Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-28
The Grasshopper and the Pebble.

One day grasshopper alighted on a. lit
tie stone that lay under dandelion, and
after chirping for some time he said to the
plant:
Are you not lonesome staying here in
one place all the timer"
"Oh, no." replied the dandelion. II am
perfectly contented. To be sure. 1 cannot
go about from place to place like you, but
keep growing upward, and the wind always
sways my leaves and flowers back and
forth, so I am not quiet at all. Besides. I
am alive the same as you. If you pity me,
what do you think of that little pebble you
are sitting on? 1t never moves"
Don't worry about me-, said the pebble,
who had until this time been silent. Il
have Travelled great deal in my day. Once
1 was little grains of dirt, but the brooks
and rivers washed me down to the sea
and with many others l helped make
great bed of mud There 1 lay for millions
of years, till the mud turned into hard
rock. One day an earthquake came which
broke the rock up into numbers OF small
pieces, and 1 was thrown by the side or
brook that ran merrily to join big river.
Here I lay for many more years. l was
not round and smooth then as l am now,
but rough, sharp cornered and homely. One
day big rain washed away the BANK, and
I fell into the brook and was rolled over
and over by the water as 1t leaped ana
tumbled on it's way to the sea.
by the time l reached the ocean my
sharp edges were all worn away by nit
ting against other stones, but after l got
into the waves l had a worse rubbing, for
they would roll me UP on the beach, bang
me against other pebbles and scour me
with sand until I was smooth as you see
me now.
"a little boy and his mother were walk
ing along the shore one day when the lad
spied me, and cried, oh, mamma, see what
a pretty little stone. 1 am going to take it
home. So he carried me away many miles
from the seashore, but when he looked at
me again, he did not like me, for l am not
SO pretty when dry as in the water, SO he
threw me away, and I have lived in this
field ever since"
well" said the dandelion, you have
Travelled much farth&ks than 1, after all. 1
was once tiny SEED, with lots Of others
on stalk, when one day party of chill
dren came along, and on seeing US one
cried, oh, let's see if our mothers want
u.s. and seized the stem that l was on, and
blew into the head of down. We were
scattered in all directions, but strong
wind caught me and carried me over field
and pastures until 1 landed by the side of
this little stone. Here it was warm and
moist, SO I sprouted and began to grow,
and now 1 am covered with bright yellow
blossoms. See. are they not pretty?'
eyes" replied the grasshopper, land 1
must own that you have both been farther
than 1, for 1 was born right here in the
field. Last fall L was a little egg, and
stayed in the ground all winter In the
spring l Matched and came out tiny in
sect. 1 kept growing, however and as
soon as my skin got too small for me |
cast it off This | did several times, and
now 1 am full grown. But L am of more
Importance than either of you, for | am
an insect and belong to the animal king
DOM So saying, he hoped away.
well, 1 am a plant, and belong to the
vegetable kingdom, so l am of more ac-
count than the pebble, anyway" shouted
the dandelion.
The pebble said nothing, but thought to
itself, perhaps I am not much good, but
l helped to make up the big world, and l
am glad that 1 am a little stone, and be-
long to the mineral kingdom"