The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1895-09-19
FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
lrTENESTING READING FOR THE
YOUNG PEOPLE.
Turned Into n Flower, the Story of
Observation-Disclosures of. wild Anil
mals-An ~EnterprisfBg P%hOtogra-
pher-What Sea Is.


ago-in a country called Hellas, there
lived a youth whose name was Mar
cissus. He was a beautiful youth,
strong and very happy, for he ran all
day through the woods and fields,
leaping and playing with his dog and
throwing his bright new spear, for he
was a hunter.
The nymphs-the naiads who lived
In the water, and the dryads, who
dwelt, each one in her own tree, loved
Narcissus, and often asked him to
Join them in their sport. But he only
laughed when they told him how deli
cious the waters were that dubbed up
under the fountains and how COO and
pleasant the shadows under the trees
at noontime. He preferred, he said,
to run through the fields where the
u was ~shining-and so he played by
himself, with only his dog and spear.
But one sultry day, when he had
been running a long way through the
fields and was tired and very warm,
he came to the thick shade of the for
est. As he went into the cool shadow
to rest he thought he could hear the
tinkle, tinkle of water flowing, so he
went en- until at last he found a little
brook. The grasses and ferns were
SO tall and thick upon it's banks, and
1t flowed so quietly over Its pebbles,
that he had never CHANGED to see or
heal it before, but now he was glad,
for he was thirsty. He went tramp
ling owe the thick grasses and ferns,
and threw himself down by the stream
to drink. He leaned Ove n touched
his lips to the water, and as he did so
some one, who seemed to be down in
the brook leaned forward, too. He
started back, and the pretty figure
drew back, too.
Now, Narcissus did not know that it
was his w image, but thought it
must be a beautiful spirit that lived in
the stream, for in those days the peo-
pie said every brook and fountain and
little stream had a spirit that lived
within it, and they called this beauti-
full spirit a naiad.
He called and called, and tried to
take the image up in his arms, but
every time he touched the water the
pretty figure would fly away and the
surface would be full Of rings, just
such as you make when you fling a
pebble into a brook in the meadow.
When the stream was smooth again
the spirit would come back and smile,
but never answer. Again and again
Narcissus tried to coax it up out of
the water, but it would not come.
Every day after this the young hun
ter found his way to the Swallowed
place in the forest and called his beau
tiful companion to come and sport
with him. The figure would always
come, but would never speak nor
dance with him. 1t could not, of
course, for it was only an image.
More and more Narcissus grew to
love this pretty play fellow, until, at
last, he would not leave the stream at
all. He threw away his spear and for
got his faithful dog-forgot ven that
he was hungry, and leaned all day
long over the grassy bank to look at
his w image in the water.
But by and by the nymphs grew
lonely. They wondered where the boy
could be who had preferred the hot,
sunny fields to the cool shadow of
their trees at monday. SO they went
searching for him and calling through
the fields and woods until they came
upon a little brook almost hidden by
ferns and grasses. There they found
a single flower, white and purple,
dropping over the bank, and they said
1t was NarciSsus. He had faded away
they thought, until he had changed to
this pale blossom that was always
dropping it's head to look upon it's own
Image in the water.
He had not really changed into a
flower, of course, but the blossom was
so like him tnat the people gave it his
pretty name. And so, whenever you
see the narcissus flower, l want you
to remember this story l have told you
of the boy who loved his image
so long ago in a country called Hellas.
Educational Gazette.