ARBOR DA V MANUAL. 
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A LITTLE PLANTER. 
D OWN by the wall where the lilacs grow, 
Digging away with the garden hoe, 
Toiling as busily as he can — 
Eager and earnest, dear little man ! 
Spoon and shingle are lying by, 
With a bit of evergreen, long since dry. 
“ What are you doing, dear? ” I ask. 
Ted for an instant stops his task, 
Glances up with a sunny smile 
Dimpling his rosy cheeks, the while : 
“Why, it is Arbor Day, you see, 
And I’m planting a next year’s Christmas-tree. 
“ For last year, auntie, Johnny Dunn 
Didn’t have even the smallest one ; 
And I almost cried, he felt so bad, 
When I told ’bout the splendid one we had ; 
And 1 thought if I planted this one here, 
And watered it every day this year, 
It would grow real fast— I think it might; 
(His blue eyes fill with an eager light), 
And I’m sure ’twill be, though very small, 
A great deal better than nothing at all.” 
Then something suddenly comes between 
My eyes and the bit of withered green, 
As I kiss the face of our Teddy boy 
Bright and glowing with giving’s joy. 
And Johnny Dtfnn, it is plain to see, 
Will have his next year’s Christmas-tree. 
Youth's Companion. 
“Now Nature hangs her mantle green 
On every blooming tree.” 
Burns, Lament of Mary, Queen of Scots.. 
“Now the sun once more is glancing, 
And the oak trees roar with joy.” 
Heine, Miscellaneous Poems, Germany, 1815. 
