Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-03
The Apple Tree House.

The old apple tree stood on the slope Of
the meadow bank. It must have been 4
very crooked tree in It's youth. for as it now
stood II was so bent that we used to run
up the trunk with our bare feet. This
would land US in the fork of the tree,
where three large branches spread out al
most horizontally for distance of five or
six feet. Here we children-four OF us
used to sit and read or chatter, while our
feet swung and dangled below.
The apples that the tree bore were so
small and bitter that father had long
thought the tree a nuisance. Now he was
building rustic bridge across the brook.
ard decided to chop down the old, crooked
tree. What a storm of protest went up
from US four. There was not another tree
like it in the whole orchardi Where could
we sit to MUNICH apples and read stories
Father saw the disappointment 1t wouli
cause us to lose our old friend. and. like the
dear trump he is, declared the tree would
stay right where it was.
So it happened that we found out how
fond we really were of the old tree. One
day, as we all sat as usual on the fat,
round limbs. Arthur proposed that we build
little house up there. Agreed! How jolly
that would be! We could play there until
late in the fall
As arthur was the DIGEST, ne tooh thc
lead. He told us to ransack every nook
and corner on the farm for pieces or board
shingles, oilcloth canvas. carpet ana
bricks. Within two days the material was
on the ground and the plans We're laid. we
had not spent a penny and had asked no
help from the older folks.
First we got five slender poles from the
woods and on them nailed securely the
boards for this floor. The whole floor was
then pushed up into the tree and fitted so
that # level nDOu the three
spreading branches Good long nails held
it solidly in place. Four more poles, rather
stout and about fifteen feet long, were cut
and set upright, one at each corner or the
floor. The ends of the poles were set in the
ground, a foot or more deep. The poles
were nailed to the floor, and across their
tops four lighter poles Were nailed from
corner to corner. This gave us the frame
of the house, and we had only to nail on
boards and shingles for the side.
In the front space was left for door.
On two sides there were window openings
before which Louise draped canvas cur
tains, to be let down on cool or rainy days
and at night. A ridge pole was put across
the top of the house and a heavy piece or
carpet drawn over this was firmly stitched
to the top cross-pieces Upon this, pieces
of oil cloth and canvas were laid, shingle
fashion, and stitched down, making a
water-tight roof.
The boys gathered armfuls of old news
papers for the floor, and over them
stretched and tackled down old rug
mother let them have. Louise undertook
the making of half dozen pillows, and
these were all the furniture we had or
needed
Maybe you think we didn't enjoy our ap-
pie tree house We boys often slept there
on warm night; we all go there to read
and tell stories, and often eat a lunch or
a supper there, and sometimes on a Sun
day afternoon, when we are not in our
house. you may see some grown-up, sneak
ing off toward it for quiet read. Late i'll
the fall we take up the carpet and cushions
and leave the house to the squirrels.