The Moon came slowly up over the hill
and looked down on a mass of gaily
colored flowers which were growing in an old-fashioned
garden.
When the Moon saw the Blue Dragon-fly,
for whom she was looking, her round face
beamed brighter, and she said: "Blue Dragon-fly, it is
time to get up."
Blue Dragon-fly was asleep in the heart
of Pink-rose, but when the Moon spoke to
him, he moved his wings a little, and went to sleep again.
"Is that the way you behave when I take
the trouble to call you?" chuckled the Moon,
as she looked at her dainty little friend of whom she was
very fond. "I must make a brighter light
and see if that will rouse you," she added as she sent a
stronger ray to him.
Blue Dragon-fly opened one eye; closed
it again, and went back to sleep.
The Moon looked very much puzzled and
said: "Dear me, I wonder if there is
anything the matter with him? He usually gets up at once
when I call him."
"No, he is all right," replied
Pink-rose, in whose heart Blue Dragon-fly was sleeping.
"I wished him to stay here, so I have given him a large
dose of perfume to make him sleep for a
long time; then when I waken him, lie will have forgotten
all about his work, and will stay with
me. So please go away and leave us alone."
Pink-rose drew herself together in
such a way that the Moon saw it was of no use to
argue with her, for the little rose had folded her soft
petals round Blue Dragon-fly like a curtain,
which completely hid him from view.
"Well, well," mused the Moon to
herself, "of course I do not blame Pink-rose for
loving the little fellow, for we all do, but that is no
reason why she should wish to keep him all to
herself. I had no idea Pink-rose was so selfish. Anyway,
seeing that Blue Dragon-fly asked me to
awaken him, I must do so, and see that he goes to his
work; but how shall I do it?"
The Moon remained quiet for a few
minutes, wondering who might be able to help
her. Then her eyes turned in the direction of a small
village a short distance away.
"Hello, Breezie," she said,
addressing a small puff of wind, "I see you are at your
pranks as usual."
"Yes," replied Breezie laughing, "I am
trying to blow this old man's hat off. Look!"
and he gave a sharp puff that nearly did the trick.
However, the old man was too quick for him,
and caught his hat in time.
But Breezie was a persistent little fellow, and always
liked to have his own way. He laughed and said: "Good for you, old fellow,
but I shall get your hat yet." So after waiting a few seconds Breezie gave
another unexpected puff; but again, the old man was too quick for him, and the
wind did not get his hat.
After watching him a few minutes, the Moon
whispered mysteriously: "Breezie, I know
someone with whom you can have a better time."
"Indeed," replied Breezie, turning to the
Moon for a moment. "I think that is hardly
possible, for I am having a wonderful time right here."
Then the Moon beamed brighter, for she saw
something that Breezie did not see.
Just then the old man went up the steps leading to a
large house, opened the door, and
went in.
Now the Moon loves a joke, and a merry
twinkle crept into her eyes as she remarked:
"Perhaps you had better remain here, for you certainly
are having great fun. I shall find your
cousin instead."
Breezie turned a somersault as he replied:
"Yes, I think so too, but thanks for the
offer. Good-bye," he called, as he blew round to continue
his pranks. When he saw the old man
was not there, he became very boisterous, and roared:
"Shivering icicles, here has he gone?"
"Behind that green door at the top of those
steps," said the Moon with an unusually
sweet smile. "Now you can come with me."
Breezie twisted and turned for a few
seconds, in a very bad mood, but seeing nothing
could be done, he burst out laughing and replied: "It is
all right with me. Now I am ready to give
someone the best teasing he ever had," and he gave
several more wild twists and turns.
"That is good," said the Moon, "I want you to waken Blue
Dragon-fly, to whom Pink-rose has given an over-dose of perfume. You must
creep around him and make him shiver. Then maybe his soft couch will not seem
quite so comfortable. He lives a few miles from here in Mrs. Brown 's garden;
I am sure you have been there many times."
Breezie shook with laughter as he said:
"Indeed I have. I had a great time last winter
teasing that nice fat old lady. I am only too glad to
have an excuse to go there again, and renew
our acquaintance. I will be there in a few minutes."
"Very good," said the Moon, as she turned
toward the garden. A few seconds later
Breezie blew in, full of mischief, and went from one
flower to the other calling: "Blue Dragon-fly,
where are you?"
The Moon watched Breezie's wild capers for
a few minutes, and then said: "It is
quite possible I can tell you where Blue Dragon-fly is."
"Of course you can," Breezie replied, as he
danced lightly round a rose, "but I do
not want you to tell me, for I am having a splendid game
of hide and seek." Then he bounded off
to another rose which he shook quite roughly, saying: "Is
Blue Dragon-fly's perfumed couch
hidden in your heart, Regal-rose?"
"No, Blue Dragon-fly did not favor me with
his company. Go your way, you are
disturbing my petals," Regal-rose replied in a peevish
tone.
"My dear," Breezie whispered in a
tantalizing way, "you look far more attractive when
you are slightly ruffled. I really must loosen your
petals a little more," and he gave her another
playful shake.
"Go away, you rude fellow, or I shall prick
you," said Regal-rose with a toss of her
head.
"My dear, your prickly temper cannot hurt
me. In fact, the more you prick me, the
better I like it, for then I want to go on teasing you,"
and Breezie shook her so hard, that her silly
dignity fell from her.
Breezie danced merrily round Regal-rose
saying: "Now you look more like a regal
rose. But I must go, for if I stayed with you, I might
like you too well, and it would never do for
Breezie to fall in love with anyone. Good-bye, my dear,"
Breezie called airily as he blew off to
continue his pranks somewhere else.
"What a wild little fellow he is,"
thought the Moon. It may be a long time before he
finds Blue Dragon-fly; perhaps it was not the wisest
thing to have brought him here. There is no
telling what damage he may do. I wonder what I had better
do?"
The Moon looked around the garden hoping to
find a solution to her problem.
Suddenly she caught sight of the garden lawyer, Brown
Owl, standing at the door of his house in
the hollow stump of an old oak tree.
"Why of course he is the one to give me
advice," thought the Moon. Then she called:
"Brown Owl, I wonder if you can spare me a few minutes of
your valuable time on a matter of
great importance ?"
Brown Owl drew himself up with great
dignity and blinking his eyes several times
by way of a bow, replied slowly: "I am always glad to be
of service to you, Madam Moon. What
is the trouble ?"
"Thank you," said the Moon, "I felt sure
you could help me. A terrible thing has
happened. Blue Dragon-fly has been drugged by Pink-rose,
who has suddenly turned very selfish
and wishes to keep him to herself. She has locked him up
in her heart and keeps him asleep with
her perfume."
The owl settled himself comfortably, and
fixing his large round eyes thoughtfully on
the Moon remarked: "You did quite right in coming to
me; this is a very serious matter, and will
need much careful thought. I am the one to handle such a
delicate affair. Please go away; I must
be alone to deliberate over the case quietly and
carefully."
Knowing that Brown Owl prided himself on
his "slow but sure" method of thinking,
the Moon after thanking him added most emphatically:
"Blue Dragon-fly has most important
work to do, and must be awakened within the next
half-hour."
Drawing himself up a little straighter, the
Owl remarked: "Please do not try to hurry me,
for it is against my nature to think a matter over
quickly. I am sure Blue Dragon-fly did not take
time to think, before he entered Pink-rose's heart. I
have often told him he was too hasty, and I ...."
Once started on that subject, the owl would
go on for hours, if he could get anyone
to listen, and realizing that time was precious. the Moon
hastened to interrupt him; "Yes, I know
how you feel on that subject, Brown Owl, but I repeat,
that if you do not find a solution of the
problem in thirty minutes, your thinking will have been of
no use," and she turned away quite annoyed.
With a look of mournful wonder in his big yellow eyes, the owl
slowly shook his head and sedately entered his house to ponder over the matter
in his own way.
Just then the Moon caught sight of Honey-bee, whom she was
amazed to see about at that hour.
"What on earth are you doing out of your hive, Honey-bee?"
called the Moon. "All good bees should be at home this time of night."
"Hush," whispered Honey-bee. "Please do not speak so loud. I
know what you say is true, but I am so tired of making honey that I am
playing hookey."
Looking very serious, the Moon remarked: "What would happen if
Mother Nature saw you?"
"Oh, please do not mention it to her," pleaded Honey-bee,
looking around nervously.
The Moon smiled, saying: "I never tell tales, unless I am
obliged to. But probably it is a good thing you did leave the hive, for I need
someone to help me, and perhaps you will do."
"Yes, indeed, if I can help you in any way, I shall be glad to
do it," replied Honey-bee, very much relieved.
Then the Moon told her about Blue Dragon-fly, adding: "If you
could get inside Pink-rose 's petals, and buzz loud enough, I believe you
could awaken him."
"Dear me," the little bee replied flippantly, "what strange
creatures roses are; you never know what they are going to do next. We
certainly must do something at once. The situation needs quick action and
thought, and I am the one to do it. I shall fly right over and demand that
Pink-rose release Blue Dragon-fly at once. If she refuses I shall tell her
that no bee will ever visit her again, and that will be a great disgrace."
And off she flew.
The Moon watched her go with a look of despair.
"I am sure she will never succeed," mused the Moon sadly.
"Honey-bee acts too quickly, and the Owl too slowly; what a pity they cannot
be put in a bag and shaken up together. There is only one thing to do; I must
try and find someone else to help me."
After a moment 's thought, her round face beamed with
pleasure.
"How stupid of me, to have wasted all this precious time," she
exclaimed. "Why did I not think of Love-bird? He is the very one to help me.
He is always so charming, and has such coaxing ways with him, that he does
more to keep the garden in order than anyone else."
Turning her bright rays on the slender drooping branches of a
beautiful weeping-willow tree in the corner of the garden, the Moon called
softly: "Love-bird, I am sorry to disturb you, but there is a serious matter
which needs straightening out; you have always been so good in helping us when
things went wrong, that I felt I must come to you."
Love-bird looked up at the Moon, and replied in a soft, happy
little voice: "You know, Madam Moon, there is nothing I really enjoy better
than unraveling tangles; tell me all about it."
As Love-bird listened, a sad look crept into his eyes, and
putting his head on one side he remarked: "Poor Pink-rose, does she not
realize that keeping Blue Dragon-fly to herself will never really make her
happy? I will go over at once, have a quiet talk with her, and show her a
better way." So, kissing his little mate, and telling her where he was going,
Love-bird flew off.
"At last, I have found the right one," beamed the Moon
breathing a great sigh of relief.
When Love-bird reached Pink-rose, he could hear Honey-bee as
she talked, buzzed, and threatened Pink-rose; but the more noise she made the
closer Pink-rose drew her petals together and refused to listen. Finally,
Honey-bee turned to the Moon, saying in a disgusted voice: "I have done all I
can to make Pink-rose listen to me. If I cannot do anything with her, no one
else can, so I think you are foolish to waste any more time trying to save
Blue Dragon-fly. Anyway, I have other matters to attend to, so good-bye," and
she sailed away.
"Good-bye," said the Moon. "I hope Mother Nature does not see
you," she added thoughtfully.
Love-bird perched on a branch near Pink-rose and began cooing
softly, After a few minutes, Pink-rose unfolded her petals a bit, and sent a
waft of perfume to him, by way of a friendly greeting. Love-bird took no
notice, but went on quietly cooing. He seemed to have a magic power, for Pink-
rose gently opened her petals saying: "How charming you are, little bird; your
singing is very soothing. I cannot understand what you are saying but I am
sure it is something wonderful."
"Yes, love is always wonderful," gently replied Love-bird.
"Love? What do you know about it?" asked Pink-rose in a
dejected voice.
"A great deal, and it makes me very happy," Love-bird
answered, coming a little closer.
Pink-rose gave a deep sigh and whispered sadly: "I, too, was
very happy before I loved Blue Dragon-fly. I locked him up in my heart,
because I was afraid someone would take him from me, and since then I have
been very unhappy." Pink-rose gave another sigh and two dewdrops fell from
her eyes.
"My dear," said Love-bird, "the reason you are so unhappy is
because you have tried to keep Blue Dragon-fly all to yourself. That is a
very selfish thing to do; and you know selfishness will rob you of your
beauty, and you will become bad-tempered, withered, and have no more
delightful perfume to send to your admirers. Then Blue Dragon-fly will leave
you.
"If you will take my advice, my dear, send Blue Dragon-fly
back to her work; for we must all help to keep our garden beautiful. While he
is away, send out your sweetest perfume, and you will grow more charming, for
that is the work Mother Nature has planned for you. Then Blue Dragon-fly will
come back. When he sees how busy you have been, how well you have done your
work he will love you more than ever."
"Can that be true?" Pink-rose whispered hopefully.
"Yes, it is very true," smiled Love-bird. "And now that you
know the secret of happiness, and how to keep your beauty, I must bid you
good-bye, Pink-rose," and Love-bird flew away.
As Pink-rose watched Love-bird disappear over the tree-tops, a
radiant light shone in her face. Then unfolding her petals very gently, she
let the cool night air lightly touch her little lover. After a moment she
whispered tenderly, "Blue Dragon-fly, it is time to go to your work."
"Dear me," said Blue Dragon-fly drowsily, "I suppose it is. Do
you know, Pink-rose, I really believe you must have some magic power, for I
have never had a more refreshing sleep." With an admiring glance, he added: "I
wonder if you know how lovely you look in the moonlight, or how very sweet
your perfume is? When I have finished my work, I should like to come back and
see you again, if I may, Pink-rose."
Pink-rose was so happy that she did not even hear Breezie as
he came puffing along. Finally he blew into her face, saying: "Perhaps you are
the rose, my beauty, who has locked Blue Dragon-fly in her heart, and will not
let him go to his work. Do you realize what, a wrong thing that is to do?"
continued Breezie giving Pink-rose a gentle shake.
"I did not realize how wrong it was, until someone showed me a
better way," answered Pink-rose quietly. "Then l let him go."
Breezie twisted and turned, working himself into a terrible
fury as he roared: "There, I have been fooled again. Now I will play the very
mischief!" and he blew away.
As Pink-rose watched Breezie going off in such a temper, she
sent her sweetest perfume to him, and with a wise look she smiled to herself
saying: "I hope Love-bird pays you a visit before long, "Breezie. I am sure it
would do you a world of good."
No sooner had Breezie disappeared, than up flew Brown Owl and
settled himself on a nearby tree. Turning his mournful eyes upon Pink-rose,
he announced solemnly; "Pink-rose, I hear that you have broken a garden law,
by keeping Blue Dragon-fly from his work, and after much careful thought I..
"I am sure what you are about to say is very wise, Garden
Lawyer, "interrupted Pink-rose sweetly, "but you are too late. Love-bird has
been here ahead of you. He told me the right thing to do, in a kind and
beautiful way, so I have released Blue Dragon-fly, that he may go to his
work."
Brown Owl blinked his yellow eyes in a bewildered way, and
after taking time to think over Pink-rose's reply, he remarked in a dejected
voice: "All my careful thinking is wasted. Too-Whoo to you." And he flapped
heavily back home wondering why it was that someone always got ahead of him.
Pink-rose could not help feeling a little sorry for Brown Owl.
"It does seem too bad that all Lawyer Owl's thinking should be of no use," she
added with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
Then she looked up at the Moon and sent a waft of sweetest
perfume to her as she whispered: "I have kept you busy, Madam Moon, but I do
not feel badly about it. I know that you always enjoy making lovers happy, so
you also have had your enjoyment out of trying to help us."
With a merry twinkle in her eyes the Moon replied: "You are
right, my dear, but remember: keep busy yourself, and you will keep your
beauty. So good-night, little Pink-rose."
With a broad smile on her round placid face the Moon
disappeared behind the tallest tree in the old garden.
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