The Children's Friend Volume 11 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ...a border close to the high, board fence in the back yard. Of course he knew the best way to make sunflowers grow and Briggitta began to believe the pony and cart would be hers. There were no sunflowers on the street so tall and thrifty as the little Swede girl's border. Early one morning before Briggitta and her mother were out of bed, three half-starved old horses strayed down the alley, reached their long necks over the high, board fence, and chewed off the tops of every one of Briggitta's plants. If ever there was a disappointed little Swede girl, her name was Briggitta when she saw her sunflower border. She cried and cried and cried, and however sorry for her some of the children who lived on the street may have felt, every one of them took courage and tended his own sunflowers with greater care from that hour. Nothing her father could say comforted Briggitta in the least, though to please him she watered her plants every evening as though nothing had happened. Soon in place of the big blossoms came many tiny buds, and before long Briggitta's sunflower border was in bloom once more. This time there were no heavy blossoms bending with their own weight, but clusters and clusters of small, bright flowers uplifted to greet the sun. "I'm glad I kept on watering the plants and taking care of them," Briggitta told her father, "even if I was disappointed about the pony and cart." Briggitta's father smiled and said something about a gorgeous show, which was exactly what the editors did when they saw Briggitta's sunflower border. There was nothing equal to it on the street. The little Swede girl was too astonished to say, "Thank you," when the pony and cart were given to her. "If you ever get discouraged," she...