CROCUSES AND THE SNOWDROP 27 



"In front of this pussy-willow ?" 



"Pussy-willow, indeed!" exclaimed Herr Trom- 

 mel, indignantly. "That is a Japanese magnolia 

 that is Magnolia-stellata. The buds wear the fur hoods, 

 it is true, but they are fatter, and the 

 fur is finer. They are no pussy- 

 willows ! " 



But Mary was bending over the 

 infant crocuses, that were just begin- 

 ning to show their gold. "Are n't 

 they darlings ! " she said. 



"Do you know where they get the 

 gold from 1 ?" asked Mr. Trommel. 

 "No ? It is some of the Nibelungen. 

 gold that the Rhine maidens stole away from Alberich. 

 You know that the Mother Earth, Erda, takes care 

 of it, and she wished to put it where it would do 

 no harm, so she gave some of it to the little cro- 

 cuses to keep, and now that the crocuses have it, 

 men may love it and it does them no harm ; they do 

 not quarrel nor fight over it any more. 



"Come and let us find the snowdrops. Ah, they 

 are the darlings!" he said, kneeling down in the 

 dead brown grass, where groups of the dainty blos- 

 soms had pushed up through the earth and were nod- 



