THE FAIRYLAND OF HOME 



279 



of liappy medium where upholstered fur- 

 niture and a rocker take the place of spin- 

 dles and gilt. Birdseye maple or white 

 and gold have been our ^^standbys" for 

 parlor woodwork^ but almost any of the 

 lighter woods will serve the purpose. 



In many of our smaller residences where 

 the parlor serves the purpose of a sitting- 

 room also, it is customary to furnish it in 

 oak, birch, cherry or other medium- 



colored woods, and to close them off from 

 the hall with sliding doors, but where such 

 use is necessary I would advise that the 

 hall and sitting-room be definitely com- 

 bined into a living room as being more 

 useful, more homelike, and less ostenta- 

 tious than the ordinary parlor. 



How much of the visitor's welcome or 

 the tired worker's joy of home is created by 

 the first impression as the door is opened ? 



The Fairyland of Home 



BY DANSKE DANDRIDGE 



MAMMA," said my little five-year- 

 old to me the other day, "I think 

 home is much nicer than fairy- 

 land, don't you?" I thought that I had 

 never received a finer compliment. 



Dorothea's question set me to thinking. 

 It does not seem a difficult thing to keep 

 happiness in the heart of a healthy child. 

 Its* needs are so simple. It needs, first of 

 all, plenty of love, and then plenty of 

 wholesome mental food for the develop- 

 ment of its character. This is just as 

 important as plenty of oatmeal and milk 

 for the development of the body. Chil- 

 dren's minds are as restless as their bod- 

 ies, and need constant, untaxing occupa- 

 tion. 



When I considered why my little girl 

 was healthy and happy, I concluded it was 

 largely 'because she is under the care of 

 the best of fairy godmothers. Dame Na- 

 ture, herself. She is growing up in the 

 country, she plays under grand old forest 

 trees, and she lives in intimate relations 

 with the birds, the squirrels, and the 

 flowers. Her kind fairy godmother has 

 endowed her with the love of these things, 

 and they suffice to fill her days with joy. 



Dorothea, and indeed all the family, are 

 enthusiastic gardeners. She takes a keen 



interest in every new plant that we procure. 

 She knows every tree, shrub and flower on 

 the place. I never speak to her of "my 

 garden," but always of "our garden." She 

 is my partner in all out-of-door pleasures, 

 and feels that her rights in the garden are 

 inalienable. She 

 can pick any of 

 the flowers, if she 



« ^ their beds, revel- 



V. ing in the sun- 



t shine, and that 



\ when plucked they 



f will soon droop 



and die. So that she 



DANSKE DANDRIDGE 



never picks them 

 to throw them away in a few moments, but 

 only to give pleasure to others, and to 

 make the house beautiful. This sym- 

 pathy with N'ature is, it seems to me, one 

 of the most valuable traits that can be cul- 

 tivated in a child. N"othing is more ele- 

 vating and refining than a love of and 

 knowledge of flowers. I know of no better 

 heritage to leave one's children than the 

 love of cultivating and arranging flowers. 



