Show FOR LITTLE FOLKS FEAST OF THE CHERRIES the story of the children alio saved the city of hamburg hamburg was besieged wolff the merchant returned slowly to his bonifi ono morning along with the other merchants of tho city he had been helping to defend tho walls against tho enemy and so constant was the fighting that for a whole week he 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 the gates As ho passed through his garden ho noticed that his cherry trees were cov ered ripe fruit largo and juicy that tho very sight was refreshing at that moment a thought struck him he knew how much tho enemy was suffering from thirst what would they not civo for the fruit that hung unheeded on the trees of his orchard slight he not by means of his cherries secure safety for hia city without a moments delay he put his plan into practice for ho knew there was no time to bo lost it the city was to bo saved ho gathered together of tho children of tho city all dressed in white and loaded them with fruit from his orchard then alio gates were thrown open and they set out on their errand when tho leader of the army saw the gates of tho city open and alio band of little white robed children marching out many of them nearly by the branches which they carried he at once thought that it was some trick by which the townspeople were trying to him while preparing for an attack or bis camp As the children camo nearer he remembered his cruel vow and wa on tho point of giving orders that they should all bo put to death but when iio saw tho lattio ones so close at hand so palo and thin from want of food lie thought of his own children at hoibo and ho could hardly keep back his tears then his thirsty wounded soldiers tasted the cool refreshing arnie which the children had brought them a cheer went up aiom alio camp and tho general knew that he was d not by force of arms but by tho power of kindness and pity when the children returned the general sent along with them wagons laden with food the starving people of the city and the nest day signed a treaty of peace with choso whom ho had vowed to destroy for many years afterward as the day camo around ou which this event took place it wis kept as a holiday and called the feast of the cherries large numbers c children in white robes marched alio streets each one bearing a branch with bunches of cherries on it but tho old writer who tell tho story is careful to say that the children kept alie cherries for themselves every age of tho worlds history lias its jalcs of war and bloodshed and cruelty of wild et ruggles anaf of great victories but nowhere among them all do the story of a more beautiful victory than that which was won by the little children who saved hamburg toronto saturday night the kloes dainty deih bine a eons of sixpence pocket full of rye four and twenty baked in a pie when the pie was opened the bird bedran to sins that n dainty dish to act bins around the aloey jack was binding quietly by the fire tho other day doing no hiarm to anybody when a young person who thought well of himself rushed in and attacked him with tho assertion you cant do that the boy held aut a card upon which was drawn a dot in alio center of a air cle and repeated hie you cant draw that figure without taking your pencil off tho pager jack looked up and smiled he bent one end of the card over mado a dot with his pencil on tho face of it just at tho margin of the part folded over after aluch iio moved the deneil across the overlying paper to the point where ho wished to ilia circle then he let the line slip off on to tho faco of the card allowed the bent over portion 0 o fly back and finished the ring around tho rosy without taking his pencil off alio paper this don e he handed tho card to his friend arid went on eludy ing alio fire without a word it is great to be great harpers round table two bielie Wi elie 1 I alah that the teacher had lessons to learn said molly the wise little elf she would know they were hard and it ehe had to do bliem and the teacher at home in the gloaming sighed bently 1 I eteh that they knew the dear lattio children how easy tie anat to have 19 to do primary education |