SUMMER SNOW Mrs. Humphrey Ward

A king once lived in a very hot part of Spain, where they have little rain and where it hardly ever snows or freezes.

This king had a very beautiful wife whom he loved very much. But the queen had one great fault. She was always wishing for the most impossible things.

The king always tried to give her everything she wanted, but she was never satisfied.

At last, one day in winter, a very strange thing happened. A shower of snow fell in the town where the king and queen lived. It made the hills white, so that they looked as if some one had been dusting white sugar over them.

Now snow was hardly ever seen in the town, so the people talked about it, a great deal. 289After the queen had looked at it a little while, she began to cry bitterly.

None of the ladies could comfort her, nor would she tell any one what was the matter. There she sat at her window weeping, till the king came to her. He could not imagine why she was crying, and begged her to tell him.

"I am weeping," she said, sobbing all the time, "because the hills are not always covered with snow. See how pretty they look! And yet, I have never, till now, seen them look like that. If you really love me, you would find some way or other to make it snow once a year at any rate."

"But how can I make it snow?" cried the king, in great trouble, because she would go on weeping and weeping, and spoiling her pretty eyes.

"I am sure I don't know," said the queen crossly.

Well, the king thought and thought, and at last he hit upon a beautiful plan. He sent to all parts of Spain to buy almond trees to plant. The almond tree has a lovely pink-white blossom, you know.

290When the next spring arrived, thousands of these almond trees came into bloom on all the hills around the town. At a distance, the hills looked as if they were covered with white snow.

For once the discontented queen was delighted. She could now keep saying a nice "Thank you" to the king for all the trouble he had taken to please her. And suddenly it seemed to the king as if a black speck in the queen's heart had been washed away and so they lived happy ever afterwards.

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