DWARF APPLE 31 



dealing device. But, as he seldom sallies forth while the day 

 is young, the tiny creatures have their happy hour, and it is 

 only the laggards that are trapped by the hunter, and end 

 their days in a collecting tube as pleasant a fate, perhaps, 

 after all, as to serve as a bird's breakfast. 



Though the end of its little visitors may be tragic and 

 sudden, that of the flower itself is one of beauty. By and bye, 

 when the creamy stamens shake themselves free on the summer 

 breeze, a gay red fruit will be seen, just as lovely as the buds 

 and blossoms that have gone before it. In its turn the fruit 

 will ripen and open, scattering the seeds on the wind, and 

 leaving a dry brown husk to speak of fulfilment. But even 

 then the plant will not have lost its beauty, for, beside the 

 dead husks of the past, " the folded leaf is woo'd from out the 

 bud " the tender pink shoots which are the forerunners of 

 the w r oolly red buds. 



And so, through all the changing seasons, the dwarf apple 

 spreads its beauty on that windy hill an emblem for its lovers 

 of eternal hope and courage. 



