| Show tabie caa A dak 0 1 F M r av e adf bu A LONG AGO TALE it was the night before the great festival of may was to be celebrated in merrie england the young people of the village started off into a neighboring wood to gather hawthorn boughs with snowy blossoms each tongue was busy chattering about who might be chosen as queen of the may one girl said bald you know the queen must be the fairest and most beautiful girl in the village in nature as well as looks of course it be helen she Is pretty and lias has many nice clothes to wear but she Is very selfish id like marlon marion said another toa roa know she wanted to come a so 0 much today but she stayed at home because her ber granny needed her sties always doing something for some one else just then a sharp pair of eyes eye abaid a group of people moving off together into a lane look lok I 1 there go tile the ones to choose the queen its a secret until the very last minute you know the older boys abys chopped down the straightest and tallest tree in the alie wood for the maypole the children helped to strip it of its branches and leaves to paint it 1 with N ith lay fay colors and to fasten the bright ff fatona tona ons horn from its ita top then dame came the greatest fun of all the pole in all its splendor had to be dragged into the ll Il lage with many joyous shouts it was fastened to a low hung wagon drawn by twenty sleek white minte oxen the young maidens threw wreaths wreathe of lowers flowers over the patient beasts heads md and the crowd followed gayly into tile village tillage by this time soft twilight twili glit had appeared and soon the pole was erected in a shady green spot la in the center of the village ready and waiting fur for the morrow in the meantime tucked tar far away in a remote part of the village was a tiny cottage by u stone fireplace sat an old woman and at her feet a lovely girl her clothes were rugged but clean A kindly nature and bleet thoughts made her face beautiful but tonight it had find lost its usual merry look abill had become wistful and quite sad dont cry lassie said granny to aar r tomorrow some way shall be found and you will be able to dance with will the others the at the magpole Mai pole come go to bed and sleep you shall see what tomorrow will bring forth granny fed her oft off to bed and tucked tier her in tenderly and soon the child was fast asleep As soon as granny was sure of this she went to a huge chest black with age and unlocking the hasp found a bright colored skirt shirt and a gay tinted neckerchief as gay as tile the spring itself just the thing she flie chuckled 1 I had bad forgotten it was still here granny laid the costume beside Mar marions lons bed certain that it would be the first thing she ehe would M 4 M ea M M M X HOW THE LEOPARD X C CHANGED E HIS IS SP SPOTS S for thousands of years niru men lime liae had the idea that a leopard cannot change ills hs spots once there was a spotted leopard that had exactly spots and a black leopard that had exactly spots which of course nas as none at all said the spotted leopard to tile the black leopard dont you wish you had a few of my spots no thank you replied the black leopard for then I 1 would not match so go nicely wit the darkness und and fildo so easily when w li e n hunters trail me lifter after nightfall 40 1 I long said the hn spotted leopard to be a doely loela bright green leopard perfectly spotless le and so different front from all other leopards that they would elect me king objected the blick black leopard even though you gave me all your black spots people would not notice them lliam because tile the black spots would match my black coat coal that night the spotted leopard journeyed to an ink factory lived dived in to a deep ink well and when he caule came out lie he was the prettiest black leopard imaginable just then the ink maker popped into the room rood ile he had formerly been a co cow boy went ills his lasso around the leopard for the rest of his days the leopard was used as a pen wiper he was kindly treated hut but kept lit fit a cage and he be often vIs wished liel that lie he had not tried to be somebody j else ise Vinc vincet ct dead see when she opened tier her ebes in the morning may day dawned bright and clear and when marlon marion awoke there wag wa surprise indeed granny Gran grannel slie she cried see now I 1 can dunce dance with will the hie others now I 1 have the prettiest costume in all the village and slip twirled around in tier her new dress light ly and gayly in anticipation of the days happiness cut hark what was as that rumbling sound coming closer and closer marion peeked from the window alir tit music grew louder and nearer and nearer came the group of laughing talking bois and girls out choosing the may queen said granny 1 I wonder who they will ell choose nearer and nearer came the voice until the young people gathered gathe reil outside of Gr grandys grannys annys gate marlon marion scarcely dared to breathe A rap another rap at the door granny haFt hastened ened to open it marlon marion mar blar ton lou abe voices called hall hail queen of the may alay mallon could not believe tier lier ears curs D il they mean an that site had been bee chosen quickly they surrounded unde d lie her i r end and upon two of the tallest shoulder in tile crowd she bile was borne in to the village green there she sal sit on a beautiful throne of flutters tile ladies ln in walting knelt about tier her will tile lord I ord chamberlain li placed need in tier her hand the royal scepter of f long ion stemmed roses in and out it mid id back and forth skipped tile the maypole e TS rs and when the last ribbon had iut flut into place the revelers howel bowel ow before their queen the fairest find happiest queen they had chosen toi for nony anny a eur |
