[THE APPLE-TREE MOTHER]
I.
| reason | mischief | pasture | couch |
| bitter | exclaimed | sloping | steam |
The old apple tree had stood in the corner of the pasture for so many years that no one could tell when it was planted.
It was a friendly old tree. Under its branches men and animals found pleasant shade. In the spring it gave blossoms to all that came, and in the fall it dropped apples at their feet.
The apple tree was easy to climb, as Dick well knew. From its top he could see the sloping hillside and the little brook that flowed through the pasture. Indeed, he spent so much time playing in the old tree that his father often said, "Well, Dick, has the Apple-Tree Mother kept you out of mischief to-day?"
And so Dick came to wonder a great deal about the Apple-Tree Mother.