The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-23
es, and Lou said: "There are the lotos-

es, and Lou said: There are the lotos-
beds"
Well, do you know it wasn't what
expected at all! The man who wrote
these verses must have been dreaming.
There weren't any people, and there
weren't any emerald-colored rills-not
a single thing like what was in the poe
try. But, after all, it was just as beau
tiful more beautiful than the place ]
thought was going to see. But it was
ali little. If you could just grow small
enough, it would be like the story some
ways. The grasses lowered over our
heads like tall, nodding trees, and the
water-no, there weren't any waves. 1t
was the stillest water ever saw /
could even see the big sun lying on the
bottom just as round as it was in the
sky. There were lots and heaps of wa
ter lilies everywhere-the whitest,
cleanest ones ever saw-not nibble
taken out of even the Oldest ones.
There weren't any insects to nibble
them, either, only one great green frog
was sitting on lily pad, summing him-
self, as if hel owned the whole place.
He wasn't a common frog. He
knew he belonged there, and he didn't
mean to be scared off by us. Lou
padded up very quietly, and tickled
him on the head with a rush. He
down over his eyes, as if he just
loved being tickled, and it made me
laugh out loud.
That astonished him, and he gave a
big grlInt. and dived off the lily pad,
as If he were angry at us, and we
didn't see him again.
Pm keeping the best till the last,
and that means the lotoses themselves.
They were right in the middle of the
1T fnnn the rice
heads. and they most took my breath
away when 1 saw them. The great
yellow blossoms grew straight up,
proud and grand on their stiff stalks
not so soft and dainty as the white
lilies.
In the middle of the yellow petals,
instead of the dancing gold stamens,
was a broad green pod, not pretty, but
big enough for a fairy to sit on quite
comfortable. Maybe they were fairy
chairs, or thrones-you know the kind
the queen sits on when the other
fairies dance around her by moonlight.
Then the big green leaves-they
were the jolliest. They were like
monstrous plates, with a long handle
in the middle of the bottom of them.
Some of them were so big that l
could hardly reach across with my
arms stretched out wide. L scrooched
GOWN anu pCtBrh ull0rl AiANliis eAAtA 4
believe the fairies must live there in
the rainy weather. They could sit
on the leaves underneath, and the
ones on top would keep off the rain.
There were some of the leaves that
Law out fat on the water, regular floors
for the fairies to dance on. I'm most
sure that / could dance on them my
self. / asked Lou TO let me try, and
he said, mot on your life. Do you
7 IN rim two feet 0f Y1aIId
off from you? You sit stiller, or we'll
all be overheard"
And then / sat stiller than ever, and
Lou began breaking some of the sttn
stalks, and soon the great flowers
were lying in a heap all around me In
the bottom of the boat. Then he pick
ed a lot of the leaves, and / took one
of the biggest ones, and held IL over
nv head for a sun shade. 1t very near
covered me up and it was so cool
and dark and green under there, and
the little water drops that ran Off and
went trickling across my cheeks and
down my back and all over my dress
were really emerald colored like the
rills in the poetry. Perhaps, after all,
il was true, and l thought I'd ask Lou,
because he is big and old, and never
laughs at me. So I said
Lou, Is this the truly Lotos Land
where you eat the fruit, and never
want to go back home any moreT'
yep" said Lou. Look out you
don't swallow any of those seeds, or
you'Tr\want to stay right here in the
marsh all your life"
but where are the people who raise
the lotoses?"
"They? Oh, they live over there be-
vond the rice hedge. and they only
come out here at sunset to tend their
gardens"
Cant we see them?"