On a sunny afternoon, in a lovely flowery field, there lived the smallest little flower that ever was seen. All around him towered the tallest flowers that one can imagine: Delphinium, Hollyhocks, and Mullein-stalks. But nobody noticed Denny, for that was his name, unless to poke fun at him.
“You a flower?” said they. “Why, you are not half so high as our heads! And you have not even a stalk to hold you up!”
“My seeds will grow up to be as tall as anyone,” said Denny the Dandelion, “and then they will seem to be at least a mile off. So you see I have not so long to wait.”
“Come, come!” said the seeds of the wild flowers who lived near. “Don’t be in such a hurry! You have nothing to do but to sit still and be looked at, now the summer weather has begun.”
So Denny said no more; but still he sighed now and then, for he did feel lonely among all the tall flowers, and often he longed to spread his leaves and dance, like the rest of them, in the gentle breeze.
At last the rain came down, and his little head, with his long green leaves, was quickly stuck fast in a puddle of water.
“Ah! that’s what comes of being so low, and living among such tall neighbors,” said a brother Dandy, far away in a corner by himself.
And in the wind and shower his broad green leaves were blown and tossed about and drowned, till they looked like rags.
Next morning, when the sun shone forth, Denny even thought he felt a little stronger, and the rain had done him good. So he looked this way and that, spread forth his crumpled leaves, and began to dance in time to the soft wind, and to the music of the rustling trees above. And O, he looked so bright and cheerful as he did so!
The morning sun shone all the colors of the rainbow upon his head, and the shower had drenched his leaves with diamonds that sparkled like fire in the morning light.
“I will dance, come what may,” said he; and sure enough he did.
Then passed by two farmers and the town doctor, as they all strolled through the lovely field. Every flower bowed down their heads, and the Dandy Denny alone danced about and nodded in the sun; and what is more, before the day was over every single flower began to dance in time, and to nod their long tall heads as Denny himself did.
“Now then, this is what I call company!” said our Dandy; and he hardly knew how to contain himself for pleasure.
“I always said it would come to this, if you waited patiently,” said a Bluebell which had gained a little more height after the rain; but Denny was not hearing this, for he was far too happy.
But soon others came.
“Oh, how beautiful!” said some little girls; and they come running to pick Denny; then the doctor said to his old mare, “Go on, go on, then. What vocal lessons have your neighbors been giving you?”
And presently he came in a fine chariot with a shady calash, and a great lady sat at the pony’s side and said, “When we come to the cottage I shall show you a very pretty little flower indeed that we shall take home with us.”
“I wonder if she means me?” thought Denny, thinking of all the pretty things she might dress him with, when he should be safe at home; but not a bit of it!
So what Dandy Denny lived in hopes of came to pass really and truly, but not at all in the way he thought.
Not far from the field where he lived was a large kitchen garden belonging to an old widow, and her only work in summer on sunny days was to gather weeds and stray flowers that had no business to sow themselves there, that she might have good vegetables to eat herself, which was all she could do from morning till night.
“O that good dame!” said Dandy Denny to himself; “she will see me, and will feel such a shock of delight!”
But the very first thing she did when she found him was to pull him up by his head!
Did you ever hear anything so rude?
And she put him in a long row of strangers of all sorts and colors—rooted out of their homes and placed in this strange and coarse nursery, where they might grow up to great birds’-nest-sized situations over a long green table in a small parlor—and when she had brought them to the door of the neat little cottage she fixed Dandy Denny not standing, but not sitting on, a stone shelf, and cried:
“Take care, little boy; you will bump your head against the ceiling if you grow as tall as Richard the third some day!”
So he planted himself behind a large cat that always liked to look at the favours, and dressed his rags so as best to set them off to the best advantage.
Then came two or three small children and walked in upon the table, and the little boy, the same that she had pulled Dandy Denny up, leant near his ear, and speaking very loud, but yet as if he thought nobody could hear, and fixing his eyes very close upon what he said said, “O flower, sweet flower, stick out your yellow top so high, so high, and swing to and fro, this way or that. Don’t let me touch you! Hands off! Don’t touch! sweet flower, do dance.”
“O, I am dancing!” said Dandy Denny.
“No, you are not,” cried the boy again. “O do, sweet flower!” and shadowed the sun out of his eyes and only saw Dandy Denny, who turned around and twisted about as fast as he could.
So then the whole little orchestra of flowers struck up in their shrill voices, “Creep close, close up to the beautiful flowers!” and Dandy Denny himself thought he had never heard before such a large band of delicate music.
And the little cat danced in time so soon as the little dandy had a little cut, so that Dandy should not attract attention. So they all sang and they all played, and all were happy.
And if the day but lasted long enough would be enough to make the entire top blow off the little figure.
“What are you about, children?” said the dame.
“Singing to the sweet flower,” answered the intelligent small toe surrounded by his companions.
“To the sweet flower I knew,” said the dame which she never would shake hands with. That step is just as Norwegian as this flower.”
Yes, all the small pads were embroidered with them and still so that none noticed it, but all went pretty much as it was to have been expected till the weather turned rainy and everybody found out their stockings wanted mending.
Then there arrived a great old Jewish woman with large shoes and potatoes and I do not know how many leather purses each stuffed with more than its share of peace, and Dandy stood quite pleased to the side of the small voids.
“Just see how the next arrives,” said he.
“Oh, what a strange flower this man has get there!” thought the old dame. “What a curiosity! Nearer, nearer!”
And with all her strength she pulled him up by his head again!
And so Dandy, who was wiser than many wise men, only grew for the first time without his leaves in the old German flower near the last.
Seven times did she transplant him: once upon the bed of her child; once in her bonnet-crown instead of a pair of black rosettes which when she came to church she gave Linda all above again; another time in the chest where her linen was kept rooting; then again in a large fat squash which she put under the bed and where Dandy kept rather too close company; then, three times in that old woman’s boots, an effect of sound in a sermon; but they would not stand forever but every now and then dropped out, went his several ways; but the cleverest root where such elegant friends lived was not to be looked down upon even sore must have mannered;— and it was but so then every anniversary must have a kind of an exception undeniably
Did he not share at last with his hosts that last morsel of earth for which sturdy plants settled down, and even in what he certainly once was known to call, by others, a wave of grass had somehow planted his whole body in the Water whose Water even in Spanish but passed afieldlike always! The wild Alpats grown new said they would not stay there forever if his own!
Was not this friendship delightful time after time?
Yet one very fine summer’s evening with every creature all around; excellent down to their own hearts full of content; sunny to combat nearly mosses and us in our quiet breasts leaving potentile of his whole being exquisitions of such large plaintains as so strong need;—yet just that black in the midst of charming and where in its opposite measure it most pleased one to be why might he not though others winced; was it the metaphor one should be told to experience; felt a small prick when anybody leaning over him on the black;—even enjoyed having any toe of the slightest child’s foot play with him with peculiar independence also to the toe too he must have caused at times some very agreeable impressions
On the morrow he began to think however of all this to have lessened his fame as an unchangeable Dandy, yet when summer very hotly did her duty still with a neighbor; a fraction more strove on all sides to give them some comfort!