The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1899-08-18
THE STORY OF THE OAK TREE

less things as oaks, growled Harold
one afternoon as he lay on the grass
and looked longingly at the trees
across the way, which were laden
with fruit.
"Oh, thank you; so you think oak
trees are stupid and useless, Master
Harold?" exclaimed mocking voice
at his elbow
Harold looked up i'll amazement
for he had fancied himself quite
alone. Instead, he saw, standing not
far away, beautiful young lady,
dressed in flowing robes OF moss
colored green and wearing on her
long hair a wreath of oak leaves. Her
costume was so unusual that Harold
knew she could not be any OF the
Young ladies of the neighborhood ;
besides she was ten times handsomer
than any young lady he had ever seen,
and when she spoke her voice had a
peculiar cadence, like the wind sigh
ing through the trees at twilight.
ST see that you are wondering who
/ am, said the young lady, and her
eyes sparkled mischievously, making
Harold think of the CLINT of sunlight
on yellow autumn leaves. II am, :"
said she, the dryad of the oak tree
which has been sheltering you here
all summer, and don't like you to
Islander my tree. y
Harold's eyes opened wide as she
introduced herself. He remembered
having read that dryads were imagin-
airy beings tabled by those poetic peo-
pie, the ancient Greeks, to take care
of the trees of the forest.
"Why, I didn't know there were
any dryads," stammered Harold, lat
least not any more"
"Ah, you see, J." laughed the dryad,
s'there is no knowing who is your
next door neighbor. If we let some
of these shrewed bargain driving,
nineteenth century folk know we are
living in their oaks they would be
trying to collect rent from us. -
"You might buy your house, sug-
gested Harold.
"No thank you, " replied the dryad.
1--WE have no desire to go into COM
munication with human fools who are
as stupid and uninteresting to q
dryad as you say my beautiful tree is
to you. 1t is thankless task to talk
to most mortals, but as have not
met one for so long, let me tell you
that oak trees are most interesting
and useful trees in the world, if it
had not been for oak trees you may
not be standing on this spot, but
might be roaming about the woods
in Asia wearing skin on your back
or some thing equally uncouth. F."
sob, come now, don't see that, 8"
interrupted Harold. "This is fairy
story, isn't it?'
"Facts, Yankee boy, facts, replied
the dryad impressiyely. "Were not
the ships of your great Christopher
Columbus, were not all ships for CEN
turtles made of oak wood? The old
Greeks and Romans built houses,
ships and temples of oak. Under the
spreading branches of the oak groves
the old Druids taught the savage peo-
pie of that time to reverence the one
God so that when the Christian mis-
sionaries came there was nothing
very unusual in their teachings, and
heather France and England were
baptised and transformed into Chris
tian lands.
"The rude barbarians used to boil
the acorns that fell from the oak for
food, its wood served to build their
houses. Their country was covered
with oak forests, and whenever one
saw the trees, which was pretty con-
stantly, he thought of this prayers and
God. The North American Indians
depended ON acorns for part of their
food. Some trees give acorns that
taste very well when boiled properly.
The old Saxons used the acorns to
feed their pigs and it was such food
that King Alfred was employed tc
feed to the poor swineherd's pigs; ]
suppose you remembered how the
swineherd's wife scolded him fo1
burning her cake. The old Mortimer
or Sea Rovers built their ships of the
strong oak logs, and in their stout,
sturdy vessels secured the seas in
search of adventures. When they
came home, or in their halls of oak,
seated about long oak tables, and by
the fire of the blazing oak logs they
drank their cups of mead and told
their stories of perilous adventures
on other shores.
''That is a long time ago, how.
ever" continued the dryad sadly.
Nov my oak forests that once
covered nearly all Europe and large
part OF America are being cut down
and as one by one they disappear tn,
old spirit of courage and endurance
and truth that we dryads of the tree
breathed into those who honored u,
and sat in our shadow, is passed
away, for there are few more trees FOL