“Now, I wonder if you know that faithful Mr. Dog is own cousin to terrible Mr. and Mrs. Wolf. Indeed, I may be mistaken, perhaps he is their own brother, they are so much alike in some ways. “Just as animals belong to certain families so do plants. They resemble each other in certain points which you may not notice at first, but which you would readily see if pointed out to you.” Jack drew quite a long breath. “Now we are ready for the play, Bet,” he announced, and Bet bounced down to the grass-carpet stage. Said Jack, “The first plant family called upon will be the Rose family.” Bouncing Bet blew a long musical whistle by using two fingers at her tiny mouth, and out from some shrubbery stepped a dainty little lady dressed in pink rose petals. “My name is Rose,” she said, smiling and throwing the girls a kiss; “and I’ll introduce some of my cousins in the— ROSE FAMILY “_Cherry_,” she called. Out stepped a red ripe cherry with a white cap trimmed with green leaves. Of course, the legs were very tiny, nearly like pins. Cherry smiled and bowed and took a place beside Rose. “_Peach_,” Rose called, and out stepped a beautiful peach, with a pink cap, trimmed with green leaves. “_Strawberry_,” called Rose, and surely enough, out came a red ripe strawberry with a white cap trimmed with green leaves. “_Blackberry_,” called the little Rose lady once more, and before the word left her mouth, a big blackberry came tumbling in, on his head a white cap, trimmed with green. “Oh, pardon me,” said Blackberry, picking himself up. “I was afraid I’d be late.” Rose smiled and motioned the blackberry into place beside the strawberry. Once again Rose called a name. “_Apple_,” she called, and roly-poly, “head-over-tin-cups,” came a round rosy-cheeked apple into their midst. “Excuse me,” puffed Apple. “Please excuse my manners, Cousin Rose, but I am so fat that hurrying gets me all out of breath,” and he fell in line. “That will do,” interrupted Jack-in-the-Pulpit, “that will do for the Rose family; we will now—” “Excuse me,” interrupted Mary Frances, “but may I ask—if all these are members of the Rose family?” “There’s no mistake,” replied Jack. “Now, if you stop to think, you’ll realize how very much the blossom of the cherry, and the strawberry, and the blackberry, and the peach, and the apple resemble a wild rose.” “Oh, I do!” said Eleanor. “And I remember also,” added Mary Frances, beaming, “that the seed pods of the roses look like fruit.” “Good!” cried Jack, dancing around. “Good!” cried Bet, bouncing around, and all the members of the Rose families who were present formed a “ring-around-a-rosy,” and danced around and around, and at length formed into line near the bush through which they had come. “Their caps are their blossoms!” exclaimed Eleanor.