"Yellow is such a common colour," said White Broom to Gold Broom.

"White is much more refined. My children are not overgrown, but they are dainty. And how sweetly they are scented!"

The bees and moths came flying amongst the flowers, unrolling their long tongues and sipping up the honey.

"Are not my children the best?" asked Gold Broom of the bees.

"Are not mine?" asked White Broom.

"That is hard to decide," said the Bees. "We love them all alike.

Gold Broom's children have more honey, but White Broom's honey is sweeter to the taste." They flew away to their hive, leaving the mothers to argue it out.

The children took no part in the discussion. They were too happy to quarrel. They played and danced every day, till at last they grew tired. Then they dropped their bright wings and shut themselves away in their little green houses.

Here they sat in rows on round stools and grew fat. The walls were lined with wool, so that the cold could not come in; every day Gold Broom and White Broom sent food up the stalk-pa.s.sages to them. Thus they were comfortable and happy.

But outside the mothers were still quarrelling.

"My houses are bigger than yours," said Gold Broom.

"As I told you before, size is nothing," replied White Broom. "Anyway, mine are much finer in shape."

The houses turned brown and black, and the children turned brown and black. They were big and strong now, and they wished to come out. One by one Gold Broom and White Broom twisted the walls of the houses. Out sprang the children into the world. Pop! pop! pop! Such a splitting and twisting of little house-walls curling back upon each other! Such a jumping of brown and black children far out over the ground!

"Mine jump the farthest," said Gold Broom.

"Mine jump much more gracefully," said White Broom.

The children lay on the ground. The sun shone on them, the rain softened their hard coats. They swelled and burst, tiny shoots came out, and in a little while the ground was green with hundreds of young broom plants.

"Mine are growing the best," said Gold Broom.

"What nonsense you talk!" said White Broom.

KITTY CRAYFISH'S HOUSEKEEPING

Kitty Crayfish pa.s.sed the first part of her life clinging under her mother's bent tail. But one day her mother said: "You are old enough to take care of yourself now, little Kitty. Make a house in the bank, and always creep into it while you change your sh.e.l.l."

She swam to the bank at the side of the stream, gently placed Kitty on a flat stone, and left her there. Kitty was not at all afraid. She was very tiny, but she was exactly like her mother in shape, and had the same strong claws and jaws. She set to work at once to burrow in the bank, and soon had a neat little house made. Tired with her hard work, she threw herself down and slept.

When she woke she felt hungry; so she went out to look for food. She walked forwards, creeping on eight of her queer jointed legs; but when she reached the water she turned round and swam backwards, using the blades of her wide tail as front paddles, and bringing all her swimming legs and swimmerets into play.

She made a good meal, for there were plenty of worms and grubs and tiny fish on the mud-floor of the stream, and her nippers were long and strong. While she was feeding, Old Man Crayfish came striding along the mud-floor. He would have eaten her for dinner if he could have caught her, for he was very fond of tender babies now and again. But she saw him coming, and was off before he could reach her. She swam back to her new home, well pleased with herself. Her housekeeping had begun well; she felt that she was able to take care of herself.

A few days later her mother peeped in at the door.

"You seem very comfortable," she said; "but are you not coming out to-day?"

"No," said Kitty; "I don't feel very well. My sh.e.l.l feels far too tight."

"Ah! it is going to split," said her mother. "I can see it looks very thin. You are quite right to stay in. Don't show yourself till the new one is hard, or somebody will devour you."

Kitty stayed in her house, lying still and feeling very queer. By and by her sh.e.l.l split across the back, just beneath her shield. She pushed her head out through the slit. Then she slowly drew the rest of her body out, till she stood quite outside her old sh.e.l.l, shivering and cold, and a little afraid. Her old covering lay there, legs and feelers and shield and tail; even the skins of the eyes on their little stalks. She herself stood in a new sh.e.l.l, exactly the same in shape, but quite soft.

Afterwards Kitty became accustomed to these wonderful changes; for she grew so fast that she had to have a new sh.e.l.l eight times during the first year of her life, five times the second year, and once every year after that till she stopped growing. Each time she had to hide in her house till the new sh.e.l.l became hard enough to protect her; then she swam out again, hungrier and stronger than ever.

She has been living in her burrowed house for years, making it bigger as she herself grew bigger. She is there to-day. She is a mother-crayfish now, and carries her little ones under her tail until they, too, are big enough to keep house for themselves.

THE GARDEN PARTY

It was a lovely summer morning. Everybody in the garden was busy, for in the afternoon the flowers were to give their great garden-party.

The bees and flies and moths and b.u.t.terflies and little beetles were all invited.

In the pansy plot the pansies put on their best velvet frocks, and brushed their little green shoes. The lilies dressed themselves in white, and hung bags of golden dust around their necks. The sweet-peas and roses and larkspurs were gay in many-coloured silks. They sprinkled scent over themselves, and filled their honey-jars full of sweetest honey for their visitors. All was cheerfulness and hustle.

At last the afternoon came and the visitors arrived. What excitement!

Such a buzzing and chattering! Such a bowing and smiling and polite shaking of wings and feelers! The bees and moths and flies and b.u.t.terflies and little beetles flew about, singing with pleasure and drinking the delicious honey provided for them. They told the smiling flowers how lovely they were, and the flowers in return dusted them with their golden dust. As the visitors flew from flower to flower they carried the golden pollen dust with them, leaving a little here and there; thus the flowers were able to exchange.

At last the party was over. The guests flew home well pleased, and the garden was quiet again. Night came; the flowers dropped their heads, and many slept.

But in the darkness some were awake, and they began to whisper to their neighbours: "Did you exchange?" The answers came: "Yes." "We did too." "So did we." "I shall not open to-morrow," said a pansy. "My exchanges are all made, and my seeds are beginning to grow. The bees found my honey easily, because my honey-guides helped them; so they carried all my pollen away, and brought plenty from my cousins."

"That is so with us," said many of the others. But some said: "We must keep open a little longer. Our seeds are not all growing." So they opened again next day, and gave little parties of their own, till all the exchanges were made and all the seeds were growing.

The sunny days pa.s.sed, and now where the flowers had been were little seed-cases; some round, some pointed, some oval, but all filled to the brim with healthy young seeds. The sun shone on them, and they grew and grew till the cases would hold them no longer. Then there was a splitting and a bursting and a popping everywhere, and out sprang the little seeds, to begin a new life for themselves. As the young seedlings sprang up on every side, the older plants looked at them with pride. "We have very fine children," they said. "Next year we must give another garden-party."

BLUEBELLS

Bluebells, bluebells, did the fairies make you?

Do they fly to you at night and ring you and shake you, And dance on your slender stalks?

Do they stroke you and love you, And whisper above you, And take you for fairy walks?

COWSLIPS

O sweet the smell of the cowslip bell!

Was ever flower so sweet?

I picked it where its soft leaves fell Around its dainty feet.