ST. JOHN'S-WORT FLOWERS 161 



It would take an hour or more to count all the 

 stamens it has sticking out from the middle of 

 its yellow flower leaves and making it look like a 

 ball of down. Besides you can learn to tell it 

 easily because its stems are bright reddish. It 

 doesn't grow much about here, the soil isn't quite 

 sandy enough. I saw it often last year when father 

 and I were in New Jersey, and I suppose Sallie 

 sees it where she lives on Long Island." 



A queer thing about all the St. John's-worts is 

 that their leaves have little black spots on them. 

 Sometimes in early spring I could hardly tell the 

 plants themselves, if I didn't look sharp for these 

 spots. In spring, you see, they look exactly like 

 weeds, for their buds are not even formed then. 



At first I couldn't see the black dots; but when 

 Tommy held a leaf up before my eyes it let the 

 light through in ever so many little holes no larger 

 than the point of a pin. 



When we found Philip I told him he'd better 

 look at the St. John's-worts before hearing Grand- 

 mother's story; but he said he'd wait, and if it 

 was a good one he'd feel more like going out and 

 bowing to them afterward. 



We thought Grandmother never would come 

 home from driving, but when she did and we all 

 sat close up to her in the library, she began: 



" When I was a little girl I had a German gov- 

 erness. She used to tell me wonderful stories 

 about fairies and little people, but always when I 



