The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-23
TOLD BY THE
/ OLD CIRCUS MAN.
Too Big to Cultivate Flowers, the
Greatest Of All Giants
Planted Trees

Some plant geraniums. some sweet
peas, but the greatest Of all giants said
the old circus man, planted trees,
He liked flowers and that sort Of thing
that people plant in gardens and raise In
flower pots to bring into the house in the
fall and set out again in the spring, and
all that, and he would have liked to raise
flowers. but | think he felt that a mar Of
his colossal size would have looked sort Of
foolish Juggling around flower pots that
might have been big and heavy for ordinary
people but that would have looked like
little teacups in his hands, and he raised
and tended trees just as other people might
raise flowers.
There was a nursery about a mile and
a half from our winter quarters, and one
spring when the frost was out Of the ground,
but before the going was good enough for
US to take the road, the giant goes over to
this nursery and buys a lot of little trees,
saplings about eight feet high. young
naples and chestnuts and poplars and
beecheU. ami while the men were painting
up the wagons and o~verhauling the can
vas, getting everything ready to start out,
the giant planted those trees.
we had quite some trees scattered
around on the place and n or TIVE little
patches Of timber, and I've told you about
how the giant used to 90 out with the gar
dener in the spring trimming the trees
around and how he would stand with his
head and shoulders up among the branches
Of q tree and look down TO the gardener
and ask him what branch to cut and then
saw IL of and hand IL down to him. And
this pleased the giant very much, but he
really wanted some sort Of plants Of his
own; and 90 he goes and gets those saplings
and sets EN- out where there's room for
them and where TO his eye they'd look
good In the landscape. planting and tending
them just as you or l might plant and tend
tiger lilies or rose bushes. ,
7When the show came back from the road
that fall the first thing the giant did was 10
act out and look around at his trees; and
they'd all come through the summer nicely,
all living, every one OF them; and IL was
something worth looking at to see him
stalking around, bending over and looking
down on the tops Of them as he went around
among 'em, finding a real pleasure In every
one; he'd planted EN-.
And, OF course, he oouldn't take EN- In
for the winter like you would flowers, but
just before the settled cold weather set In he
strawed 'em, all around, on the ground, to
protect their roots and then he looked after
them. He used to go out in the winter
every now and then TO straighten up this
straw when there wasn't any snow, and
then he'd stand and watch the little trees,
weaving and waving in the winds and then
sprtnging up straight and sturdy; and when
the buds began to appear on them in
spring. why. each and every tree was to him
a particular delight.
THEY all lived, all Of them; and II wasn't
many seasons before they were all up as
high az the giants head. and some OF them
higher; and then ! thought the giant began
to regard 'em with a little different feeling.
Not with any less friendliness. but it was
different.
sYou see he couldn't exactly pet 'em any
more as he had sort Of done when they was
all smaller than he was; you can't very we'll
pet anything as big as you are, or bigger;
and then. as they grew still bigger, why.
naturally, as you might say, they begun
sort Of to live their own lives, and to draw
mora and more away from him, but the
giant came TO realize this. and 1t didn't
worry him. He knew he'd planted and
raised EN-, and the bigger they grew the
prouder he was Of them. even IL they didn't
know him.
'They had grown to be big trees. some Of
them three times as tall as the giant. when
he saw them for the last time; and they're
all still living, all grown now to be big fine
trees. / walked around and looked at them
all when Twas out there this spring. and
honest. 1t seemed as II they all waves to me
as l looked at EN-. because I'd known the
1iant. He was q good sort, theQiant,'