THE DREAM 311 



the flowers she loved best. Francis was still In 

 New England, and he was sure it was nearer 

 Christmas than Fourth of July. In the dream 

 Francis was looking at a little evergreen tree and 

 wondering if he could dig it up and take it into 

 the house to hang his presents on. He had his 

 bag of Japanese tools tied to his side, and when 

 he passed again in the dream he had taken 

 up the tree and planted it in a wooden tub to 

 keep it from dying while he had his Christmas 

 party. Some friends of Francis's from Herr Wil- 

 helm Fritz's country had taught him to be very 

 kind to trees, and also that the children in Ger- 

 many carry back their evergreens after Christ- 

 mas and replant them in their own places. 



Francis has grown very wise, Tommy thought 

 while he slept; perhaps before I wake up he will 

 remember that Herr Wilhelm Fritz told us Christ- 

 mas trees were already vanishing in this country, 

 because so many thousands and thousands of them 

 are cruelly cut down every year and thrown away. 



After Francis and the evergreen-tree had passed. 

 Tommy went on to dream and dream. He dreamed 

 that when Christmas was over and the snow had 

 melted, and Jack Frost had gone back to his home, 

 spring would come again, and that a pink Hepatica 

 would be the first of all the flowers to awake by the 

 side of Old Adam. He dreamed that Little Trudy 

 would be so tall and wise that she would never 

 run away again after spring came back. He 



