"I never have anything to do with strangers," said the willow, and the three trees drew their leaves closely about them.
In the morning all those shining green leaves lay on the ground, for a cold north wind had come in the night, and every leaf that it touched fell from the tree.
"May I touch every leaf in the forest?" asked the wind in its frolic.
"No," said the frost king. "The trees that have been kind to the little bird with the broken wing may keep their leaves."
This is why the leaves of the spruce, the pine, and the juniper are always green.
WHY THE ASPEN LEAVES TREMBLE.
"It is very strange," whispered one reed to another, "that the queen bee never guides her swarm to the aspen-tree."
"Indeed, it is strange," said the other. "The oak and the willow often have swarms, but I never saw one on the aspen. What can be the reason?"
"The queen bee cannot bear the aspen," said the first. "Very likely she has some good reason for despising it. I do not think that an insect as wise as she would despise a tree without any reason. Many wicked things happen that no one knows."