Poor Bruno’s leg was broken, but he turned and crawled back the way he had come. The master rode on for awhile and then he missed his saddle-bags that held his money. He turned his horse’s head and galloped back as fast as he could to the place he had laid down to rest. And what do you think he found there? Bruno had crawled back to die with his head on the bag of forgotten gold. He was faithful to the last.
PLANTING AN ORCHARD
(Arbor Day)
The life of a tree depends largely on the way it starts.
Once there was a man who wanted to plant an orchard of apple trees. He sent to a nursery for some young plants, and when they came all wrapped up in a good bundle, he thought of what fine trees he was going to have, and the beautiful apples they would bear.
The bundle came just about the time the man was starting to town on some business. So he sent off at once for a man who knew how to plant trees, and said to him, “Here are my young apple trees, and I want you to plant them for me. I shall be gone all day,” and he showed the man where to plant them.
When he came back later in the afternoon the man had planted only six trees. The owner was surprised, and said, “You have planted but six trees. It seems to me you work very slowly.”
The man replied, “Yes, but I do my work thoroughly. You see I dug great holes so that the roots of the young trees might not be broken or cramped; then I hauled rich earth from the woods, and mixed it well with the top soil; then I packed the earth carefully around the roots so that it would be firm; and then I watered each plant until it was thoroughly soaked. All that takes time, and one must not be in a hurry about planting a tree if he expects it to live and flourish.”