THE GENESEE FARMER. 



27 



THE CHEREY TREE. 



FEOM THIS GEKMAN. 



The good Lrrd to tlie spring once said, 



The liltle worm's table uowsprcad. 



Then quick was a cherry tree seen, 



Covered with leaves all fresh and green. 

 The little worm waked from his long winter night, 

 And rubbing his eyes at the sight of the light, 

 Placed himself at his table (needing no chair;, 

 And with quick-tooth appetite gnawed here and there. 

 O! how sweet are these leaves, the little worm said; 

 One- would hardly go back to one"s cold winter bed. 



The good Lord to the spring then said, 



The little bee's table now spread. 



A perfume sweet then filled the air, 



Tempting the bee wiih the blossoms fair. 

 The little bee wakes with the first morning light. 

 And swift to the cherry tree hastens his flight ; 

 Ah ! here is my coffee in cups porcelain. 

 Says ihe little bee, smelling and smelling again. 

 Then he puts in his tongue, but scarcely coiild eat, 

 It wagg'd so with talking— how swect,'0! how sweet! 

 Sure sugar is cheap, says he, drinking his fill 

 From the clean china cups— then flevf o'er the hill. 



The good Lord to the summer then said. 

 The small sparrow's table now spread. 

 The good tree then her blossoms east, 

 And spread the sparrow's rich repast. 

 In place of the flowers, where the little bee fed, 

 Came thousands of cherries, so fresh and so red. 

 And the sparrow said, Is it so meant indeed ? 

 I'll be seated then soon — no second call need. 

 In marrow and bone will this fruit make me strong, 

 And strengthen my throat for new, sweeter song. 



To autumn, then, the good Lord said. 



Clear off the table, all are fed. 

 Then hoar frost came up from his icy abode. 

 And the rude autumn blasts on the storm-cloud rode. 

 And the wild winds moaned, as the leaves flew around, 

 ' What comes from the dust must go back to the ground.' 



Then to winter, He said, to close up the scene, 

 Cover up what is left with a napkin clean ; 

 And He bade the storm-cloud, that doeth His will, 

 And He spread His white robe on valley and hill. 



"Coax Him, Boys, Coax Him."— Two boys passed my 

 indovf one bright morning, carrying beavy pieces of 

 irniture. One of tbem also held a string which was at- 

 iched to a large dog's bead. The dog was unwilling to 

 •ot very rapidly, and, much to the lad's annoyance, 

 ould insist upon resting every few steps. The large 

 3y grew impatient, for it was hard work to carry such 

 heavy load, and at the same time drag the dog. 

 "Kick him, Jim, kick him," said be; and Jim sat down 

 is burden and began to kick; but the dog only growled 

 id refused to stir. Then Jim took a stick and" be'^an to 

 ;at him ; but the obstinate fellow only whined and re- 

 tained perfectly still. 



What was to be done? The boys were beo-inniug to 

 espair, when Frank Gage came along. ''Coax Urn, boys 

 mx him," was Frank's manly suggestion. Some boys 

 ould have pouted, and thought Frank had nothing to 

 ly m the matter; but these seemed relieved by the^ad- 

 ce, and began to pat "Trim" and speak kindly to him 

 '^hat was the result? Why, "Trim" wagged his tail 

 iprovingly, and trotted off briskly. 

 Does not this little incident illustrate the power of kind 

 ords? There is a great deal of power and meaning in 

 nd words and actions. A little hvmn you all know 

 lys, "Kmd words can mver die." Have you ever tried 

 le experiment? There is scarcely a person living who 

 )es iiot like a little coaxing and encouragement, and 

 :arcely a person who can not be influenced by o-entle 

 ords and treatment. Be kind to every body, and'everv 

 ing about you, always remembering the te.xt- " I5e not 

 'ercome of evil, but overcome evil with eood."—C/dld's 

 iper. 



THE LITTLE ONES IN BED. 



A row of little faces by the bed— 



A row of little hands iipon the spread 



A row of little rougish eye.<< all closed — 

 A row of little naked fee"t exposed. 



A gentle mother leads them in their praise. 

 Teaching their feet to tread in heavenly ways. 

 And takes this lull in eliildhood's tiny tide 

 The little errors of the day to chide. 



Then tumbling hendlong into waiting beds. 

 Beneath th& sheets they hi.le their timid heads, 

 Till slumber steals away their idle fears, 

 And like a peeping bud each face appears. 



All dressed like angels in their gowns of white, 

 They're wafted to the skies in dreams of night ; 

 And Heaven will sparkle in their eyes at morn, 

 And stolen graces all their ways adorn. 



Anecdote of a Shepherd's Dog.— James Hogg, the 

 "Ettrick Shepherd," among other anecdotes of the 

 Shepherd Dog, relates the following: 



" I remember another achievement of ' Sirrah's,' which 

 I admired still more. I was sent to a place in Tweed- 

 dale called Stanhope, to bring home a wild ewe that had 

 strayed from home. The place lay at a distance of about 

 fifteen miles, and iny way to it was over steep hills and 

 athwart deep glens. There was no path, and neither 

 'Sirrah' nor I had ever traveled the road before. The 

 ewe was brought in and put into a barn over night, and 

 after being frightened in this way set out with me in the 

 morning to be driven home by herself She was as wild as a 

 roe, and bounded away to the side of the mountain like one. 

 I sent 'Sirrah' on a circular route wide before her, and 

 let him know that he had the charge of her. When I 

 Wt the people at the house, Mr. Tweedle, the farmer, 

 said to me: 'Do you really suppose that you will drive 

 that sheep over these hills, and out through the midst of 

 all the sheep in the country ?' I said I would try to do it. 

 ' Then let me tell you,' said he, ' that you might as well 

 try to travel to the sun.' Our way, as I said, lay over 

 wild hills and through the middle of flocks of sheep. 

 I seldom got a sight of the ewe, for she was sometimes a 

 mile before me— sometimes two— but 'Sirrah' kept her in 

 command the whole way— never suffered her to mix with 

 other sheep, nor, as far as I could judge, even to deviate 

 twenty yards from the track by which he and I went the 

 day before. When we came over the great highth toward 

 Manor Water, 'Sirrah' and his charge happened to cross 

 it a little before me, and our way lying down bill for 

 several miles I soon lost all traces of them, but still kept 

 on my track. I came to two shepherd's houses, and 

 asked if they had seen anything of a black dog with a 

 branded face and a long tail driving a sheep ? No, they 

 had seen no such thing; and besides, all their sheep, 

 both above and below their houses, seemed to be un- 

 moved. I had nothing for it but to hold on my way 

 homeward; and at length, on the corner of a hill at the 

 side of the Water, I discovered my trusty coal-black 

 friend sitting with his eye fixed intently on the buru be- 

 low him, and sometimes giving a casual glance beliind to 

 see if I was coming. He had the ewe standing there safe 

 and unhurt. 



"When I got her home and set her at liberty among 

 our own sheep, he took it mightily amiss. "I could 

 scarcely prevail with him to let her"go; and so dread- 

 fully was he affronted that she should have been let go 

 free after all his toil and trouble, that he would not come 

 near me all the way to the house, nor vet taste any sup- 

 per when he got there. I believe he wanted me to take 

 her home and kill her." 



