The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-09-06
,rrily after, to see who would first

merrily after, to see who would first
catch up.
Papa" called Byron, ''can't we
gather load of cones as we go back
They would be so pretty to kindle
fires"
Il haven't any objection, my boy.
But what is that so blue we see just
ahead?"
Away went the children ahead of
the poky little pony, and many were
the EXPLANATIONS of delight that were
heard as papa and mamma came up.
Byron and Marie had walked away out
on an old pine log that lay over a
pond blue with blooming flags, such as
grew in grandma's kitchen garden
away back in dear old Ohio.
| 1t didn't take long to gather mann
ma great bouquet, and vet the pond
looked just as blue as ever; no one
could have told where the little hands
had plucked the fresh spring beauties.
Then they came out into a beaten
track through the scrub palmetto, and
the pony seemed to wake up, and
scampered away at such a lively pace
that the children were glad to scram-
BILE into the wagon.
It wasn't long until they came to an
open space that was red and pink and
white with phlox.
ooh, papa, let us out, cried Marie.
"There are whole farms of it, aren't
there?" said Byron, as he tumbled out
at the back of the wagon into the
soft sand before papa had time to stop.
Then such gathering of phlox! Such
varieties of color! Here and there
they found a sprig of sweet peas, 'just
like what grew on our lawn in Ohio"
said Marie. ooh, let's make mamma
May queen" cried Marie suddenly.
"Tisn't May yet" said Bryon with a
superior air.
Marie hung her head and said: ut
seems like it might be June, if it is
only April
Come, children, ride a while. We
must hurry" called papa, 'or we'll not
reach the Bay in time to get home to-
night
Then the pony trotted off again, but
there were many stops for golden
daisies and cactus bloom, and many
new flowers the children had never
seen and could not name.
Just as they came to bridge and
were about to cross stream of water
the pony came to a halt and mamma
said:
what are those, children? Here is
something you haven't seen yet in
Florida"
"Blackberries they exclaimed.
And, sure enough, it wasn't long
until there were some stained lips and
fingers and a fine little heap in one
corner of the lunch basket.
Then the children begged to walk
all the way
1--WE are not one bit tired" they
said: "do let us walk
The pony was so lazy it was really
no trouble to keep up.
Then there were pine groves and
ponds-so many ponds! Byron and
Marie stopped along the edges to
watch the tiny fish, and they kept
stopping to listen to a strange croak
they heard in the ponds and out
through the marsh grass.
Guess it's frogs" said Byron;
"only it's mighty big bass. l think
IOhio frogs never heard that tune"
/ Then there was scramble. The
children never made a sound, but
came running with white faces and
climbed quickly into the wagon. A
baby alligator had slid through the
marsh grass close to their bare feet,
out into the water, and was quickly
out of sight. They didn't walk any
more after that-but they were soon
at the Bay.
A sallow-faced Cracker" came
beaming out of a little palmetto hut
by the water and said: "Howdy, how
dy. Mighty fine mornin' for fishin'.
Doan yo' want to go oyster fishin'?"
So the children with great interest
saw shapeless clumps of shell gath.
cred into boat, and the fisherman
seemed to know just where to strike
them with his hammer, and then
where to insert his broad knife, as he
served them oysters on the half shell.
The day was short, and although
the pony trotted home much more
briskly than it came, yet the stars
were hanging their great lights over
the pine trees, and the moon was
shining only as it can shine in the
clear air of Florida, when they again
came to the heaps of pine cones.
"Shall we stop and gather a load
of them, Byron?" asked papa.
ooh, I'm so tired, and want oysters
and blackberries for supper. But, papa
can't we come again and get the pine
cones some day when we're lone
some?"
81 think we can" replied papa