The Sun's Babies Page 13

  SPRING TIME

  Spring time is a merry time, A merry time is Spring! The little birds come out for straws; They build, and hop, and sing.

  The daffodils and crocuses Spread out their golden heads; Sweet cowslips hang their scented bells Above the garden beds.

  The cherry-trees are white with flowers, The apple-trees are pink. The green leaves wrapped in woolly buds Peep out at you and wink.

  The winds rock lightly in the trees: The sunbeams dance and play. Come out! Come out! The sky is blue, The world is fresh and gay.

  SUMMER STORY

  With the summer came the Summer Fairy. She said: "The sun is high inthe sky; at noon-day the air shimmers with the heat. The flower gardenis gay with roses and poppies and Canterbury bells, the lawns andclipped hedges are like green velvet.

  "Down in the vegetable garden the peas and beans are filling theirpods, and the cabbage soldiers have all grown hearts. The motherpotatoes are feeding their little ones with their own white bodies; theturnips and carrots are swelling as fast as they can. Under the groundsome of the caterpillars have coiled themselves up and gone to sleep;others have finished their sleep and have flown out on many-hued wingsas butterflies or moths.

  "In the fruit garden the trees are green. The flowers have long agodropped their petals and shut their doors while they made their seeds.The strawberries and cherries are nearly over, the gooseberries andcurrants and raspberries are ripe, but the apples and pears and plumsare green and hard on the trees. The bees have left the orchard andbetaken themselves to the flower garden, but the birds are feastingroyally in the gooseberry and currant bushes.

  "I peeped into the pool below the fruit garden. The young gnats anddragon-flies have crept up the bushes for their great change, and fromthere have flown away, when this was over, to earn their living likethe rest of the world.

  "In the wheatfield the green corn stands high, and waves its tasselledflowers in the summer breezes. The grasses and weeds on the roadsideare all in flower. In the meadows the lambs have grown big, and thesheep are gladly being shorn of their hot woolly coats. The youngbirds are leaving their nests in the trees and learning to fly, thefathers and mothers teach them with infinite love and care.

  "There was a great commotion in the bee-hive this morning, for a youngqueen had wakened from her chrysalis sleep, and the old queen in herjealousy would have stung her to death. There was much running aboutand loud buzzing. Everybody was too excited to think of going out tolook for honey; but at last they came to an agreement, and some of thebees went with the old queen to look for a new home while the reststayed in the hive with the new queen. The old queen flew to anapple-tree in the orchard; her people surrounded her in a dense mass toprotect her till a hive was brought and they were safely housed.To-morrow they will be as busy as can be, making their new honeycomb.Already they have started."

  SUMMER TIME

  Roses red, roses white, Up the hedges climb. Gardens are a lovely sight! This is summer time.

  Clover red, clover white, Bloom among the grass. All the world is filled with light; Skies are clear as glass.

  Cherries red, cherries white, Show with each new breeze. Linnets sing in sweet delight High on rocking trees.

  AUTUMN STORY

  The Autumn Fairy said: "The sun is a little lower in the heavens now,but at morning and evening the land flames with the gold and red of hisroyal robes. Gold and red! These are the autumn colours, the coloursof the fruitage that fulfils the promise of the spring.

  "Asters and dahlias and tiger-lilies are blooming in the flower plots,and seeds ripen in the places of the flowers that were there in summer.Pop, pop! What a constant noise the pods keep up as they burst andscatter their seeds. It is so loud that it almost drowns the buzzingof the bees. Out jump the seeds as far as they can, to find a new homefor themselves.

  "I watched a beetle as he walked under a larkspur. A pod burst abovehim and scattered its seeds on his head. 'How those great nuts hurt,'he cried. 'It is not safe to remain under this tree,' and he hurriedoff to a safer place. To him the larkspur seemed a giant tree, and itsseeds huge nuts.

  "In the fruit garden there is rich harvest, for plums and pears, applesand peaches and apricots gleam with red and gold amidst their tintedleaves. The chestnuts are ripe in their prickly nests, and the walnutsfall with a thud and split open to show their fine shells.

  "In the wheatfield the golden corn falls before the sharp knives of thereaper, and the sheaves are set in stooks ready for the carrying.There is dismay amongst the larks and field-mice, for their shelter istaken from them; but the heart of the farmer is glad at the richness ofthe crop.

  "On the roadside the grasses bow their heavily seeded heads, beggingthe wind to carry their children to a good growing place; the thistleseeds rise up on their own shining wings, and float away to find aplace for themselves.

  "The nests in the trees are deserted, for the little birds have grownup and now perch on the branches with the older ones. From some of thetrees the tired leaves are dropping one by one. They have done theirwork well, so the tree-mother gently loosens them from the branches andgives them leave to rest."

  AUTUMN TIME

  Autumn time is apple time! Time for pears and plums. Corn is golden in the fields. How the reaper hums!

  Lilies shine in garden plots, Berries in the bush. Brown pods burst along the hedge, Where the ripe seeds push.

  Come with me to Orchard-land; Grass will do for chairs. Leaves fall off and tumble fast-- So do juicy pears!

  WINTER STORY

  The Winter Fairy said: "The sun is so busy on the other side of theworld that he has not time to climb high in our sky. The Storm King,the Snow Queen, and Jack Frost have their way now, turn and turn about,with no powerful sun to check them. To-day it is Jack Frost's turn.He has drawn fairy pictures on your windows, frozen the little poolbelow the fruit garden, and flung glittering lace-work over all theland.

  "In the garden plots all the flowers have fled except the hardy winterroses; the fallen seeds have hidden themselves as far down under thewarm earth as they could creep.

  "Everything is resting. The fruit-trees stand bare and brown andstill, and you might think their life was gone. But on every branchsit the little buds which the tree-mother made in the long days of thebusy summer. They are snugly wrapped in thick woolly blankets till thesun returns and the air is warm again. Then they will fling asidetheir coverings and dance out in the wind.

  "Everything is waiting for the spring. The flies have hiddenthemselves away under the grass and in the hedges, and have gone tosleep till the cold dark days are done. Butterflies and moths havelaid their last eggs and have hidden themselves away, to die, most ofthem. Bees keep close within their hives; the hum of insect life isstilled.

  "The snails have buried themselves in the ground, sinking into theirshells and fastening their little doors so tightly that no enemy cancome in. Round the pond, too, the frogs have buried themselves in thesoft mud to sleep till winter is over, leaving only openings enough forair.

  "The wheatfield is being ploughed, that Jack Frost may break the earthfor next year's crop. On the roadside the empty grass-heads stand,white and beautiful with fine frost-work, but dead beneath their beauty.

  "Of the birds who sang their joyous way through the other seasons onlythe braver ones are left. The rest have flown to find a warmer landtill spring returns. So ends the tale."

  WINTER TIME

  Snow, snow! How the winds blow. Across the sky the white flakes go. Their steps are fast--their steps are slow-- They mean some mischief, that I know.

  Cold, cold! Jack Frost is bold. He nips the toes of young and old. But better laugh than cry and scold. Come for a slide with me. Take hold!

  Run, run! The slide is done. We'll warm ourselves without the sun. Now snow is here and frost's begun, The Winter wi
ll be splendid fun.

  PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUVAGE, LONDON, E.C.