6. THE ELDERBERRY BUDS. 



" TJOW warm the sunshine is! " exclaimed a little 

 bud on an elderberry twig. 



" Yes," answered her twin sister, " I believe spring 

 has come at last. How glad I am ! Now we can 

 have a peep at the world." 



" How long the winter has been ! " said the 

 first little bud. " I am glad we live op- 

 posite. Let us open our doors, little 

 sisters." 



" No wonder we were warm all winter. 

 See how well we have been cared for, with these 

 thick walls to keep out the cold." 



" Oh, sister," said the first bud, "here is a place 

 just below me where a leaf grew last summer." 



" I have one. They are leaf scars. Our twig has 

 dots and rings on it, too." 



" I have leaves and a flower bud," said the first 

 bud. " The flower bud is made up of many little 

 buds. It is green now, but a little later there will 

 be many white blossoms." 



" I have no flower buds in my house," said 

 another. 



