THE sweetest and the brightest days Of all the happy year! The green leaves dance, the gay birds sing, The merry June is here! We will of roses weave her crown, The fairest that unclose; Each one of different form and hue, Yet each a perfect rose. BESSIE. (_With a red rose._) And this one will outshine them all; Amid the garden's rare And splendid flowers, it raised its head, The brightest blossom there. All decked with dew like gems, its robe Of royal crimson glows-- The matchless queen of summer-time, The beautiful red rose! [Illustration] CHARLOTTE. (_With a white rose._) But this to me is lovelier far, So pure and sweet it seems; Among the green leaves on the bough Like fallen snow it gleams. Its breath gives perfume to the wind, As over it it blows; 'Tis stainless as an angel's wings, The fragrant, fair white rose. DELIA. (_With a yellow rose._) And this, to greet the early morn, In yellow mantle shone, Bright as is China's emperor Upon his dazzling throne. It opens wide its golden leaves, Its gleaming heart it shows,-- A sunshine-loving, cheery thing, The winsome yellow rose! EVA. (_With a brier rose._) Among the brambles and the brake Beside the dusty way; This dainty little blossom sheds Its sweetness all the day. It makes the rough hill pastures fair; Amid the rocks it grows; It clambers o'er the gray stone wall,-- The simple brier rose! [Illustration] FRANCES. (_With a blush rose._) This blushes like a morning cloud. GERTRUDE. (_With a moss rose._) And this is veiled in moss. HELENA. (_With a cluster of climbing roses._) This, with the honeysuckle-vines, My lattice twines across. ANNIE. (_To whom all the roses are given._) And which one is the fairest flower I'm sure cannot be told: We'll twine them all in one long wreath, The white and red and gold. MARIAN DOUGLAS. [Illustration] [Illustration: DRAWING-LESSON. VOL. XXIX.--NO. 6.] A PICNIC IN A STRANGE GARDEN. IF I should ask you children to tell me what a garden is, I think you would all say, "A place where trees, flowers, and grass grow." That would be a good answer. But the garden where this picnic took place is of a very different kind. Instead of bright leaves and flowers, there are hundreds of rocks of many sizes and shapes. Its name is the "Garden of the Gods," and it lies at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado. The color of most of the rocks is red; but some are silvery gray, and some nearly white. Seen together they make a fine contrast. Many have strange shapes, and look like nuns and priests, animals, birds, and fishes turned into stone.