In the heart of a seed, buried deep, so deep, A dear little plant lay fast asleep.
"Wake !" said the sunshine, "and creep to the light "; "Wake I" said the voice of the raindrops bright.
The little plant heard, and it rose to see
What the great, big world around her might be.
R. L. Brown
"Who are you, I should like to know? "said the sparrow, as he gave a sharp peck at the rough, round brown ball lying on the window-sill. "Are you good to eat? "And he gave it another peck.
"Please don"t," said the brown ball; "you hurt. And there are plenty of other things to peck at besides me. Look at those crumbs outside the kitchen door.""I"m tired of crumbs," said the sparrow. "I want something else for a change. But you haven"t answered my question yet. What"s your name? ""My name-at least, my surname-is "Bulb," " replied thebrown ball.
"And a very ugly name, too, " said the sparrow. " Haven"tyou any other? "
"Not until the raindrops come and christen me, " answered the bulb.
"But what are you? " demanded the sparrow. " Are you a sort of vegetable? ""No," answered the bulb. "I am a flower. "
"A flower! " chirped the sparrow. "A flower! Ha-ha-ha! Call yourself a flower? An ugly, rough brown thing like you! "And he laughed so loudly that he lost his balance and nearly tumbled backwards off the window-sill.
"Come, " he said, "own up. You were only joking just now. You didn"t really mean what you said? ""Oh! yes, " replied the bulb. "It was the truth. I know I shall be a flower some day, when I have outgrown this old brown cloak of mine. ""How do you know it? " asked the sparrow. " Who told you?""Something inside me, " replied the bulb, in a grave voice. "And I know it tells the truth. "The sparrow was silent for a moment.
"Well, " he said at last, " I can"t believe there can be anything so nice as a flower under that old brown cloak of yours. So I"ll wish you good morning, Miss Brown Bulb. "He had hardly flown away when a lady came with a garden trowel and a little red flower-pot, half full of earth, in which she planted the bulb, and then took it away with her.
About a month later, the sparrow came again to the window-sill, and, peeping through the open window, he saw a flower-pot on a table, from which something green was beginning to shoot up.
He was going to hop away, when a voice he seemed to know said, "Good-morning! ""Good morning, " said the sparrow; "though I haven"t the least idea who you are. ""Don"t you remember the brown ball on the window-sill? The one that you pecked at? ""Let me see, " said the sparrow. "Why, yes, to be sure. You don"t mean to say that it was you? I mean that you were it? ""Yes, " said the bulb. "I told you I was going to be a flower. And so I am. ""Then there was something under that old brown cloak of yours after all, " said the sparrow. "And what do you call yourself now, Miss Bulb? Have you found out what your Christian name is yet? ""My name is Hyacinth," was the answer. "I told you the raindrops would christen me, and they did. "" Well, " remarked the sparrow, " it seems you were right, and I was wrong. All the same, I"d rather be a bird than a flower. Flowers may be all very well, but they can"t do anything but just smell sweet. Birds can. How do you think the garden would get on without me? Why, it would be all eaten up with grubs. That reminds me that I mustn"t wastemy time talking. The round bed in the middle of the lawn needs attention. So, good morning, Miss Hyacinth Bulb. "And he flew away, leaving the bulb feeling rather sad. For, after all, what can one little hyacinth bulb do in the big world?
But, one day, the same lady who had planted it in the pot where it was now growing came into the room.
She came and looked very carefully at the little green shoot which had struggled so bravely to throw off the old, ugly brown cloak in which it had been muffled.
"Yes, " she said. "I think you are strong enough to go out into the world now. I want you to help to cheer up a little sick child. "As the hyacinth heard these words, a throb of joy went right through it to think that, after all, there was something it could do. It could be a cheerer-up.
And so it found itself standing on a little round table in a cottage window; while facing the window was a little white bed, with a little pale face lying on the pillow.
And a little tired voice said, "Oh dear, darling hyacinth, do make haste and flower! I do want to see what colour you will be. And, if you can, please be a pink hyacinth, because pink is such a beautiful, cheerful colour. "The heart of the hyacinth stirred and said to itself: " If I can be, I will. " And it folded its green leaves together, and sent up a little prayer that it might be a cheerful pink hyacinth.
It grew and grew until one night it felt a wonderful, new, strange feeling.
"I believe I am going to flower, " it said. "And oh! I do hope I shall be pink. "And lo and behold, in the morning there was a fine tall stalk covered with little pink blossoms! And the sick child clapped her hands, and the colour came back into her face as she said: "Oh! Mother, Mother, it is a pink hyacinth after all. " And, when the mother saw the colour in the child"s face, and the light in her eyes, she took the flower- pot in her hand and said: " God bless you, little hyacinth! I believe you have done more good than all the doctor"s stuff by cheering herup."
And the heart of the hyacinth swelled and swelled until it seemed as though it must burst the flower- pot, as it said to itself:
"Oh! what a wonderful thing it is to think that once I was only a little brown bulb. And now I am a pink hyacinth and a cheerer-up."From Tiny Tots
Author.-The author is not known except as the writer of this article, which appeared in an English children"s magazine.
General Notes.-Make a list of all the speakers. Which one seemed to beugly and stupid? What happened to him in the end? Was not that like the fate of the Ugly Duckling? Do you think that some children who seem to be ugly and stupid may turn out otherwise? Discuss the question.