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Bryant, Sara Cone, 1873-

"Stories to Tell to Children"


From Seeds and Plants Company, Boston.

Margery could hardly wait to open it.
It was filled with little packages, all with
printed labels; and in the packages, of
course, were seeds. It made Margery
dance, just to read the names,--nasturtium,
giant helianthus, coreopsis, calendula,
Canterbury bells: more names than
I can tell you, and other packages,
bigger, that said, "Peas: Dwarf Telephone,"
and "Sweet Corn," and such things! Margery
could almost smell the posies, she
was so excited. Only, she had seen so
little of flowers that she did not always
know what the names meant. She did not
know that a helianthus was a sunflower
till her mother told her, and she had never
seen the dear, blue, bell-shaped flowers
that always grow in old-fashioned gardens,
and are called Canterbury bells. She
thought the calendula must be a strange,
grand flower, by its name; but her mother
told her it was the gay, sturdy, every-dayish
little posy called a marigold. There was
a great deal for a little city girl to be
surprised about, and it did seem as if morning
was a long way off!
"Did you think you could plant them in
the morning?" asked her mother. "You
know, dear, the ground has to be made
ready first; it takes a little time,--it may
be several days before you can plant."
That was another surprise.


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