll into her apron. Bobby cried
too; he always cried when his sister
did.
What could be the trouble with
the usually happy little girl? Was
it possible that she was SO fond of
apples that her happiness would be
spoiled by the discovery that those
on their tree were wormy and few
and small? You could not have be.
lieved it if you had known her. The
truth is, this apple-tree had an i'm.
portance all its own.
1t was on the edge of the orchard,
but the orchard did not belong tc
Mrs. Parsons. Her land was a a
row strip, with the little red house
in front, and a little garden behind
that ran up to MI. Sanderson's or.
chard. Just where the line was thai
divided Mr.. Sanderson's land from
Mrs. Parsons no one had known
and at last Mr.. Sanderson had said
81 have been measuring as well az
l can, Mrs. Parsons, to find where
the fence ought to come, and [ CAM
quite make out whether the lineRgoes
on my side or your side of the first
big apple-tree in the orchard. Pm
going to run it on my side, so as tc
be sure and not take more than nv
share. So if you've never lnteG
that apple-tree yours, you can do il
now. [ shouldn't wonder if YOU
could sell the apples on it for quite
a bit, if you don't care to use then
all ; they're some of the best-tastine
fruit anywhere around"
Then the Parsons family-which
consisted only of the mother and
Dolly and Bobby-had rejoiced. All
their house money was not by any
means plentiful, and the prospect Of
adding even a few dollars to what
Mrs. Parsons could earn was a bright
one. 10 make sure of good results
Mr.. Butterworth, the grocer, was
visited, and he agreed, very cheerful
~, to buy all the apples Mrs. Par
oohs "oulu SEM nlm from her one
tree; Mr.. Butterworth had tasted
them himself, and knew they were
good.
1t was quite early in the summer
that Mrs. Parsons said to Dolly: 81
think, my dear, that we are coming
out q little better this year than we
did last; and if l am right, aud we
get any money from the apple-tree,
we will plan to use it for a Thanks
giving dinner. We have not had
such a Thanksgiving as | wanted
such as my mother used to plan for
since you were old enough to re-
member" She did not say "since
your father died." but Dolly knew
very well what she meant, and that
since they had been left alone in the
world it had been hard enough to
find plain things to eat for everyday
dinners, without any holiday extra
yagance.
You may imagine, then, how the
children watched the annle-trea