Charlie, hopping to the ground and 

 walking sedately to meet Bantum. 



"Oh Prince Charlie!" gasped the lit- 

 tle fellow with wildly rolHng eyes, "Old 

 Ben is dead, quite dead." 



"What's that?" sharply demanded 

 Prince Charlie. "Say it all over again." 



"Old Ben is dead. He surely is. I 

 saw him die." 



For a second Prince Charlie's head 

 reeled, but promptly recovering himself 

 he answered with dignity: 



"Certainly he is; I killed him." 



"Oh, but please," piped Bantum, you 

 couldn't have killed him this time, 

 Prince Charlie, because I saw a man — 

 a strange hunter — do it. Ben was in 

 the edge of the field, and he made that 

 same noise he always did to call the 

 wild geese, and then the hunter shot 

 him." 



"Bantum," said Prince Charlie slow- 

 ly, "you better forget that shilly shally 

 story about the man with a gun if you 

 want me for your friend. If you don't !" 

 — Here Prince Charlie showed his spurs 

 and glared so fiercely that poor little 

 Bantum tumbled over in a fright. "Now 

 then," he added more kindly, "you may 

 run and tell the others how you saw me 

 this morning, after a terrible battle, kill 

 Old Ben. But make no mistakes," he 

 warned. 



Prince Charlie was gazing fixedly at 

 the windmill as Bantum raced away. 

 This did not, however, prevent him 

 from noting the growing excitement as 

 the news spread, nor from taking ac- 

 count of the admiring glances directed 

 towards him. 



After waiting what he considered the 

 proper time, he stalked solemnly over 

 to a group of young hens where some 

 golden brown feathers shown conspicu- 

 ously. He had intended to punish Betty 

 by treating her with the utmost cool- 

 ness,- but she was so irresistible stand- 

 ing on one dainty foot and glancing 

 out coyly from under her drooping 

 comb, that Prince Charlie stopped in 

 front of her, and shaking his head 

 mournfully exclaimed: 



"Ah, what cruel things we do to win 

 the smile of beauty!" 



"Oh Charlie! It was so sweet of you 

 to kill Old Ben!" Betty cried tenderly. 



"Poor Ben, poor Old Ben! So 

 brave! So wise!" lamented Prince 

 Charlie in a choking voice. "How can 

 I ever forgive myself!" 



"You are so good, Charlie; much, 

 much too good for me," murmured 

 Betty softly. 



"Do not let that fact .disturb you, 

 however," said Prince Charlie gener- 

 ously. Then suddenly recovering his 

 wonted cheerfulness he suggested 

 brightly, "And now, my dear Betty, 

 shall we not go and lunch? I know 

 where there is a full grain bag with a 

 hole in the sack." 



As Prince Charlie marched majestic- 

 ally through the yard, Betty close to 

 his side, the barnyard birds said it was 

 what it always should be, — the mating 

 of the bravest and the fairest; and one 

 old hen wept aloud because, she said, it 

 reminded her so much of her own 

 youthful days. 



Karrie King. 



A NATURALIZED CITIZEN OF CALIFORNIA 



In converting lands of little rain and 

 burning sun into habitable places man 

 has found no helper more efficient than 

 the Eucalyptus tree. It is a native of 

 Australia, where it has many kindred. 

 There are about one hundred and forty 

 members of its genus ; and the family to 

 which it belongs, that of the classic myr- 

 tle, is entirely tropical. But the Eucalyp- 



tus is a good traveler for it adapts itself 

 readily to change of scene and circum- 

 stances. It thrives in marshy districts 

 and in places that are almost deserts be- 

 cause of the lack of water. It grows 

 without irrigation in countries where the 

 annual rainfall is only eight or ten 

 inches. 



Its roots drink in moisture eagerly, 



43 



