Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-30

TN certain part of the city that very likely you
never saw, there waste lot of ground which had
never been builded upon 1t four conered lot
of no particular shape but the people who lived there
about called it in their various languages The Square.
The Square was formed by the back yards of three
big buildings, and side by street. These
three buildings which tenement houses, with the
Square filled up whole city block. By one OF the
queer legal restrictions that ordinary minds cannot
understand this land belonged equally to all three
buildings and could never be divided used by the
three owners separately Unless the whole block
should become the property of one man. the Square
could never be sold used builded upon Mr. Cohen
and Mr. OReilly and Mr. Patoff were each equally de-
terined part from his share of the valuable
district because the three enemies and each knew
that the others wanted the property very much indeed
So it seemed likely that the Square would remain the
ugly rubbish heap it was until the end of tme until
the end of feuds, which amounts to the thing
But, bless you! this suited the Fairies well enough,
and the children and the mothers with little babies who
lived in the crowded tenements about the Square; for
so long as the feud should last they had one teenty
weenty ugly little spot to breathe in.
FIRST about the Fairies You are surprised to hear
that there Fairies in the Square? Perhaps you
think that there Fairies in this country though
as everyone knows Fairies bless every other land under
the But will you tell why there should not be
Fairies here well anywhere? Is not our grass as
green; are not our trees as graceful our flowers as
pretty as any you think of? Have not people
themselves from lands where the Fairies live,
bringing all their household treasures with them, their
legends and their memories? And do you believe that
tne fd11leS WHO nave over
would be left behind? You may be that there
least many kinds of Fairies in great patchwork
of country there who to make up the
patchwork And besides there the Indian Fairies,
the Pul,- WudiieS who have always lived here.
The Square very ugly, with the high buildings
around it and the dusty street in front Above it
clothesines strung across and unseemly garments al
ways Tapping; and there tin and rubbish all
about. But in the middle of the Square was little
patch of green grass and under the grass tiny,
soft, muddy spot which had once been spring. And
beSId he q
turned red in the fall 1t tree tall and 1.-THE that
when stood tptoe high possible could peep
into the irdstory windows of the tenement where
Caterna lived. Green grass to dance on spring and
magic rowan tree-what more do Fairies need, I'd like
to know?
The Square was good only place for rubbish and
Fairies and children and mothers And the three rich
who owned the lot together and who hated
another and the Square because of them could make
any money out of it, had nothing to say to these tres
passers There was nothing to be said Such tired
mothers there! Such pale, little, thin-legged
children, who seemed too brittle to play safely The
big, strong children could go the Park farther up
town, where there plenty of to and
Those who to the Square the weak who
were not strong enough to 60 to the sunshine and had
to find it where to the,-tte cleft behindS like
Caterna, who was lame and lived in the third-story
tenement whose windows brushed by the topmost
branches of the rowan tree
the early morning late at night the tree would
twist his fingers through the grating that covered the
window and would tap the panes above Cater1na's
bed Then the little girl would waken and listen to the
stories that the tree whispered to her. Sometimes he
would say:
"Now they are dancing in ring, Caterina about the