106 TALKING APPLE BLOSSOMS 



Ruth was up first from her seat and to her 

 brother's amazement she could be distinctly 

 heard as she repeated without missing a word 

 all that they had been asked to recite. The 

 leader murmured to herself, "God bless the 

 child !" when the dear tiny right hand rever- 

 ently gave the salute and the sweet little piping 

 voice made itself clearly heard above the others. 

 As Ruth earnestly said, "My head, my heart, 

 and this right hand, for God and Home and 

 Native Land," her mother silently prayed that 

 God would help her little girl always to keep 

 the sacred promise she was making. 



"The closing song, 



"Apples, ripe apples, we'll pick from the trees ; 

 But cider, no cider, for us if you please," 



was a new one, and the children sang it over 

 and over until Ruth knew the first lines and 

 the tune by heart, and she hummed the song 

 all the way home. 



Reaching the gate, she left her mother and 

 ran to the orchard "just to look at the apple 

 blossoms, mother," she said. "They do shine 

 so with the sun on them." 



