Evening star., 1932-03-17

AAOtAOA NGSNAN'
Farmer Browns Boy loved every one
of the great rough-barked maple trees.
They were old friends, dear friends.
They were giants, old when he was
born, old even when Farmer Brown
himself was a boy. Yet all these years
they had been giving freely of them
selves, giving, giving, giving, as if in
giving they found their greatest Joy in
living. Farmer Browns Boy was think
ing of this as he moved from one to
another collecting the sap from the
pals hanging from little spouts driven
into the trees and then carrying it in
two collecting pals hanging from his
shoulder yoke, to be emptied into a
great hogshead from which it would
enter the evaporator and there be
boiled until it was rich, heavy sirllp,
and some of it until, when drawn out
and cooled, it crystallized into brown
tinted maple sugar.
He loved these days in the sugar
bush, as the big grove of sugar NAPLES
was called. They were busy days Of
hard work, and the nights were busy,
too, sometimes, for often the fire was
kept going long long after the Black
Shadows had stolen into the Green
Forest and wrapped 1t in darkness.
Then he would crawl into his blanket
in a bunk in the sugar house and
straightaway fall into dreamless sleep,
not even knowing that Whitefoot the
Wood Mouse had sat on his shoulder
and dared to touch his ear with an
inquisitive little nose.
Then up with Mr.. Sun in the morn
ingl It was cold then, for Jack Frost
still came at night and the sap stopped
running up In the great friendly trees
then, to start again in the warmth OF
day. It was fun to cook breakfast, and
how good it did taste! Then hot fire
was started once more under the big
evaporator and the cans prepared to
receive the amber sirup when it should
be ready. Many arnsful Of wood were
to be brought In ready to feed the fire,
which must not be allowed to die down.
And when all was in order in the sugar
house came the day-long task Of COL
lecting the sap, tramping from tree to
tree, emptying the pals and rehanging
them. It was in this work that he
learned to know the trees and to love
them.
Some trees gave more freely than
others of their precious sap. Some pals
would be brimming full while others
would be only half filled. But always
there was some sap, and he knew that
the tree had given what it could.
Sometimes he would stop for minute
to listen to the drumming of Downy
the Woodpecker or Taper the Sap
sucker, and it always seemed to him
that there was joyous sound in that
drumming. Sometimes he would get
glimpse of Thunderer the Grouse or
shier Mrs. Grouse. Again he would
stand motionless knowing that pair
of great soft eyes was watching him,
and presently he would discover Light
foot the Deer half hidden IN a thicket
of young hemlccks. Then he would
wave to him and laugh aloud as Light
foot bounded away, his tail erect and
bobbing up and down with every jump
like white flag.
He would tease Chatterer the Red
Squirrel into scolding him as only
Chatterer can scold, and then toss him
a cracker he had brought in his pocket.
He would answer the cav of Blacky
the Crow and initiate the scream Of
Redshoulder the Hawk. He would call
Tommy Tit the Chickadee to him for
bit Of nut meat and Tommy would
not hesitate to take 1t from his hand
SO he would go among the great
maple trees and as he would listen to
the faint tinkle Of sap dripping in the
pals he would lightly touch their
rough trunks and in so doing feel
something of their sturdy strength in
his own being, and the spirit of that
perfect friendship which freely gives
and asks nothing.
Thus day by day he grew richer for
the gift of the trees, not merely the
sweets from their freely given sap, but
a growing understanding Of life and
the fulfillment through steadfast cour-
age whate'er befall Of the great pur-
pose behind all living companionship.
And this was perhaps their greatest
gift.