AND HIS PLANT SCHOOL 141 



suvius," famous for her beauty of dress for her foliage, 

 her great leaves being often four or five inches wide and 

 six inches long. The colors of her gown were gorgeous, a 

 beautiful dark red shading into light crimson and white. 



Poor, scraggy Half -pit in crumpled green, leafy suit was 

 in the same class with many other gayly clad pupils, but 

 in a plant school there is never any fun-making or giggling 

 when a poorly dressed pupil is admitted. Indeed, all the 

 plums and prunes were very kind to the little French waif, 

 and tried to make him feel comfortable. He could not 

 remember the names of all his classmates, for there were 

 so many of them, but he admired the strength of one, the 

 straightness of another, and the sweetness of another, and 

 hoped some day to grow like them. 



Yes, Half -pit longed to become straight and strong and 

 sweet, and, most of all, to understand what it was the 

 master wanted him to do. At last he realized that the 

 odd little half-shell which he had tried so hard to keep 

 was not necessary to him at all, and that he could be of 

 more service to man if the half-shell were entirely gone. 

 Half-pit did his very best, and about the fifth season after 

 entering school many white blossoms appeared, and the 

 wise teacher brought golden pollen from the French prune 

 to combine it with that of Half-pit. 



Soon little prunes that looked like gooseberries took 

 the place of the snowy blossoms, and each day they be- 

 came larger, brighter, and more beautiful. 



