The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1919-12-19

n
~ ly all peoples have their leg
L a ends which tell of its be-
- ginning. Nobody these days
bothers much about Its or
agfn, for the Christmas tree Is one of
those things which seems to explain
ttself-or not to need any explanation.
But why the mistletoe, that In so
many homes certainly no home where
Ihere are young people is without at
beast one bunch advantageousiy hing
lis as much Of the Christmas scheme
On the tree itself2 And why is 1t per-
Gectiy proper-and quite the thing-~to
Miss under the mistletoe?
Why, the mistletoe is dedicated to
aove and kissing. of course, is a sign
Of love among civilized nations. This
must be so, for there Is a perfectly
satisfactory legend In Scandinavian
mythology that tells all about 1t.
Once upon time there was god
slanied Baldur, who had charge of the
sunshine and all the bright and beau
<ifnl things that sunshine helps to
On: se. His father and mother, Wooden
and Frigga, for whom Wednesday and
Er'day are named, were very proud
d. their yellow-haired boy for he was
$50 handsome and good natured that
q. erybody loved him. Everybody
We'll, not quite. There was one dark
cod named Loki, who had care of fire
and all the terrible things 1t does, and
shis Loki hated Baldur bitterly. For,
I'm the spring, you know, the people
all left the hearth fires That Loki look
ed after, and went out to rejoice be-
cause Baldur had brought back the
glorious sun. And for this Loki hated
Baidur more and more each year, and
Eonged to hurt him in some dreadful
way.
II seemed, however, that Baldur
could never be injured or made miser-
able. When he grew up he married
Mamma, which means Blossom" In
English, and every day he looked hap
uier than before. But one morning
me awoke greatly troubled; he had
dreamed of dying! What could it
mean-this dream Of death to the god
of Joy? And the next night 1t came
again, and the next, and the next !!
His father and mother were so wor-
ried that they could not sleep, and at
Hength his father, Wooden, went far
down into the land Of night to talk
with the evil ones there and find out
what they intended to do to his boy.
land what do You suppose he foundf
IA table set cor those who must come
% the land Of darkness, and one seat
was prepared for Baldur! Almost
wild with sorrow, Wooden hurried back
with the sorrowsul message to his
wife.
! Meanwhile, however, Frigga had
Deea thinking and thinking. and just
As Wooden entered she gave him the
1oyful news that she had hit upon the
very plan to save their son. And the
ulanl Well. 1t was this: they should
send out messengers all over the
world and ask everything-the trees,
She rocks, the mountains, the animals.
ne waters. everythIng--to promise
never to harm their Baldur.
Wooden was delighted with Frlgga's
pssn. So the messengers went out all
over the world. and asked everything
% promise never to harm Baldur
And all the world seemed to think II
was a fine plan. for everything gladly
sEzve the promise never, never, never
O. hurt the yellow-haired god Of sun
shineL
Yee. everything In all the world
prumised-except Just one thing. The
uzisfietoe that hung on the great oak
outside valhaila, the home Of the gods
was feeling out Of sorts when the mes
senrer arrived. Promise You viii
hexer. never. never harm Baidur. ths
md Of sunshlner" said the messenger
-why should make such prom
SEP asked the mistletoe.