And one, two, three! there they stood in their newly-ironed white collars, and looked so fresh and so pretty that the starlings sang their prettiest songs out of sheer joy in them.
"Ah, how sweet it is here!" said the anemones. "How warm the sun is, and how the birds sing! It is a thousand times better than last year."
But they said the same thing every year, so one needn't take any account of it.
There were many others who were quite beside themselves when they saw the anemones had come out. One was a schoolboy who wanted to have his summer holidays at once; and another was the beech tree, who felt exceedingly put out.
"Aren't you coming soon to me, my Lady Spring?" he said. "I am a much more important person than those silly anemones, and I can't really hold in my buds much longer."
"I am coming, I am coming," answered my Lady Spring. "But you must give me a little time."
She went on her way through the wood, and at every step many and many an anemone burst into flower. They stood in crowds round the roots of the birch tree, and bashfully bowed their round heads to the earth.
"Look up," said my Lady Spring, "and rejoice in God's bright sunshine. Your life is short, so you must enjoy it while you have it."
The anemones did as she told them. They stretched and strained, and spread their white petals to all sides, to drink as much sunshine as they could. They pushed their heads against one another, and twined their stalks together, and laughed, and were immensely happy.