CHAPTER XXII 



WHEN BERRIES ARE RIPE 



Almost ever since we came to live in the 

 country Tommy has been telling me how fine 

 things would be as soon as Wild Strawberries were 

 ripe. Even Peter pricks up his ears about Wild 

 Strawberries, for he loves to eat them, and smells 

 out where they are, by slipping his long nose 

 through the grass. 



One day along Wild Rose Highway the straw- 

 berries all turned red. Before this they had been 

 growing and growing, but whenever I looked at 

 them they were green and hard. They turned 

 red so quickly that I thought it must have been 

 in the night, until I remembered that the warm 

 sunshine was their real friend, and helped them 

 to grow soft and sweet. 



When Grandmother and I heard Tommy talk- 

 ing to Wild Rose on the highway, we saw many 

 green strawberries with little red patches on them, 

 and we found two that were quite red. But these 

 were not enough to give me a real taste of Wild 

 Strawberries, for they are much smaller than the 

 ones in Grandmother's garden. It has been a 

 long wait for them; perhaps because so many 

 other things had to happen first. 



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