remark'able, worthy of notice; unusual.
moist'ure, wetness; that which makes wet.
absorbed', sucked up; drunk up.
with'er, lose freshness.
starched, stiffened, as starch.
germ, that from which the plant grows; bud.
hand'some, pleasing in appearance; very pretty.
clasped, surrounded; inclosed.
THE BEAN AND THE STONE.
"I think I ought to be doing something in the world!" said a little voice out in the garden.
"Pray, what can you do?" asked another and somewhat stronger voice.
"I think I can grow," answered the little voice.
If you had seen the owner of the little voice, perhaps you would not have thought him any thing remarkable.
It is true he had on a clean white coat, so smooth and shining that it looked as if it had been newly starched and ironed, and inside of this, he hugged two stout packages.
The coat had only one fastening; but that fastening extended down the back, and was a curious thing to see.
It looked just as if the coat had been cut with a knife, and had afterward grown together again. It was like a scar on your hand; and a scar it is called.
"Yes, I ought to be growing," said the little voice, "for I am a bean, and in the spring a bean ought to grow."