CHAPTER XIX 
A DAY OF PLAY 
M r. PERCY is now home from college for the 
long vacation. He comes very often to the 
Six Spruces, helping us in many ways about the 
garden. Yesterday he said that Joseph and I took 
our triangle much too' seriously, and that we must 
cease working so hard that we forget how to play. 
“After all,” he said, “a garden is a place in 
which first to play and afterwards to work.” 
Joseph looked at him in amazement. I also 
thought something must be the matter with him. 
Could he, we wondered, have forgotten that the 
weeds were growing faster than I can write the 
fact down; that there were yellow leaves to be 
picked off ; that our eyes had tO' be kept sharpened 
for insect pests ; and that it was again time to- sow 
the candytuft? Indeed, we felt that to-day Mr. 
Percy was in a most frivolous mood. 
“Those brakes we planted,” he exclaimed, “I 
wonder if I could jump over their tops.” 
“I should like to play ball with those poppies,” 
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