The birds came in flocks and carried the Cherry Children away in their beaks. They pecked off the sweet red coverings and ate them, dropping the hard wooden cradles on the ground. There the autumn leaves covered them when they fell, and the rain showers washed them farther and farther into the soft earth. One day the wooden cradles split open at the sides, and out peeped the Cherry Children. They grew down and up, and soon wherever a cradle had fallen there stood a young cherry tree, slender and green. THE DAISY FAIRY She was a dainty little fairy, and all her work was daintily done. The river bank was so gay with her sweet, pink-tipped daisies that everybody admired it. The bees loved the spot. One day she noticed that a hill standing near had no flowers on it. "I must make that beautiful too," she thought, so she flew across and planted a daisy-seed near the top. "That is absurd," said the Hill. "How can a thing so tiny be of any use to me?" "Wait and see," said the Fairy. To the seed she said: "Swell and sprout and grow up and down." The seed swelled and sprouted, and grew up and down; when the Fairy came again it had a root and a stem. "Now make your leaves," she said; when next she came the leaves were made. "Very well done," she said. "Now I will help you to make your flowers, for they are most important." So she and the daisy worked together at the flowers. First they made a stem, slender and green, with a knob at the top. On this they seated the flowers like tiny golden bells round and round in rings. In each flower they put a store of honey for the bees and of pollen for the neighbour flowers. Then they set a row of fine large white petals round the edge to catch the eyes of the bees, and the Fairy tipped them with pink. Last they made the green leaf coverings for the outside to keep away unfriendly insects. "Fold yourselves over the flowers till the morning," the Fairy said to these leaves, "and then open widely to let the bees come in." From her river bank the next morning the Fairy saw the daisy shining in the sunlight. She pointed it out to a bee. "There is a fresh daisy full of honey-cups," she said. The bee flew to it at once. He stood in the middle of the flower, unrolled his long tongue, and supped up the sweet honey from flower after flower, turning himself round and round till he had dipped into every one. "Thank you, tiny daisies," said the Bee. "That was delicious honey." "Thank you, Mr. Bee," said the Daisies, "for you have mixed our pollen, and now our seed will grow well." The Daisy Fairy came again and said: "Drop your petals, close your green leaf coverings, and make your seed." She came again when the seeds were ripe.