[*] By permission of the author and the publisher, Pittsburgh
Christian Advocate.




THE FIR TREE[*]

Adapted by J. H. Stickney


Far away in the forest, where the warm sun and the fresh air made a
sweet resting place, grew a pretty little fir tree. The situation was
all that could be desired; and yet it was not happy, it wished so
much to be like its tall companions, the pines and firs which grew
around it.

The sun shone, and the soft air fluttered its leaves, and the little
peasant children passed by, prattling merrily; but the fir tree did
not heed them.

Sometimes the children would bring a large basket of raspberries or
strawberries, wreathed in straws, and seat themselves near the fir
tree, and say, "Is it not a pretty little tree?" which made it feel
even more unhappy than before.

And yet all this while the tree grew a notch or joint taller every
year; for by the number of joints in the stem of a fir tree we can
discover its age.