UNDER A LIVE OAK TREE 
“Who wants some lunch now?” called Uncle Jack. 
“I do! I do! I do!” cried the children, as they came 
running toward him. 
Noon had found them near the edge of the woods. 
They carried the lunch over to a big live oak tree where 
the grass was smooth and clean. Soon they were busy 
eating. 
Fred, looking up at the tree, said, “I would like to 
know why this tree is called a live oak.” 
“It is called live oak because it is always alive,” said 
Buddy, as he took another bite of sandwich. 
“That can't be the reason, because all oaks are alive,” 
replied Fred. 
“Buddy was almost right,” said Uncle Jack. “This is 
the only kind of oak that keeps its leaves all winter. It 
stays green when all the other oak trees are bare and 
look dead. It is the only kind that looks alive in the win¬ 
ter; so it is called live oak.” 
“Does it keep the same leaves forever?” asked Bess. 
“Oh, no. It drops its leaves and gets new ones every 
year,” said Uncle Jack. 
“How can it drop its leaves and still stay green all the 
time?” asked Fred. “There must be something funny 
about that.” 
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