Show FEAST OF THE CHERRIES the story of the children allio saved tha city of hamburg hamburg was besieged wolff the merchant returned slowly to his homo one morning along with the other merchants of the city he had been help ing to defend tho walls against the enemy and so constant con stint was the fighting that for a whole week ho had worn his armor day and night and now ho thought bitterly that all his fighting was useless for on the morrow want of food would force them to open tho gates As be passed through his garden lw noticed that his cherry trees covered with fruit so large and juicy that tho very sight was refreshing at that moment a thought struck him he knew hoy much the enemy was suffering from thirst what would they not give for the fruit that hung unheeded on the trees of his orchard might he not by means of his cherries secure safety for his city without a moments delay ho put his plan into practice for he knew there was no time to bo lost if the city was to be saved he gathered together of the children of the city all dressed in white and loaded them with fruit from his orchard then the gates were thrown open and they set out on their strange errand when the leader of the army saw tho gates of the city open and the band of little whito robed children marching out many of them nearly hidden by tho branches which they carried he at unco thought that it was some trick by which tho townspeople trying to deceive him while preparing for an attack on his camp As the cli ildren came nearer he remembered his cruel vow and was on the point of giving orders that they should all bo put to death but when he saw the little ones so close at hand so palo and thin from wint of food ho thought of his own children at homo and ho could hardly keep back his tears then as his thirsty wounded soldiers tasted the cool refreshing fruit which the children had brought them a cheer went up from the camp and the general knew that he was conquered not by dorco of arms but by tho power of kindness and pity when the children returned the gen eral sent along with them wagons laden with food for the starving people of tho city and the next day signed a treaty of peace with those whom ho had vowed to destroy for many years afterward as the day came around on which this event took place it was kept as a holiday and caled ca led tho feast of tho cherries largo numbers of children in white robea marched through the streets each one bearing a branch with bunches of cherries on it but the old writer who tells tho story is careful to say that the chil dren kept the cherries for themselves every ago of the worlds history has its tales of war and bloodshed and cruelty of wild struggles and of great victories but nowhere among them all do we find the story of a more beautiful victory than that which was won by the little children who saved hamburg toronto saturday night |