126 



Gold Beautv. 



it was certainly a happy thought to give 

 Hfe to one who enjoyed it as much as she 

 did, for from the flaming oriole that rocked 

 in the topmost branch of the tallest locust 

 tree, down to the little lady-bird that thought 

 she was a great traveler if she journeyed 

 twice around the rim of a damask rose, 

 Gold Beauty loved one and all and was 

 happy in thinking that they loved her in 

 return. 



It is true that not many of the tenants 

 of the old garden even had a thought to 

 spare for Gold Beauty, but she had her 

 friends for all that, among the humbler 

 class to which she belonged, for, of course, 

 being only a creeper, she did not expect 

 to be noticed by any one but creepers, and 

 would have been quite overcome with shy- 

 ness if a flyer had. paid her any but the 

 smallest attentions. Yet there were flyers 

 and flyers, Gold Beauty soon found out, 

 and she divided them for her own conveni- 

 ence into two classes: those that lived al- 

 most entirely up among the trees where the 

 songs were, and those that seemed to pre- 

 fer the lower regions and were delighted 

 chiefly with the flowers. She amused her- 

 self sometimes with wondering which class 

 she would join if she had her choice. She 

 thought there were many advantages to be 

 considered on both sides. It is true that 

 the low-flyers were in some respects more 

 in harmony with the flowers, being so light 

 and airy that they could balance them- 

 selves with ease on the bell of the tiniest 

 lily of the vally, or go to sleep if they liked 

 in the bosom of any convenient rose they 

 might select; they were also exceedingly 

 beautiful with their wings gorgeously 

 painted on either side, in the most glowing 

 colors. Still the high flyers had the songs 

 all to themselves, and could soar up to the 

 very sky, even if their wings were not 

 painted, and Gold Beauty had hard work 

 to make choice between them, and used to 

 get her poor brain quite excited over the 

 problem until she reflected that she was 



only a creeper after all, and wings were a 

 matter of no concern to her. 



Then she would come back to realities 

 with a jump, and set about her real busi- 

 ness of life, which was eating. Yes, it is 

 true, she was such an eater, that it seemed 

 sometimes that she could not find enough 

 in the garden to satisfy her. Not that she 

 was a glutton, oh no; but she belonged to 

 a family of rapid growers, and they really 

 could not help having ravenous appetites. 



She would have helped it if she could, 

 for she often found it inconvenient to be 

 always hungry; and often had to give up 

 invitations to tea, because she was ashamed 

 of her appetite; and she grew so fast that 

 her clothes were all the time becoming too 

 small for her. This was her greatest 

 grievance, for she often found herself too 

 large for her old suit before she could get 

 another one ready, and then she was forced 

 to hide herself in some secluded place and 

 go entirely without eating for a day or two, 

 and of course she ceased growing for the 

 time, but at the end she could come forth 

 again clad in fresh raiment. 



Although this happened over and over 

 again. Gold Beauty kept on eating as much 

 as ever, for she had made up her mind to 

 grow all she could, as fast as she could, 

 and so get through with it, for she knew 

 that her appetite would never leave her so 

 long as she had to grow. 



In her journeyings through the garden 

 for food and pleasure, she came upon 

 many curious things, but nothing puzzled 

 her more than to find every now and then 

 one of those queer-shaped gray towers in 

 which she was told poor captives were 

 kept. 



She could never find out why they were 

 put there, or what they had done, and she 

 spent some time in imagining reasons for 

 their imprisonment, wondering occasion- 

 ally if it could be possible that any of them 

 were put there because they had enormous 

 appetites. This very thought made her 



