152 
motions, and saw her come again and again, and 
with her little sharp instrument, finer and sharper 
than any knife that could be made with hands, 
cut parts of perfect circles from the leaves, till each 
one had lost a portion of its substance to fur¬ 
nish the industrious little creature with materials 
for its nest. 
“ How doth the little busy bee 
Improve each shining hour,”— 
thought Mary. 
And now a fragrance sweeter than all she had 
ever breathed, drew her towards a little fountain 
that gushed from a natural rock, and poured its 
waters into the lake. Trailing vines ran over this 
moss-covered rock, at the foot of which stood many 
choice plants in marble vases. 
It was the Tea-Rose that beckoned Mary on. 
The graceful, pendent flower, with a cheek “ like 
the convolution of a smooth-lipped shell” called her 
