天堂漂来的叶子

a LEAF FROM HEAVEN.

HIGH up in the clear, pure air flew an angel, with a flower plucked

from the garden of heaven. As he was kissing the flower a very

little leaf fell from it and sunk down into the soft earth in the

middle of a wood. It immediately took root, sprouted, and sent out

shoots among the other plants. "What a ridiculous little

shoot! " said one. "No one will recognize it; not even the thistle nor

the stinging nettle. " "It must be a kind of garden plant, " said

another; and so they sneered and despised the plant as a thing from

a garden. "Where are you coming? " said the tall thistles

whose leaves were all armed with thorns. "It is stupid nonsense to

allow yourself to shoot out in this way; we are not here to support

you. " Winter came, and the plant was covered with snow,

but the snow glittered over it as if it had sunshine beneath as well

as above. When spring came, the plant appeared in full

bloom: a more beautiful object than any other plant in the forest.

And now the professor of botany presented himself, one who could

explain his knowledge in black and white. He examined and tested

the plant, but it did not belong to his system of botany, nor could

he possibly find out to what class it did belong. "It must be some

degenerate species, " said he; "I do not know it, and it is not

mentioned in any system. " "Not known in any system! "

repeated the thistles and the nettles. The large trees which

grew round it saw the plant and heard the remarks, but they said

not a word either good or bad, which is the wisest plan for those

who are ignorant. There passed through the forest a poor

innocent girl; her heart was pure, and her understanding increased

by her faith. Her chief inheritance had been an old Bible, which

she read and valued. From its pages she heard the voice of God

speaking to her, and telling her to remember what was said of

Joseph's brethren when persons wished to injure her. "They

imagined evil in their hearts, but God turned it to good. " If we

suffer wrongfully, if we are misunderstood or despised, we must

think of Him who was pure and holy, and who prayed for those

who nailed Him to the cross, "Father forgive them, for they know

not what they do. " The girl stood still before the wonderful

plant, for the green leaves exhaled a sweet and refreshing fragrance,

and the flowers glittered and sparkled in the sunshine like colored

flames, and the harmony of sweet sounds lingered round them as if

each concealed within itself a deep fount of melody, which

thousands of years could not exhaust. With pious gratitude the girl

looked upon this glorious work of God, and bent down over one of

the branches, that she might examine the flower and inhale the

sweet perfume. Then a light broke in on her mind, and her heart

expanded. Gladly would she have plucked a flower, but she could

not overcome her reluctance to break one off. She knew it would

so soon fade; so she took only a single green leaf, carried it home,

and laid it in her Bible, where it remained ever green, fresh, and

unfading. Between the pages of the Bible it still lay when, a few

weeks afterwards, that Bible was laid under the young girl's head

in her coffin. A holy calm rested on her face, as if the earthly

remains bore the impress of the truth that she now stood in the

presence of God. In the forest the wonderful plant still

continued to bloom till it grew and became almost a tree, and all

the birds of passage bowed themselves before it. "That plant

is a foreigner, no doubt, " said the thistles and the burdocks. "We

can never conduct ourselves like that in this country. " And the

black forest snails actually spat at the flower. Then came the

swineherd; he was collecting thistles and shrubs to burn them for

the ashes. He pulled up the wonderful plant, roots and all, and

placed it in his bundle. "This will be as useful as any, " he said; so

the plant was carried away. Not long after, the king of the

country suffered from the deepest melancholy. He was diligent and

industrious, but employment did him no good. They read deep and

learned books to him, and then the lightest and most trifling that

could be found, but all to no purpose. Then they applied for

advice to one of the wise men of the world, and he sent them a

message to say that there was one remedy which would relieve and

cure him, and that it was a plant of heavenly origin which grew in

the forest in the king's own dominions. The messenger described

the flower so that is appearance could not be mistaken. Then

said the swineherd, "I am afraid I carried this plant away from the

forest in my bundle, and it has been burnt to ashes long ago. But

I did not know any better. " "You did not know, any better!

Ignorance upon ignorance indeed! " The poor swineherd took

these words to heart, for they were addressed to him; he knew not

that there were others who were equally ignorant. Not even a leaf

of the plant could be found. There was one, but it lay in the coffin

of the dead; no one knew anything about it. Then the king,

in his melancholy, wandered out to the spot in the wood. "Here is

where the plant stood, " he said; "it is a sacred place. " Then he

ordered that the place should be surrounded with a golden railing,

and a sentry stationed near it. The botanical professor wrote

a long treatise about the heavenly plant, and for this he was loaded

with gold, which improved the position of himself and his family.

And this part is really the most pleasant part of the story. For the

plant had disappeared, and the king remained as melancholy and

sad as ever, but the sentry said he had always been so. THE END .