AND HIS PLANT SCHOOL 



103 



gracefully bending a long, slender body as if to salute his 

 classmates. "My home, and the home of all brambles, 

 was for ages in the forest. We had a hard struggle to 

 live, for the mighty 

 oaks, pines, and red- 

 woods crowded us and 

 stole our food, until 

 we were driven into the 

 thicket. We greatly 

 enjoyed trailing over 

 the banks of the wood- 

 land streams, but when 

 forced to leave these 

 cool places we sought 

 the open, and if a friend- 

 ly fence kindly offered 

 support, our slender 

 arms clung to the long, 

 rough rails thankfully, 

 for our ripening fruit 

 could there enjoy the 

 sunshine. 



"All the boys and girls liked us and eagerly looked for 

 us; for they said we were much better at heart than our 

 aristocratic cultivated relatives, the blackberries. My ! 

 how those girls scolded at our little needles when they 

 took our fruit. I know our thorns are sharp like daggers, 



A native bramble. 



