The Sun's kindly smile changed to a frown, "Then you may not go to thestar-dance," he said. "Go back to your work on the earth. We have notime for play here till our day's work is done."
The Fairy returned sadly to the earth, but she had learned her lesson;she took up her work again and did everything well. She closed thedainty flower-cups that the rain might not wash their colours out, anddried the soft petals again when the shower had passed. She hid thebutterflies and moths in dry hiding places when it rained hard, and shecovered the wee birds in their nests. Day after day she workedpatiently, remembering how the Sunbeams and Clouds found no time forplay.
One day the Sunbeams came to her with a message. "The great Sun haswatched your work," they said, "and he is well pleased. He bids us saythat as a reward you are invited to the star-dance to-night."
THE DISOBEDIENT SUNBEAMS
The story ended only to-day, but it began thousands and thousands ofyears ago. In those days the sun shone as he shines now, and theSunbeam Children had their work to do before they were free to play,just as they have now. Some had to coax the flower-buds out of theircosy blankets; some had to stroke the round cheeks of the berries tillthey turned red; some had to slip through the clear water to nurse andcomfort the fish babies. But in those days there were five littleSunbeam Brothers who liked play much better than work. Day after daythey played at hide-and-seek between the leaves of a tall tree, insteadof doing the tasks that were set for them. Time after time they werewarned, but they would not reform; at last the Sun in his angerpunished them with a terrible punishment.
"Enter into the trunk of the tree," he commanded. "Now," he said, whenthey had tremblingly obeyed him, "you shall remain there as long as thetree remains. When it falls you shall be free, but not till then."
This was a dreadful sentence to the Sunbeams. To be shut away from thelight and the air and the other Sunbeams was bad enough, but to have toendure it all through the life of the tree was worse. They dared notrebel, however; they had to submit quietly to their imprisonment; theyears went by and the tree lived on.
But a worse fate came. Just when the tree was growing old and theirfreedom seemed near, the whole forest sank, and the sea flowed over it.Tons and tons of sand and gravel were brought by the waves and flungupon the forest, choking it up till the tops of the great trees werecovered. The five crouched in despair at the foot of their tree. Theycould not die, for death is impossible to Sunbeams; but how were theyto be delivered now? Under this great weight of earth and water theymight be imprisoned for thousands of years before anything happened torelease them.
And that is just what happened. For thousands of years the forest layunder the sea, not decaying, but slowly changing from wood to coal.Then a change came. The land was pushed up again by heat from below;by and by it rose high above the sea. But now the trees were hidden bythe earth above them, over which grass and plants soon grew. TheSunbeams were still imprisoned.
Then one day men opened the earth and dug out the coal, and the piececontaining the Sunbeams was placed on the fire and burnt. At lastfreedom had come. Quivering with joy, the five Sunbeam Children sprangout and danced on top of their prison house.
"How bright those flames are, and how they jump!" said the childrensitting round the fire.
The coal burned to red embers and fell to the bottom of the grate.Spark! spark! Up flew the five Sunbeam Children out through the tallchimney to live again their life of work and play.
"It was a dreadful punishment, but it has taught us a lesson," theysaid.
"I am glad to hear it," said the Sun.
WHITE-BRIER
She grew at the very end of the rose-garden, next the road--that iswhat vexed the other trees.
"You are only a common Brier," they said, "and yet you are placed inthe most prominent position. Everybody who passes can see you, whilewe are half-hidden by your spreading branches."
"Look at us!" cried the Red Roses. "Are we not worthy to be seen? Ourpetals are like rich velvet, not pale and colourless like yours. Inthe morning light we glow like massed rubies, but you cannot glow atall."
"We are like bits of the sun brought down from the sky," said theCloth-of-Gold Roses, "and yet you have the presumption to stand betweenus and the passers-by."
"If you were even a Sweet-Brier it would not be so bad," sighed theTea-Roses; "but you have no scent, so what is the use of you?"
Then the biggest of the Pink Roses spoke. "You have only one row ofpetals," she said severely. "That stamps you at once as of low birth.We others are all of higher growth than that. Look at my petals, setso closely one above another that you cannot see between them! You area nobody, and yet you are allowed to retain the best position. It ismost unfair."
White-Brier had listened to it all in a sorrowful silence, but now shespoke: "I am sorry, indeed, to be in the way," she said. "I should beglad to be at the back of the garden, for I know you are all much morebeautiful than I am. But I was placed here, and here I am bound togrow. I cannot help having only one row of petals and no scent. It ismy nature."
The other roses only turned their backs on her at this, but the beescrowded into her flower-cups to comfort her. "Don't take any notice oftheir jealousy," they said. "If you have only one row of petals, stillthey are so white and delicate that they can compare with any in thegarden; if you have but little scent, you have a sweeter heart than anyrose here. We love you best of all, and will do our best to carry yourpollen well, so that your seed-balls may be well filled."
The summer passed; one by one the roses faded and showered their petalson the earth. Autumn came, and the green leaves turned red and yellowand then brown; and they, too, dropped upon the earth. Winter came;the proud rose-trees stood bare and thorny, shivering in the winterstorms.
But White-Brier was not bare. Her roses and leaves had indeed faded,but the little seed-cases below the flowers had grown into green ballsthat swelled and turned red, and now the whole bush was hung withscarlet berries. How they glowed as they swung in the wind! Thepassers-by stopped to look at the bush. "What a beautiful rose-tree!"one of them said to the master of the garden. "What a glorious bit ofcolour in this gloomy winter weather!"
"Yes," he said; "that is why I planted the tree in the front of thegarden. In the summer there are many beautiful flowers everywhere, butin the winter there are so few, that it is good to have a tree likethat where everyone can see it."
Then the proud roses were ashamed, and begged White-Brier's pardon."You are more beautiful than we are now," they said.
But White-Brier did not grow conceited. "It is nothing," she said. "Imust grow according to my nature--that is all. But my heart is singingfor joy that I am beautiful at last."
A TRIP INTO THE COUNTRY
"Always do what I tell you, and you are sure to be right," said Mr.Bantam. "Chukitty-chuk; Biddy Bantam, don't make eyes at me.Chukitty-chukitty-chuk. I see a fine new perch across the yard. Letus all go and stand on it."
"I would rather stay here," said Biddy Bantam. "Besides, I don't thinkthat new perch is safe."
"Nonsense! It's as strong as strong," said Mr. Bantam. "Come on.Bessy Bantam too." He strutted round the two little hens and hustledthem across the yard.
"I don't like the look of it," said Biddy crossly. "It came in onthese two big wheels this morning, and a horse was pulling it. How dowe know it won't go out again?"
"You can easily jump off if it does, can't you?" cried Mr. Bantam."Chukitty-chukitty-chuk! What a fuss you make! Follow me and you willbe quite safe." He flew up and settled himself on the perch.
"It is certainly cool in the shade of that big box on top," said Bessy.She flew up beside Mr. Bantam.
"Oh, well, since you are both up, I suppose I may as well come," saidBiddy, and she too flew up.
It was very hot and still in the yard. The bantams put their headsunder their wings and went to sleep. They slept on, not knowing howtime was passing, till dark.
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Now the perch they were on was the axle of a farmer's cart, and the"big box," as Bessy called it, was the cart itself. After dark thefarmer put his horse in again and drove away home, not knowing thatthere were three little bantams fast asleep on his axle. It was adrive of four miles, but the bantams never woke till the glare of alantern made them open their eyes and blink.
The farmer was taking his things out of the back of the cart. When hesaw the bantams he whistled with surprise. "Well, of all the funnythings!" he cried. "These must be Nellie White's bantams. They haveevidently perched on my axle and ridden home with me. I must take themback to-morrow, or Nellie will think they are lost."
He took them gently off the perch and put them in a box. "What did Itell you, Mr. Bantam?" said Biddy. "Here we are, shut up in a horriddark box; nobody knows what will happen to us next. And all because wefollowed your advice."
"Never mind," said Bessy. "It is snug and warm in here, and we cansleep comfortably till morning, anyway." Mr. Bantam had nothing to say.
The next day the farmer took them back to Nellie White. She wasdelighted to see them again, and they were delighted to be back intheir own yard.
"I really thought we were going to be killed and eaten," said Mr.Bantam.
"Never talk to me about new perches again," said Biddy. "The fright Ihave had!"
"Well, after all, no harm has come to us," said Bessy, "and we can allsay we have had a trip into the country, even if we were asleep when wewent."
GREY-KING
The Pigeons left their house and flew out for their morning exercise.Up and down, and round and round, they went in a flock. "Follow me,"called the leader. "Fly fast and swoop!" The white of theirunder-wings flashed as they passed, and they made a soft, silken rustleas they skimmed lightly through the air. It was beautiful to watchthem.
But Grey-King sat on top of the house, and would not exercise. He wasthe swiftest flyer amongst them, and had won so many races that he hadgrown conceited. "No," he said, "I am going to rest. I can easilybeat you all without any practice."
"But the great race of the year is to come off in a fortnight," saidthe others. "Pigeons from all the country-side will be flying. Thinkwhat a disappointment it would be to everyone if a stranger won! Welook to you to uphold the honour of our house."
Grey-King only laughed. "Haven't I won every race for years?" heasked. "The honour of our house is safe, for no stranger can beat me."
He turned himself round and round in the sunshine, fluffed out his greyfeathers proudly, and sat down on the housetop again. Every day whilethe others exercised he sat there, watching their movements and givingthem plenty of good advice, but feeling quite certain that he had noneed to join them.
The day before the great race the pigeons were all put into their boxesand sent away by train to their starting-point. "Grey-King is sure towin, I suppose," said a friend to the master as he helped him place thepigeons in their boxes.
"I thought so till a fortnight ago," said the master; "but he has notbeen exercising lately. I cannot understand what is the matter withhim, but I am afraid he has no chance of winning." He did not knowthat Grey-King's only ailment was conceit.
Grey-King was angry. "How absurd to say I have no chance!" he thought."I'll show him how superior I am when I start. I feel quite upset."
He fussed and fumed for a long time in his box before he could settledown to the train journey; when they were set free the next day hestarted off for home with a great sweep of wings to show how well hecould fly. He was soon ahead of all the rest.
But there was a head wind, and he had grown fatter and heavier withsitting about so much; his muscles were soft from want of exercise.Soon he began to tire and to fly more and more slowly. One by one theothers passed him; and the race was won by a stranger. Grey-King camehome last, tired out and utterly ashamed. "I will never again be tooproud to exercise," he thought. "It serves me right."
THE SEASON FAIRIES
In the days of long ago four fairies stood before the Sun. "You shallbe the Season Fairies," he said; for he was the King of the Year.
To the first he gave a robe of green and a silver wand. "Take these,"he said, "and fly slowly up and down above the earth from pole to pole.As you pass, each land shall clothe itself in green to match the colourof your robe; as you wave your silver wand, all baby-things shallspring from their winter cradles and begin to grow. Take with yourousing winds and showers, to wake the babies from their sleep, and amillion warm and golden sunbeams in which to fold the tender growingthings when they have risen."
The Spring Fairy went forth in her robe of green, waving her silverwand. As she flew from land to land the earth clothed itself in greento match the colour of her robe, and all baby-things sprang from theirwinter cradles and began to grow.
To the next fairy he gave a rosy robe and a wand wreathed in flowers."Take these," he said, "and follow Spring, for you are Summer. As youpass from land to land the earth shall blossom out, and a millionmillion flowers shall shine above the green of Spring. The baby-thingsshall grow to their full size and beauty, and shall proudly wave theirflowered heads. Take with you bright cloudless heat and long fine daysand soft night dews."
The Summer Fairy followed her sister Spring. As she went a millionmillion flowers blossomed out above the green, and the baby-things grewup to their full size and beauty.
To the third fairy he gave a robe of red and a wand of gold. "FollowSummer," he said, "for you are Autumn. As you pass from land to landthe blossoms of the earth shall change to fruit; the grown-up babiesshall make cradles for the babies of next year. Red and brown shallturn the leaves, red and purple shall hang the berries, and as you waveyour wand the corn that covers half the land shall change to gold.Take with you still hot days and little creeping evening winds."
The Autumn Fairy went forth in her crimson robe. As she passed theblossoms changed to fruit, the grown-up things made cradles for thebabies of next year.
To the last fairy he gave a robe of white and a sparkling wand ofdiamonds. "You are Winter," he said. "As you pass, you shall lull allgrowing things to their season's sleep and rest, that they may wakerefreshed when Spring returns. Take with you rain and hail and ice andfrost, and the white snow-covering for the sleeping earth."
The Winter Fairy followed her sister Autumn up and down the earth frompole to pole. As she went all growing things folded themselves awayfor their season's rest.
SPRING STORY
Elsie lay on a couch by an open window, trying to grow strong again.She had been hurt, and had to lie here for a year. As she had alwaysbeen an outdoor girl she found it hard to stay so long indoors. Butthe sunbeams and the little winds came in to play with her, herfavourite tree outside the window made funny leaf shapes to amuse her,and, best of all, the Season Fairies came to tell her the doings of theoutdoor world.
This is what the Spring Fairy said: "Each day the sun shines morebrightly, and everything is waking from its winter sleep. The springwind knocks at the close-shut doors of the winter houses, and callsagain and again till they are opened. Buds burst, leaves and flowersdance out, and everything is gay.
"In the garden plots crocuses and snowdrops and golden daffodils nod toone another across the ground, primroses and violets scent the air, andhyacinths ring their merry chimes. Pink-tipped daisies open theirgolden eyes here and there on the lawn; the grass-blades shoot upstraight and green.
"I flew through the kitchen garden on my way here. The radishes havealready sent up two thick leaves, and the young cabbages stand in stiffrows like soldiers, each trying to grow a heart. I peeped under theground. There everything is sprouting. The peas and beans have burstopen at the sides, and strong white shoots have come out. The potatoesare growing stems out of their eyes, and are sending down white rootsto search for water. Under the ground, too, the young grubs are wakingup and moving fast, ready to devour all that they can find.
"Down in the fruit garden,
the trees are a glorious mass of white andpink; for cherry-trees and plum-trees, apple-trees and pear-trees, areall decked out in their sweet spring dresses. The air is filled withtheir fragrance, and snowy petals soon begin to float on every littlewind.
"The bees are busy there, gathering honey and pollen to take home tothe newly-hatched bee-grubs. The gooseberry and currant bushes haveopened their queer little flowers to the bees, and, low on the ground,the strawberry spreads its white petals, inviting them to its honeyfeast.
"In the pool below the fruit garden queer swimming creatures rusheagerly about in search of food, for the warmth of the spring hasreached them. One day they are to grow into gnats or mosquitoes ordragon-flies, but they are not thinking about that just now, all theirthoughts are on their meals.
"From grass-blades and leaves everywhere the tiny eggs are hatchingthat were laid by moths and butterflies; caterpillars creep out fromthem to wander off in search of food.
"In the wheat-field millions of green blades are shooting up; on theroadside grasses and thistles, dandelions and ragwort, and a hundredlittle weeds, are pushing and jostling each other for their summerplaces. The hedges are shining with the gold of gorse and broom; inthe trees dainty nests are being made for eggs as dainty.
"A tender bleating rises all day from the meadow at the foot of thehill, for there the mother sheep watch over their snowy lambs. Thelambs frisk and gambol on the soft grass, and the mothers call to themwith the mother-note that has come with the spring."