AND HIS PLANT SCHOOL 73 



some with upright flowers, others with nodding ones; 

 some with dark green woolly leaves, others with polished 

 light green ones. 



"As the fresh, dew-laden petals of these new creations, 

 which had never been spread out to the light of day, were 

 unrolled before me, a new world of beauty seemed to have 

 been found, and I was fully rewarded for all the care I 

 had bestowed upon them." 



CHAPTER XVI 

 THE CALLA'S STORY 



This is the story of the calla. She told it one day to 

 her friends as they rested in the shade of the trees. It 

 was near Eastertide, and the whole circle of flower students 

 was interested, for they knew that it is at Easter time 

 the callas are most sought. 



"We were not always so graceful as we are to-day," 

 the story-teller began, in a low, soft voice. "Ages and 

 ages ago, when our ancestors lived in the wilds of Africa, 

 we had only a long yellow spike to make us beautiful. 

 This was surrounded by a number of broad green leaves. 

 After a while one of these leaves grew larger and grad- 

 ually folded around the spike, forming a flower cup. It 

 took many, many years to make this change, for Mother 

 Nature, who is our teacher in the wilds, works slowly. 



