ST. JOHN'S-WORT FLOWERS 159 



" Do they have pretty flowers? " I asked. 



" Der flowers is yellow, and all der different 

 kinds of dem look alike, and yet dey are different. 

 Der are some of dem dat are veeds." 



" There's a plant in the pasture where the cows 

 are," I told him, " that has small, pointed, yellow 

 buds at the ends of nearly all its little branches, 

 and with many leaves growing on its stems. It 

 looks like a leafy, little bush." 



" Dat's vun of dem," Herr Wilhelm Fritz said. 

 " It has opened some of dem flowers to-day al- 

 ready. Dey hev five leetle petals vid plack spots 

 on dem, and in der center of der flowers der are 

 many what you call leetle things." 



" I call them stamens now," I said. 



" Veil, dat's petter ; and it's very goot dat der 

 first St. John's-wort you hev seen is from Wilhelm 

 Fritz's country. It is not an American. Dat 

 plant comes from Europe. It is called der Com- 

 mon St. John's-wort, and it is der vun dat all der 

 superstitions is apout." 



Grandmother came into the garden then and 

 asked Herr Wilhelm Fritz if he were filling her 

 little girl's head with witch stories. 



" Only just der wuns dat she should know 

 apout," he said. 



Then they talked of Roses and other things, 

 and presently it was luncheon time and I went in 

 with Grandmother. 



I kept wishing I might hear Herr Wilhelm 



