il they
looked like little nuts. When the fall came again and all the little
leaves dropped off all the little bushes, and the little bush of which
I am telling you was covered with another lot of little yellow flowers
and was very happy, then these little brown nuts, one bright autumn
day, suddenly popped open! And out of each one flew two brown shiny
little seeds. You never saw such a popping and a snapping and a
jumping! Pop! pop! snap! snap! hippetty hop! they went, faster than
the corn pops in the corn popper. Reddy Fox, who always is suspicious,
thought some one was shooting at him. Down on the ground fell the
little brown shining seeds and tucked themselves into the warm earth
under the warm leaves, there to stay all winter long.

And when the third spring came with all its little birds and all its
little flowers and the warm sunshine, every one of these little brown
seeds which had tucked themselves into the warm earth, burst its little
brown skin, and up into the sunshine came a little green plant, which
would grow and grow and grow, and by and by become just like the little
bush I am telling you about.

When the little bush looked down and saw all these little green
children popping out of the ground, it was very happy indeed, for it
knew that it would no longer be lonely. It no longer felt bad when all
the other bushes were covered with flowers, for it knew that by and by
when all the other little bushes had lost all their leaves and all
their flowers, then would come its turn, and it knew that for a whole
year its little brown children would be held safe on its branches.

Now, what do you think is the name of this little bush? Why, it is the
witch hazel. And sometime when you fall down and bump yourself hard
grandma will go to the medicine closet and will bring out a bottle, and
from that bottle she will pour something on that little sore place and
it will make it feel better. Do you know what it is? It is the gift
of the witch hazel bush to little boys and big men to make them feel
better when they are hurt.

XII

WHY BOBBY COON WASHES HIS FOOD

Happy-Go-Lucky Bobby Coon sat on the edge of the Laughing Brook just as
round, red Mr. Sun popped up from behind the Purple Hills and Old
Mother West Wind turned all her Merry Little Breezes out to romp on the
Green Meadows.

Bobby Coon had been out all night. You see Bobby Coon is very apt to
get into mischief, and because usually it is s