ARBOR DA Y MANUAL. I I 7 



THE OAK AND THE MISTLETOE SEED. 



A SEED of the beautiful mistletoe was separated from its parent. It went 

 forth in search of a home wherein it might receive protection and care. 

 " Perhaps," said the little seed to itself, '' I may one day be a large and beautiful 

 plant like that from which I have sprung." 



It knew by instinct that the earth, in whose bosom the mighty forest trees 

 buried their spreading roots, would have no welcome for a seed of mistletoe; 

 that it must seek elsewhere the rest and nourishment it so desired. "Surely 

 there must be room for me in the world ! " the wandering seed exclaimed. 



Seeing a stately elm it thought, " Here is a tree that must be as generous as 

 he is stately, here shall be my home." But the elm was not generous. He 

 scorned the humble petition of the seed, and said there was not a corner in his 

 branches for a beggar. In vain did the seed plead its great need of help ; the 

 elm was as hard as a stone, and cared not at all for the tiny creature's sorrow. 



A beech near by was even more narrow-minded than the elm, and fairly 

 drove the seed away with the angry question : "Why should I afford a rest- 

 ing place to vagrant shrubs of your kind ? " And the poor wear}- wanderer began 

 to think that it would be as well to die at once as to die at the end of a long 

 and fruitless pursuit. 



An oak in the forest, to whom the seed next appealed, listened to the sor- 

 rowing voice of the wanderer, and was more merciful than the elm or the 

 beech had been. Satisfied at last, the little seed found rest in the arms of the 

 mighty oak. Before long a delicate green leaf appeared, and then another and 

 another; and in time a beautiful shrub grew upon the great forest tree. 



When the summer had passed, the winds of autumn came moaning through 

 the woods, and the leaves fell in showers. The stately elm lost its beautiful 

 foliage, the beech stood bare and shivering in the blast, and even the hospitable 

 oak saw his splendid drapery of green change and fall. And soon the winter's 

 ice and snow made the forest desolate. Yet was the oak grand and attractive still. 



The mistletoe covered the broad bosom of the tree, and was indeed life in the 

 midst of death. Strong and ever green, the winter could not rob it of its 

 beauty or its strength. Its waxen berries, rivaling the snow in whiteness, 

 seemed to the beech and elm like so many mocking eyes turned upon them. 

 But to the venerable oak they were like rare and precious jewels. 



One fine day in winter, the oak made this speech to a merry little group who 

 stood admiring the mistletoe : "When I received a tiny straying seed and gave 

 it my protection, do you suppose that I knew what would follow ? If 1 had stood 

 in the forest destitute of leaves as my fellow-trees are, would you have 

 gathered around to admire me?" 



" I know that the mistletoe with its white berries attracted your eyes, yet am 

 I not proud to bear that shrub in my arms and to call it my foster-child ? Kind- 

 ness enriches both the giver and the receiver. In my long, long life I have 

 learned many lessons, but this is the best of all: be kind for the very sake of 

 kindness, and you will have your reward." 



