The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-08-19

Written for the United States schoo
Garden Army, Department Of TIN
r. nterior)
Part v.
while she was there. another
strange thing happened. ! saw thu
Garden Witch. She was a little ole
woman, but old either. She had tn,
pinkest cheeks! could see theii
glow in the white light, but her hal
was silyery. Her eyes were deep
deep and dark. l don't know wheth
er they were dark blue, or green
or black, but they made me thinl
Of all three, She wore an underskirt
Of some shiny-dark, softest brown
stuff, and a wide overskirt of all
sorts of mingled flowers and fruits
and leafy and whey things. She
had on a hat with a wide brim with
flowers all pictured on it. seemed
to know all about these things from
old old memories in my garden-head,
And ] saw some of these flowers af-
terwards as they bloomed in the Col
den GirPs garden AS she walked,
she leaned on a long staff which was
carved all over with vines and
grapes. She seemed not at all to
need this staff, for though she lean
ed on Il like little old lady, she
just skipped over the ground as light
ly as leaf.
"Sho went to bed where the beets
were, tapped briskly with her staff
and leaned to listen Who's below?'
she said in a voice like the gurgle
of rain drops. 'Beets, came the CHR
by voices. One inch deep. Three
rows, Is inches apart We're sorta
close in the row. Good said the
old lady, You shall be thinned, my
dears, when you come up. Four
inches apart will give you room to
breathe.
"Then she tapped on the onion plot,
Who's below? she gurgled. Onions,
grandmother onion sets. Three
fourts of an inch below Three
inches apart, grandmother, three
rows. Two feet between rows with
lettuce between
'Ahal very good. l see ye, my
dears. Grow strong in the dew and
sun.
Then the pale, crisp little voices
of lettuce piped up. 'Godmother!
We're here. Half an inch deep.
Three rows, in between the onion
bows. Two feet between rows Of
usl'
"'Good! said the Garden Witch
Come up to the light Ye shall have
more room. Ye shall be thinned to
inches apart That will give ye
room to spread your green dresses,
my pretties. Hah-ha!
"1hen she came to the radishes,
Who's below? she cried.
'Radishes; Oh, radishes' they
said, 'radishes; we're pretty close,
we can hardly wait to come up. Half
an inch deep. Three rows. Twelve
inches between rows!'
"'You shall be thinned, my pret.,
ties. to give room for your fat rosy
bodies. You shall be thinned to 8
inches apart!'
They laughed a chorus of rosy
little laughter muffled by the earth.
must have gone off to the deep
sleep then, for the next | remember
was that a rosy light shone over the
garden where the sun came up be-
hind the Apple Tree. Over the gar
den the rows showed tiny green ban
ners and bayonets. The companies
were beginning to come over the
top. Each night or so, the Garden
Witch came. Each night she called
to the companies in the trenches
Each day or so, new lines of bayo-
nets and banners came over the top.
"One night it was peas. Who's
there's?
Peas, Grandmother! Our trench
es are inches deep Grandmother
Three inches OF earth are over our
heads, feet between the rows, !
Three inches apart
are We
Come up bravely,' said the Gar
THIS COUPON IS WORTH S2.O4
TO YOU.
Cut II Out and prpeant II "a