Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-03-25
THE POPPY QUEEN
RY DORA Z. HENDRICKS.

The sun got up early that morning. 1t
kissed the dewdrops from the grass and
opened the eyes of the lazy buttercups. The
birds sang their sweetest, the wind laughed
and tossed the green branches of the great
oak tree that grew close to the palace
wall against the little princess windows
Little Princess Curly Locks sat up in bed.
shook the tangled curls from her eyes and
remembered that today was her birthday.
No wonder all nature was glad, for even
the butterflies loved her. But alas! for the
happy heart of the little maid; that day
marked the beginning of her troubles.
Perhaps / would best tell the story to
you as it was told to me by a great yell
low butterfly, who seemed to know of what
he was talking:
MANY years ago. in the midst of great
forest stood a grand old palace, surrounded
by gardens beautiful that nothing be-
fore had ever been seen that could equal
them. Here Princess Curly Locks Little
Prince Darling and their papa and mamma
atved.
1.-THE princess could talk to the flowers
in their own language; she understood the
songs the wind sang her and the stories
the birds told her of far-on lands where
no winter ever came. But, best of all, she
loved to dance with the butterflies, In and
out among the flowers.
at was springtime now. The little prin-
cess remembered how, only few short
weeks before she had watched the fiocks
of birds flying over the palace, returning
from their winter home. But one thing she
did not see. 1t was strange. foreign seed
that one of the birds dropped in passing
1t had taken root. and now, on her birthday
morning. a beautiful poppy opened its eyes
TO the sun. When the princess first saw it
her eyes grew wide with surprise, for never
before had she seen poppy so large and
fair. oh, mamma" she cried, 1t is a pres
ent from the Fairy Queen and it is large
enough to hold Prince Darling.
with q merry laugh her mamma caught
up the little prince and seated him in the
crimson flower. He looked like little
fairy as he sat there Growing and kicking
with delight. But as they looked the petals
of the poppy gently closed over the baby
face and little Prince Darling was prls-
oner. In vain they tried to push back the
velvet petals. for they had become as IRON
They called TO the prince but no answer
came back. All day they worked with
hammer, ak and chisel. All day the poor
mother lay In a death-like swoon. But
when the moon came up over the distant
mountains and the stars came out one by
one, little Prince Darling was still a pris-
oner.
THE story spread abroad. Strong men
came from far off countries. for great
amounts of gold had been offered by the
frantic father, but no one could open the
giant flower. At last they noticed that
the flower was shrinking. Smaller and
smaller 1t grew until at last it disap-
peared and nothing was left but the green
leaves OF the plant.
THE summer passed by, the autumn
came, and little Princess Curly Locks no
longer danced with the butterflies amid the
flowers. Instead she sat with dreamy eyes
looking up in the blue sky thinking, ever
thinking of her baby brother. One day as
she sat under the shade of the trees she
heard two daisies talking. Said one: The
little prince is not dead. I know where to
find him. l heard the story from the dew
drop Where is hep said the other. Did
you ever hear replied the first daisy, as
Il nodded its head in the wind. of the
wonderful Poppy Kingdom? Far away to-
ward the south lies a beautiful enchanted
Jake. in the center of which is an island