when all that clay had become stone, and had broken into many fragments,
a very wise and learned man found the bit of rock upon which was all the
delicate tracery of the little fern leaf, with outline just as perfect
and lovely as when, long, long ago it had swayed to the breezes in its
own beautiful valley.

And so wonderful did it seem to the wise man, that he took the fern leaf
home with him and placed it in his cabinet where all could admire it;
and where, if they were thoughtful and clever enough, they could think
out the story for themselves and find the lesson which was hidden away
with the fern in the bit of rock.

Lesson! did I say? Well, let's not call it a lesson, but only a truth
which it will do every one of us good to remember; and that is, that
none of the beauty in this fair world around us, nor anything that is
sweet and lovely in our own hearts, and lives, will ever be useless and
lost. For, as the little fern leaf lay hidden away for years and years,
and yet finally was found by the wise man and given a place with his
other rare and precious possessions where it could still, though
silently, aid those who looked upon it; so we, as boys and girls, men
and women who are to be, can now, day by day, cultivate all lovely
traits of character, making ourselves ready to take our place in the
world's work. And when that time comes we shall not only be able to aid
others silently, as did the little fern, but may also, by word and deed,
lend a hand to each and every one around us.

_Mara L. Pratt._

From "Fairyland of Flowers." The Educational Publishing Co.