Chapter LXV · Prizes at the County Fair
Reading edition
“REMEMBER in all gardening, that experience is your best teacher. Do not become discouraged if you fail. Do not undertake too much. Remember that most people fail to get good plants because they do not prepare deep good beds, and do not ‘cultivate,’ or stir the ground. Watering is nothing like so necessary.”
This is what Mary Frances was telling a number of children in the garden one day as Billy came upon her unawares.
“You couldn’t have better advice, children,” he said.
“Than Billy gave me,” Mary Frances added. “He taught two friends and me so well, that next year we are each to have our own garden plot, and ‘race’ with Billy to see who can raise the finest vegetables.”
“Some of the very finest are to be sent to the County Fair,” stated Billy.
“And they’ll be ‘winners,’ you may be sure,” Bob prophesied as he and Eleanor joined the group.
“So will some of our flowers, won’t they, Nell?”
Before Eleanor could answer Mary Frances, there sounded the joyous shrill crow of Feather Flop.
“I’m sure they will!” it meant to the little girl, but none of the others seemed to hear the rooster.
Perhaps he did know—for one year from that day, each of the children received some premiums at the County Fair; but, to Mary Frances’ surprise, she had three more than Eleanor; two more than Bob, and one more than Billy!
“I wonder why your garden did better than all the rest,” said Bob. “You didn’t seem to work any harder than we did.”
“Oh, it was just a ‘happen so,’” answered Mary Frances, but she remembered that many a morning she had seen prints of the claws of Feather Flop in her garden, and a little pile of weeds at
THE END