Joe and Lucy were sitting on Uncle Sam's steps. They were busy making daisy wreaths.
"We will put a double crown on Uncle Sam's head," Lucy whispered. "Then we will play he is the king of Spain sending Ponce de Leon to Florida."
The old man heard her. "I shall look quite royal with such a grand crown," he said with a laugh. "But to-night you had better pretend I am England's good Queen Bess. She lived long after John Cabot. Let me see! It was about seventy-five years from then to the time Walter Raleigh first met her."
"There! I've finished my wreath, so please let me put it on your head. Then I'll be very still while you talk to us," said Lucy.
"Mine is done, too," cried Joe.
"Oh, Uncle Sam, you look just lovely," exclaimed the little girl, standing up to admire her friend.
Then she and Joe settled themselves at his feet to hear the story of Queen Elizabeth and her brave knight:
A long time ago there was a little boy in England named Walter Raleigh. He was a very beautiful child and as brave as he was handsome.
While he was still very young he left his quiet home in the country and went to war in other lands. In a few years he came back to England. Now, however, he was a tall, strong man, as brave and handsome as ever.
One afternoon he dressed himself in rich and beautiful clothes and went out to walk. He wore a white satin vest, a brown doublet embroidered with pearls, yellow shoes tied with white satin ribbons and sparkling with precious stones, and a wide hat trimmed with a long black plume. His dark hair fell in curls over his shoulders. He was a grand sight, indeed.