Smyrna times., 1905-04-19

tween us, If she really cares. and =
must be she cares, Or W -
"hen | got so far 1 jumped I'M and
started joyfully for Florine's presence
hnen announcer idea assailed me. SIM
pose tIorine should think that nv And
ing Ihe amulet Influenced nv declora-
.loh; that 1t was an affair of honor co
u speak. laid the locket carefully
under a small fir and went hack to tho
summer house. l was scarcelv saa+od
Wnen Florlne came flying down the
path, her fiimsy gown floating like a
lovely white cloud around her.
You can laugh or you can scold.
uont care! she asserted tearfullv s.T
Old wear an amulet, but now IT'S
gonew
She sat down by me and dahbAd Of
ner pretty eyes with a square inch of
lace edged linen.
L neither laughed nor scolded. 7 he
gan telling her a story:
'Once upon time there lived beau-
tlful princess adOred by every one. In
ner court was a man, neither rich nor
overwise, but loving her. he Thought
pest OF all. She accused him of having
no imagination, and maybe he had
none, but he saw in the sunset gold or
the princess hair. in every blue flower
nue. or her eyes, in every Durlinp
streamlet, the music of her laughter
Often he criticised the princess. al
though to him she was perfect'-
Il
FlOrine.
He had mighty purpose"
Florine giggled. 1 looked at her sus-
piciOusly, but she made another dab at
her eyes, so l went on:
For all his harsh words he repented
in sackcloth and ashes. and when tbe
day Of his repentance was over he
knelt on the ground at her feet
"Oh, no.! corrected FlOrine. "He
might have taken rheumatism or some
thing"
Were ever eyes so blue or lips so
sweet? plunged ahead recklessly:
HE took her little hand in his"-
suiting action to the word-"and put
his arm around her so and kissed her
like this
"HOw dare your" said Florine very
softly.
81 don't dare" 1 answered meekIy.
Il was only showing you what the man
did who belonged in the court of the
princess
"Well, go on" she commanded.
II can't"
"Why?"
Il don't know what the princess did
after he-after that" 1 sighed, al
though looking at Florine hopefully.
She smiled.
"Oh, the princess said, L have lost
my amulet, and 1 can never see hap
piness without it; so methinks l will
publish decree that to him who find
eth it will give his hearts desire.'"
Describe the amulet, o princessw
"The decree should state that the
amulet is inclosed within a case Of
gold, shaped like my loving heart and
set around with rubies like drops Of
my own hearts blood; that the anu
let is of fine linen, marked with purple;
that each separate line stands for love,
trust, happiness; that all the lines to-
gether form the lineaments of-of''-
Florine's dark lashes rested upon
very pink cheeks. She hesitated.
II go to search for the amulet" an
nounced, rising.
She looked at me approvingly. 1
peered under the step, made two short
detours in the direction of the lake,
then discovered it under a small fir
tree
FlOrine clapped her little hands.
'How beautifully the story proceeds"
she cried as 1 sat down again to tell
her my hearts desire.
81 am wondering. though" she unused
a very long time afterward, 'how the
man came to find the amulet under a
fir tree when the princess lost it in the
/ ct1uovnaY. hotfCn