windfall. She
and Winnie were adepts at making delicious apple sauce and the first
summer apples were scarce enough to be carefully hunted for.

So, though Sarah went the rounds of every tree and even shook one or
two cautiously (Mr. Hildreth had intimated that he would "shake" anyone
detected trying to knock down green apples or pears and Sarah had a
wholesome respect for his mandates, so far) but she was forced to go
appleless.

"I think I'd better go look at my apple seed I planted," said Sarah
aloud.

She had borrowed the coal shovel from Winnie a few days previous and
with much effort and earnestness, had planted a plump seed from an
apple in a sunny, open space in the orchard. The apple was exceedingly
green, but aside from doubtful fertility, the seed was doomed never to
sprout because of the overwhelming curiosity of its small planter.
Sarah had "looked" at that seed each day since planting it.

"If all these trees didn't grow any faster than my seed," mourned
Sarah, scratching around in the soil with an oyster shell, the shovel
having been confiscated by Winnie, "I don't see how people get any
apples to eat."

Then a large--a very large--black ant hurrying up the trunk of a young
pear tree, caught her eye and she stopped to study him. She thought
for a moment of writing her name and address on a piece of paper and
tying it to him so that at some distant date, say a hundred years
ahead, another little girl might find the ant and read that Sarah had
also known him.

"If a turtle lives sixty years, why can't an ant live a hundred?" Sarah
asked the black crow who sat on a branch and stared at her. "Only, I
haven't any paper or pencil or thread to tie it on with--so I'll wait."

With this sensible conclusion she turned her attention to the swing
Warren had put up for her and Shirley on a conveniently low limb of an
apple tree. Sarah did not swing sedately--she must do that as she did
everything else, fast and furiously. She took out the notched board
that served as a seat and stood up in the loop, jerking herself forward
and backward until she attained the desired speed. Swooping down in
one of these mad rushes, she caught sight of something moving in the
next field.

"There's the ram!" she thought. "I'll go see what he looks like"; and
jumping out of the swing she ran over to the wire fence that enclosed
the orchard on three sides.

"He doesn't look cross--you're not, are you?" said Sarah, addr