The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-05-17

in so many folds, that little blue-eyed
Mabel chose me as the best one OF all
for the walls of her own castle room /;
for she found the style of my cloak just
.';ght for her tapestries.
She set M her china i'll one place,
hung her pictures in another and made
of Roots and me just As cosy little
home us you'd see in many day 5
journey. Every sunshiny day she came
to ay beneath old Castles shade and
told us about her plans, and made us
every one, Roots, Branch. Trunk and
even Leaves feel that We were doing a
noble thing to grow, that we might thus
give pleasure to so fair queen.
"Old Tree Top whispered down to
had told him sad news: That Castle
Oak as sweet little Mabel had called
us all, was to be cut down the next
morning, for we had been sold to man
who wanted fine oak for cabinet making.
"'Twas great blow to us all we had
grown there for so many years, pet
for more than one; the king of the for
est, and now to be hewn down and sent
adrift, after being pierced by nails, torn
by many saws and scraped and polished
until we wouldn't recognize each other
To leave the birds that had nested for
generations in our Branches, and our
old friend the Wind, whom we loved in
spite of his many moods-his tempests
and his whispered condolences equally
dear,-our coats to be stripped off, our
selves dismembered and-at a cabinet
makers mercy!
"The men appeared before US early in
the morning of that fresh June day, and
began their torturesome work. | will
spare you the details OF all that has
come to me since then, but must tell
you that little Mabel cried out her child
ish grief on poor old Stump and said she
would never, never love another tree as
she did old Castle Oak
"Well, well, my friend,' said Mr..
Scoffer in husky voice, ''your story is
very sad but can't you be satisfied with
the joy you afford little Miss Lois, and
be glad you have met so happy fate
instead of being used for stove-wood as
if fit for nothing better?'' Oh, don't
preach" snapped Grumbler, 'no doubt
/ could have been more badly used.'
sI see, old chap, you're little under
the serf today. but come, listen to this
little mothers happy chatter and be
thankful"
It is the story hour.
''Come, bring your dellies' cradles,
now, sweeties, and mamma will tell you
about the queer bye-lo cradles she had
when she was a little girl said the
mother of these little friends of ours,
Edna and Lois.
"When I was wee child like you,
little girls, my mamma took me to visit
grandpa, who still lived in the country
on the farm where she had lived as
child 1 had so many dollies, just as
you girlies have, but unlike you, had
no cradle. Grandpa was going to make
me one, but one day when was picking
wild flowers in the grove down in the
1 sat down to rest under
great oak tree, with great big roots that
grew partly out of the ground and made
such cosy looking hooks between each
other and the tree.
''The tree on the shady side had such
nice seamy bark, too, that could stick
my flowers in it, and idly poked them
here and there until as high as | could
reach, the bark was stuck full of them.
1t was such a cosy little place that l
made it my play house. put my bits
of china and glass and my cut-out pic
lures in that pretty piece of bark, laid
my doll-babies in those root cradles and
had the cosiest little house that ever
was seen. There were no little children
at grandpa s for me to play with, SO the
oak and 1 became very fond friends. l
told it all my secrets, and gave it a name,
and told it to be my castle for | was a
princess fair and it's bows must be my
many rooms, its leaves my servants, its