cherry children.

From The suns babies by Edith Howes.
Age Rating 2 to 4.

Start of Story

It was early spring. The Cherry Children woke up and called: "Mother, may we go to play now?" "Wait till I have made your fairy boats," said the Cherry Mother. They lay still and waited, and she made their fairy boats, with white silk sails. Then they sprang up and played in the sunshine, sailing to and fro on the spring winds, and throwing tiny scent-balls out into the air. The bees and butterflies and silver moths came to visit them; everybody laughed and chattered and was happy. After a while the Cherry Children grew tired. "Mother," they called, "we have played enough. We should like to rest now." "Creep into your little green cradles," said the Cherry Mother. "Rest there and grow while I make your cradles big." They crept into their cradles. The mother gently loosened the white sails and dropped them on the ground, where they lay like scented snowflakes. Then she made the cradles bigger as the children grew. She lined the wooden walls with softest satin, and covered them with a thick green covering. The winds blew and rocked the little cradles to and fro; from the neighbouring trees the birds sang soft lullabies, and watched and waited.

The green cradle coverings turned deep red. Once more the Cherry Children woke up. "Mother, we wish to grow," they called. "The birds are coming. They will carry you away to grow," replied the mother. 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.