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the thistle that protected him, withstood the beating 
of the rain. 
When Mary returned to the garden at sunset, she 
observed that the Gladiolus Versicolor, the African 
Iris from the Cape of Good Hope, who had worn a 
brown dress in the morning, had quite changed her 
color, and was of a bright blue. As she stood 
gazing in wonder at this spectacle, the flower spoke 
to her asking mind, and smilingly said, “ Ah ! you 
have now found out my secret. I saw you this 
morning hunting about for the blue flower. Every 
night I put on my brown garb, but before the day is 
done, my father, the Sun, again clothes me in this 
sweet color which you love so dearly. If you watch 
me carefully through the day, you will see that it is 
not a sudden change. Like all other things in this 
great world, I improve by degrees. Many flowers 
change their hues in the course of their lives, but I 
