"No, I don't, Marian, nor does any one know exactly how it came by its name. Some believe it was given to the plant because its root is so white; then again, in the old days lions were pictured with teeth yellow as dandelion blossoms. The explanation I like best is that the dandelion was named after the lion because the lion is the animal that used to represent the sun, and all flowers named after him are flowers of the sun."
"Do you know anything more about dandelions?" questioned Marian.
"If I don't," said Miss Virginia Smith, smiling as she spoke, "it isn't because there is nothing more to learn. Did you ever hear the dandelion called the shepherd's clock?"
"No, Miss Smith, never. Why should they call it that?"
"Because the dandelion is said to open at five and close at eight."
"Well!" exclaimed Marian, "I guess you could write a composition about dandelions."
"Possibly," was the laughing response. "As far as that goes, Marian, there isn't a thing that grows that hasn't a history if you take the time and trouble to hunt it up."
"Skunk cabbages?" suggested Marian.
"Yes, 'skunk cabbages,'" was the reply. "What flowers do you suppose are related to it?"