242 A TOUR ROUND MY GARDEN, 



him continued to amuse themselves with cramming him with 

 the most absurd ideas upon the vegetable kingdom. 



One day they told him that there was in the king's garden 

 a sausage-tree of great beauty. 



"What do you mean by a sausage-tree?" asked he. 



"What's a sausage-tree? there's a question! What's an 

 apricot-tree?" 



"A tree that bears apricots." 



"Well?" 



"Well!" 



" Well ! why, the sausage-tree is a tree that bears sausages." 



" Pooh ! nonsense ! Porkbutchers make sausages." 



" I know very well that porkbutchers make sausages ; pork- 

 butchers make sausages, it is true ; but what sort of sausages? 

 It is just the same as little Eulalie, who lives near you; she 

 makes flowers; but in stuffs or wools. Are you astonished 

 that because Eulalie makes roses, that rose-bushes should 

 produce them likewise? Eulalie makes artificial flowers." 



" What! do porkbutchers then make artificial sausages?" 



" Exactly so, my good friend ; but the sausages of the pork- 

 butchers are like the roses of Eulalie to nature, what the false 

 is to the true. If you had ever eaten the fruit of the sausage- 

 tree, you would never allow your teeth to touch the gross 

 imitation that you have hitherto eaten." 



" Ah ! but, now tell me, are there really any sausage-trees ? " 



At this mark of wavering incredulity the friends only 

 deigned to reply by shrugging up their shoulders, and con- 

 tinued to talk among themselves about the sausage-tree, with- 

 out appearing to be willing to admit incredulity any longer 

 into their conversation. 



"Is it the garlick variety which is in the king's garden?" 

 asked one. 



" Yes," replied the other. 

 '• Ah, that's the most rare of all." 



" But the tree had very little fruit on it this year. You 

 are aware that the sausage-tree originally comes from a hot 

 climate; and the winters here try it severely; part of the 

 blossoms were destroyed by the late frosts." 



" It is a pity we cannot get one, to convince our sceptical 

 friend here." 



