The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1920-03-13
THE FAIRY WITH THE PINK
VEST
"Hello," he said.

Dolly looked up, for the voice
seemed to come from a place near
the top of her head. He was sitting |
on the fence. He was the largest of
all the Dewdrop Fairies she had seen.
He wore a dark-green coat and his |
trousers were the same color. His |
vest was the loveliest shade of pink |
deep and bright-with large black !
buttons down the front. Dolly |
thought it a very handsome suit.
II don't live in your garden" he |
said; "but the Fairies have told me
so much about you that l thought
would pay you little call this morn |
ing"
'I'm very glad you did," said Dol
ly. She was noticing that his face was
almost as pink as his vest.
"Well, / think it is fine thing for
little girls and boys to have gardens,
and as you seem to want to know all
about the things that grow in your
garden l thought perhaps l could tell
you few things"
ooh, wish you would. But don't
even know your name. Did you say
that you don't grow in our garden?
Why don't your"
''No grow on the other side of the
fence. You see, your garden is
very nice garden, but you have hardly
enough ground to raise my plants.
We take a good deal of room. We
have been called greedy don't
know why. They say we don't get
along well with other plants except
our own family. Well, we are pretty
big. OF course, we have to have
plenty of room because some of us
weigh more than good-sized baby"
81 can't think what you can be,
said Dolly, much puzzled.
Just look over the fence and see
if you know me" said the Fairy with
the pink vest.
Dolly carefully put her foot upon
the crosspiece at the bottom of the
board fence and peeped over The
ground on the other side of the fence
was covered with big vines that
seemed to grow in many directions.
The leaves were big and rather open
looking, as though they had been cut
into fancy patterns with pair of
scissors.
In among the leaves she saw lot
of large, green objects shaped like
eggs, only ever so much larger.
Oh, I knoww she cried. "You are
the Fairy of the Watermelon Vine"
Exactly" said the Fairy with the
pink vest. ''Now you see why you
haven't any of my family on this side
of the fence. You couldn't raise
watermelons except in a big place.
Pumpkins, too, they have to have
great deal of room to run about in"
"Do pumpkins rum" cried Dolly.
"Do they run? 1 should say
why, don't you remember Cinderella's
Pumpkin Coach? Didn't it rum"
ooh, but the mice pulled it," said
Dolly, wisely. ut didn't run by it.
self"
Anyway, pumpkins do run-at
least the vines do-and so do water
melons. You see, we grow so fast
that many of our family are-well,
you might say 'removed'-while they
are quite young"
"You don't mean killed." said
Dolly, quite shocked.
81 wouldn't go so far as to say
that" said the Fairy; "but we know
that very few of our plants are allow
ed to live to grow up. We like a warm
climate best, and it takes us quite
long time to grow, although we do
grow so fast. The plants that you
see here are the kind that ripen early.
Farther South they raise those big,
sweet ones that you like so much in
the middle of the summer. Our
seeds must be planted in hills quite
long distance apart to give us room to
spread out. Some of US are solid
dark green and some of us have
stripes of different shades of green.
Do you know that one kind is called
The Georgia Rattlesnake' because
it is striped like that?"
Il think that is a horrid name for
a pretty nice fruit like watermelon"
said Dolly.
"Oh, we don't mind, because we
know that people like us whatever we
may be called. All the melon family
is popular. l am sure you like musk
melons. And then the cucumber is
distant relative of our, toO-you like
cucumber pickles, l know-all little
girls do"
81 think l like all your family"
said Dolly. "But / am sure like
your own brothers and sisters best of
all. It does seem dreadful to eat
your friends, though, doesn't it,"
mot at all-not at all. That's
what we grow for. Well, goodbye.
Look over your fence once in a while
and watch US grow"