Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-06-27
Green GrOUinQ
Message
A GREEN GROWING MESSAGE.

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When tell you that they were next
door neighbors, playmates, and firm
friends; that it was early summer;
and that they had spaded up, and
otherwise made ready, two garden
plots Zone on each side of the low,
white fence which separated their re-
spective home), in which, that very
day, they were intending to sow seeds
and plant pansies, you may perhaps
understand just how Bette felt when
she heard that Mollie had come down
with the measles and wouldn't be up
and out again for another three weeks
at the very least!
OF course, the entire family imme-
diately began to offer consolatory sug-
gestions. Grandma-from the pin
nacle of her years-reminded Bette
Of the extreme shortness of three
weeks or a month-only twenty-one
days, or, at most, thirty, would soon
be over; Mother evinced the most
flattering interest in both little plots,
and begged to be allowed to represent
Mollie for the time being; and Father
brought home with him from the Of
fee six packages of seeds and a basket
of pink-tipped daisies to be evenly d.
vided and promptly deposited in the
two little garden plots. But 1t was not
until Uncle Jack-mother's favorite
brother, quite old enough to do things
and still young enough to remember
his own childhood and its problems
proposed to SOW a message" for Mol
lie, that Bettie's eyes grew bright
again and her dimples re-appeared.
Just you have both beds raked and
ready for action, Bettiekins," he had
concluded, "and by the time
get home from High this afternoon,
We'll start things which in week or
two will astonish the neighborhood;
and meanwhile, Bette, lass, you might
be thinking of some short, bright mes
sage-just word or two, you know
from you to Mollie; and another one,
Just as short and sweet, back from her
to YOU"
All day long, accordingly, Bette, in
the intervals of her strenuous primary
class work, had these two messages
we'll in mind: so that, when Uncle
Jack at last got home and began to
undo the packages he'd brought with
him, the little girl was ready to tell
him.
Fine and dandy cried he, spread
ing out two enormous sheets OF ti1msy
brown wrapping paper, and urcork1ng
big bottle of mucilage, and flourish
ing huge brush; "just spell it out
for me, there's duckie."
For over an hour Uncle Jack was
very busy, tracing heavy wet letters
across the brown paper, while Bette
followed the sticky writing with tin
funnel generously dripping radish
seeds. After carefully removing what
was not closely clinging to the mucl-
lage, the young uncle and his little
niece, quite as carefully, carried the
two papers so prepared into tho gar
den, where one was spread out nat
and smooth on Mollie's little plot and
tie other on Bettie's; they were then
covered with a scant inch of rich,
well-sifted garden soil. which Bette
first raked to the smoothness OF vel
vet, and then delicately dribbled with
water from her very own little water
ing pot. When finally she. and the
observation-disclosures young uncle
were ready to go and primp for sup
per, there was nothing to show for all
their labor but a moist, dark-brown
strip of empty soil above the row OF
previously planted pink and white
daisies.
Every fair evening Bette gently
watered both beds, and every morning
she and Uncle Jack-however hurried
and work-harried he might be-ran,
hand in hand, into the garden to see
what they could see. One fine morn
ing Betties eager eye discovered
thin and wavering line of sparse and
very occasional green dots, which,
able, and which, by the time Mollie-
IN two days more, were quite decipher-
still quarantined but having the run
of mothers room-could look down
from it's windows over the two gar
dens. called bravely up to her from
her small plot in plain, clear, lush.
green-radish-leaf writing, $50 glad.
While from next door Bettie's bed
brightly answered, "Me too!