The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1901-08-09

The tory Of "a Fossil.
Once upon time. long, long ago,
there was a dear little fern growing in
the woods. II first crept out Of the
ground, a wee tender thing, rolled in
a pale green spiral, which opened day
by day until the little fern stood up
and faced a beautiful world. Warmed
by the sun, fed by the rain, 1t grew
dainty and fair as those you love to
gather in the woods. But no eager
hand reached down to pluck littlefern,
for in all the great lovely earth there
were no people to enjoy its beauty.
One day a great storm came. Louder
and louder blew the wind through the
tree tops. Day after day the rain fell;
wider and wider grew the brook. At
last, the rushing waters came so near,
that the frail little fern was caught
by the stream and whirled away
over and over, round and round,
down to the bottom, up to the top-not
a moments rest for the little fern
Flung against stones, hurled among
floating branches, tossed amid leaves
and twigs, bruised by sand and grav-
| el for the brook in its haste carried
along everything in its reach For
| days little fern was borne swiftly on
until it came to the quiet waters of a
lake. Then, together with the leaves
and sand and gravel little fern sank
! to the bottom.
Every day the stream brought more
sand and gravel and they were buried
deeper and deeper; and it seemed
quite certain the sun would never
shine upon little fern again Year
after year, hundreds of years passed,
and little fern was buried under many
feet of earth. Gradually the tiny
fern, once so fragile that a baby's
hand might easily have crushed it,
became harder, until it turned to
stone. The sand and gravel, too. be-
came solid rock.
You must remember that by this
time they were pressed under tons
Of earth. Great forest trees had beer
added to the weight over them; foI
while little fern was quietly sleeping
wonderful things had happened in the
bright world outside. Where the lake
had been, a wider marsh appeared
then a forest. Then the ground il
which they grew sank lower, lower
and the forest became covered with
water. And so change after changt
came, until again the surface faI
above little fern was covered will
dense forests. The world was NJ
longer silent Fleet-footed deer spe,
through the trees, chased by the ar
rows of the Indians, and the air. wa
filed with the songs of birds. TIL,
woods were full of life.
Then came the white man with hi
axe, telling the trees, building house
and towns, digging far into the cart
for the wealth hidden below. DowT
down, deep into the earth went tn
brave miners, searching for the Goa
that long ago had been forest tree
and beautiful plants.
There came a day when the "clans
clang!" of the pickaxe reached tn
quiet resting place of little fern. NeaI
er and nearer drew the sounds. unit
finally there was a burst of light.
blow from a tool that shattered til
surrounding rocks; and little fer
/ fell at the feet of a man. Such
! cold, still little fern, all made {
stone! The pretty green color wa
gone, but the leaves were there, an
, even the veins just as they had bee
= thousands Of years before, when til
I little fern was fresh and young.
. Look here, Harry" said the mi
= err picking up the piece of stone an
: handing it to his companion, "yol
: little boy will be interested in tn
, FOSSIL"
8 So ice more the bright sun shoI
Y upon little fern as it was carried
n the miners home. After its cali
Y happy life in the woods, after its lon
Q perilous journey, after being sh
O away from the day and night for age
. little fern has now become a hous
hold treasure Boston Weekly 30
n quet.
I Antiquity of the Rose.