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CHAPTER II

THE FLOWER BABIES

The flower itself has many parts, just as there are many parts to your body. When the flower is a little bud, or baby, rocked by the breezes, it is closely wrapped in a little green cloak. We call this cloak the calyx, because when it opens it looks like a cup, and the word calyx means cup. After the bud is grown, it opens its cloak and throws it back. Then we see the pretty dress underneath. We call this dress the corolla. Sometimes it is all in one piece, but often it is divided into several leaf-like parts which we call petals.

If we look within the dress or corolla, we find the real body of the flower, which is called the pistil. Its shape varies greatly in different plants, but it always consists of two or three distinct parts. One of these is the cradle for the seeds, and is called the ovary. At one end of the ovary is usually a little tube leading down into it. This tube is called the style, and the opening at the other end is called the stigma. Each ovary or cradle contains one or more ovules which by and by will grow into seeds. Just outside the pistil of a flower you usually will find a row of slender, thread-like stalks, each bearing a soft, oblong body at the top, falling out of which you will see a fine yellow powder called pollen. It is a peculiar fact that these seeds never can grow into new plants unless they are fertilized, that is, unless they receive some pollen. It is another peculiar fact that although nearly every flower has this pollen growing right near the little ovules, yet they cannot be fertilized with this pollen, but must receive some from the flower of another plant family.

This pollen is carried from one plant to another by the wind or by the bees and butterflies that come visiting in search of honey. In fact, the flower coaxes the bees and butterflies to come so they may bring her the pollen. Soon after the seed is fertilized it is ripe; that is, it is ready to leave its cradle, the ovary. It is now ready to grow into a new plant. But before it can grow it must be put into a little nest in the ground. But the poor plant is so helpless that she is unable to prepare this nest herself, so all she can do is to scatter her seed babies out on the ground and hope some one will take pity on them and make a nice nest for them. Sometimes the wind helps her by blowing some dirt and dead leaves over them, for you know the seeds cannot grow unless they are covered nice and warm. Sometimes the children and grown people help her by preparing a nice flower-bed.

For a long time the tiny seed lies very quietly in its warm nest, and if we could peek at it we could not see it move at all, but all the time it is growing very slowly, until finally some bright day it will send up its little sprouts, and then we will see that all the time the seed was lying so quietly it was growing into a baby flower.

CHAPTER III

THE BIRD BABIES

Today, Violet, I shall tell you another secret, but this time the secret is not about flowers, but about something else we love very dearly. I intend to tell you some secrets about the birds. I wonder if you know how much they are like the flowers?

You remember, the flowers had a language which we could understand, even if they did not talk out loud. The birds, too, have a language of their own, and they can express themselves better than the flowers, for they have a sign language, and are also able to make sounds. How much we enjoy hearing the birds sing, not only because they make beautiful music, but because they are telling us how happy they are!

If birds are in pain or in trouble, their notes are quite different from when they are singing; while, if they or their little ones are in danger, they quickly send forth a note of warning. The young birds, in calling for food, make an entirely different sound, and the answer of the mother bird is a sweet lullaby. One of the ways birds express themselves in sign language is by their feathers. If they are sick, their feathers droop. When they are well and happy, their feathers seem much brighter.

In the bird family, as in the flower family, each member has a special work to do. The mother bird and the father bird work together to build the nest, but while the mother bird lays the eggs and then must sit on them for a number of days, the father bird must bring her food and water and sometimes take his turn watching the nest while the mother goes for a little exercise. The mother bird's body resembles the plant, too, for it needs fresh air, food and water. Instead of leaves to take in the air it has lungs, which not only take in the fresh air but also send out the impure air. Instead of the little rootlets to take in the food and water from the ground, the bird has a mouth, and as the bird is not fastened to the ground, but is free to fly or move about, it goes after its food. Instead of sap, it has blood to carry the food to all parts of the body.

The birds have ovaries just the same as the flowers, and inside each ovary are a number of little seeds or ovules which by and by will grow into birdies. It takes quite a while for the ovules to ripen, just as it took quite a while for the seeds to ripen, and when they are ripe they must have a nest prepared for them, just as the flowers did. But the birds are not as helpless as the flowers, and are able to make their own nests. So when the ovules (which are called eggs when they are ripe) are ready, the parent birds select a nice place for a home.

The father and mother work very hard until the nest is finished. Often the mother will line it with some of her own feathers, so that it will be soft and warm. After the nest is ready the mother bird lays the tiny eggs in it. Then she must sit on them to keep them warm for many days, for the eggs, like the seeds, cannot grow unless they are kept good and warm. If we look at the eggs from day to day we will not be able to see any change in them, but the change is inside the shell where we cannot see it. Every day there is an alteration taking place, and the egg gradually is being transformed into the little bird. After a while, when the right time comes, the birdie will peck a tiny hole in the shell. This will keep growing larger and larger until it is large enough for the birdie to come through, then out it comes!

CHAPTER IV

MOTHER'S BABY

There is another wonderful secret that I have to tell you. I wonder if you can guess what this is! No, it is not about a flower, nor a bird—but, yes, you have guessed it right, for it is about a girl just like you!

Is it not queer how much alike the flowers and birds and little girls are, after all, even if they do not look at all alike?

You have lungs just the same as the bird, and breathe as it does. You have two feet, but instead of wings you have arms and hands. You have a sign language, as the flowers have, and you have a language of sounds that is even better than the bird language. When you are happy, I can tell it by the smiles on your face, and sometimes when you