THE CHRISTMAS TREE 153 



festooning, she wished to dance, as when she 

 used to toss her ruffled skirts on windy days 

 and show their silvery lining. 



**You better stand still, little balsam, and 

 be philosophical, like Diogenes of old," warned 

 the painted tub. 



^^Who was Diogenes?" asked the balsam- 

 fir. 



^*0h, he was like you, and lived in a tub," 

 laughed the book under the tree. '*I know all 

 about such people. Then there were three men 

 in a tub. But before we proceed further, I 

 move we have a little light on the subject." 



^^Dear me, I cannot find my match!" cried 

 a taper. 



^^No, I have struck," declared a pine match 

 quite black in the face, so the window shades 

 rolled up and let in the light from the street- 

 lamp. 



* ' Tub, ' ' asked the balsam-fir, * ' where did you 

 live before you came here?" 



'*In a store," promptly replied the tub. 



''Yes, but before that?" 



*'I was a cypress tree and grew in the 



