USA > Vermont > Orange County > Topsham > Sketches of the town of Topsham, Orange County, Vermont, 1929 > Part 11
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The Meadow Lily, Wild Yellow Lily, Canada Lily ( Lilium Can- adense) has a two to three-foot, stout, smooth stem, lance-like leaves and large yellow flowers spotted within with reddish-brown dots. July.
The Brook Lobelia (Lobelia Kalmia) grows in grass-like col- onies in wet meadows. Its stem bears a number of light blue flowers.
Liveforever, Pudding-bag Plant, Garden Orpine (Sedum Tel- ephium). The stem of this plant is light green and very leafy. Its leaves are smooth, fleshy and sessile. Children sometime loosen the outer membrane of the leaf, then put it in the mouth and in- flate it like a paper bag. Escaped from gardens. Summer.
M.
Marsh Marigold, American Cowslip ( Caltha palustris). The Marsh Marigold, commonly called "Cowslip," is found in wet mead- ows. Its hollow, thickish stem, kidney-shaped leaves and golden- yellow flowers are among the characteristics by which it makes it- self known in early spring.
Common Mullein, American Velvet Plant ( Verbascum Thap- sus). Its rosette of basal leaves, its tall, stout three to five-foot stalk and its long head of yellow flowers characterize it. Country lasses sometimes rub their cheeks with the soft leaves to make them rosy. A tea made from its leaves serves in some places as & remedy for diseases of the lungs.
Monkey-flower (Mimulus ringens). Its two-foot stem is square. Its pale violet-purple flowers and somewhat grinning blossom char- acterize the plant. July and August.
Mayweed, Chamomile (Anthemis Cotula) is a common weed by the roadside. The eight to 20-inch stem is much branched. The whole plant has a strong unpleasant odor. The flower-head has a yellow center with white rays.
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THE PLANT LIFE OF TOPSHAM
Tall Meadow Rue (Thalictrum polyganum). This plant has a stout, erect, four to eight-foot, jointed, ridged, hollowed and leafy stem. The flowers are massed in terminal clusters. July.
:
Moneywort, Myrtte, Creeping Loosestrife ( Lysimachia nun- inularia). The stem trails on the ground, rooting at the joints; the leaves are dark green, short-stemmed and shining, and the flowers golden yellow. Moist ground. July. This plant makes a fine hanging basket if kept moist.
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The Northern Green Orchis ( Habenaria hyperborea) is a habi- tat of cold swamps and bogs. The flowers are greenish and spur. red. The stem is thick and ridged. July.
The Northern White Orchis ( Habenaria dilatata) differs from the Northern Green Orchis in having a slender stem and broader leaves.
The Smaller Purple Fringed Orchis ( Habenaria psycodes) can be distinguished from the preceding orchids by the fringed border of its purple flower.
P.
Common Plantain (Plantago major) has dark green leaves with trough-like stems and conspicuous ribs. The naked flower stalk ends in a longish head or spike.
Plantain or Ribgrass (Plantago lanceolata) differs from the Common Plantain in having a shorter head and narrower leaves.
Partridge Vine, Twin-berry, Mitchella-vine, Squaw-berry, also called Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens). This plant trails along the ground like the true Partridgeberry. Its flowers are waxy- white and in pairs. It differs from the Partridgeberry in having its opposite leaves arranged along the stem, in having four-parted instead of five-parted flowers. Its two flowers become a double red berry in the fall.
Day Blooming Primrose, Sundrop ( Oenothera pamilla). This pale-yellow flowered plant is a habitat of dry, grassy, open uplands. Its leafy stem is about a foot high. June.
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THE PLANT LIFE OF TOPSHAM
The Common Evening Primrose ( Oenothera biennis) resembles the preceding species except the flowers bloom only at night and close in the morning. Each flower in the flower-head lives only for a day. July.
Robins's Plantain, Blue Spring Daisy, Daisy-Leaved Fleabanc (Erigeron pulchellus). In May and June this Aster or Daisy-like flower may be found in grassy fields and on grassy banks. It is composite. Each floret secretes a minute drop of nectar. This nectar attracts various small insects. While gathering the nectar the insect's body comes in contact with the ripened pollen. This pollen is carried by the insect to other flowers and rubbed from its body upon the pistils, thus producing cross-fertilization.
Wild Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). This plant is tall and stout. It has a grooved stem. The lower leaves are long-stemmed. The flower clusters are umbrella-shaped. Summer.
S.
Wild or Virginia Sarsaparilla, Small Spikenard, Rabbit's Foot (Aralia nudicaulis). This plant furnishes a commercial substitute for the Sarsaparilla of commerce. It is used as a blood purifier and cooling summer drink. Characteristics: Aromatic roots, long- stalked triply compound leaf a foot from the ground, three-parted umbel or head on a naked scape shorter than the flower stalk. June.
Wild Spikenard, False Solomon's Seal (Vagnera racemosa) . This plant is found in moist thickets and hillsides in June. Root- stock, thick, fleshy. Characteristics: A feathery plume of greenish white blossoms at the end of the somewhat zigzag stem. Pale red berries in autumn.
True Solomon's Seal (Polygonathum bifforum ). Characteristics: The flower is yellowish green, usually nodding in pairs from short stems or pedicils. The root is thick and jointed. The berries are blue-black and poisonous. Late May.
Two-leaved Solomon Seal, False Lily-of-the-Valley (Maianthe- mum Canadense). This zigzag-stemmed plant is very common in moist woods where it forms shining beds. Its wax-like white flow- ers become red-speckled berries in autumn.
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THE PLANT LIFE OF TOPSHAM
Shin-leaf ( Pyrola elliptica) has a five to ten-inch naked flower- stalk which terminates in a raceme of about fifteen flowers. July. The name "Shin-leaf" rose from applying its leaves to bruises. ("Pyrola chlorantha") differs from P. elliptica in having greenish flowers, darker green more rounded leaves, one small leaflet on the scape about midway between the base leaves and the flower cluster, leaves with somewhat reddish petioles, flowers not fragrant.
Self-heal, Heal-all (Brunella vulgaris) blooms in June and later. The flowers form a dense head or spike or bluish-purple flowers, somewhat resembling a clover head. This plant gets its name from the German word "braune," meaning "quinsy," for which it was supposed to be a cure.
Star Flower, Star Anemone ( Trientalis Americana). Character- istics: A whorl of from five to ten two-tapered leaves at the sum- mit of the smooth erect stem. Flowers are white, delicate and star-shaped. Shady woods. June.
The Showy Lady's Slipper (Cypripedinm hirsutum) is found in Topsham late in June. One or two large balloon-shaped purplish- pink and white flowers hang from a stout stem. Bogs and swamps. The anthor found a large number of these flowers on the John Clark road about a mile from the junction of that road with the Waits River road.
Common St. John's-Wort ( Hyperienm perforatum). Its stem is erect, much branched and from one to two feet high. Flowers yellow in terminal clusters. July and August. This plant was for- merly gathered on St. John's eve and hung at doors or upon the neck as a safeguard against thunder and evil spirits, or to ward off evil of all kinds. (Hypericum elipticum) has a smooth, slightly quadriangular, unbranched stem. It somewhat resembles the pre- ceding species.
Wood Sorrel ( Oxalis Acetosella ). This plant is found in shady, rocky places in June. Its white flower stained with red rises on a slender scape from a mass of clover-like leaves. It is sometimes called "Hallelujah" because it flowers between Easter and Whit- suntide, the season when songs in churches resound with that word. Oxalis is derived from a Greek word meaning sont. Oxalic acid is produced from its leaves.
Dainty plant so clover-like, White your rose-stained flowers,
You linger in the shady dell, While June brings heat and showers.
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THE PLANT LIFE OF TOPSHAM
Yellow Wood Sorrel, Lady's Sorrel ( Oxalis stricta). The some- what hairy stem, sour taste and ob-heart-shaped sensitive leaflets characterize this plant.
Round-leaved Sundew ( Drosera rotundifolia). This small car- nivorous plant has white flowers which grow on a one-sided nod- ding raceme. The leaves are round and are covered with hairy glands that excrete a sticky fluid. When a small insect lights on one of these leaves, the leaf slowly closes over it while the stiff hairs of the leaf prevent the insect from escaping. The leaf then digests the insect. All summer.
Sessile-leaved Twisted Stalk (Streptopus roseus). This plant has a two-foot, twisted, forked stem and purplish-pink flowers ou thread-like stems growing from the axils of the leaves. June.
T.
Common, Bur or Spear Thistle, Bull Thistle (Cirsium lance- olata). This common plant is found by the roadside. Its stout woolly stem, dark-green sessile leaves, all having sharp projecting points, are too well known to need describing. It is said that once when the Danes invaded Scotland they stole upon the Scottish camp at night. One of the barefooted invaders stepped on a thistle. His cry roused the Scots and the Danes were repulsed. The Scots then adopted the thistle for their national emblem.
The Canada or Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) grows from a running rootstock. It is not so tall but more slender than the preceding species. It is very prickly and has fragrant purple flow- ers. Pastures and roadsides. July and August.
Swamp Thistle (Cirsium muticum). The stem-leaves of this plant are sessile and tipped with slender weak prickles. The flower is odorous and the scales of the flower are thornless. Summer.
Gold Thread, Canker Root (Coptis trifolia). The shining ev- ergreen leaves of the Gold Thread is divided into three leaflets. This delicate flower is found in boggy places in May. Its chief characteristic is its bright golden thread-like roots which give it its name. The root was once used to make a tea valued as a spring tonic and as a cure for canker sores in the mouth.
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THE PLANT LIFE OF TOPSHAM
Painted Trillium, Wake Robin (Trillium undulatum). Its slightly drooping white flowers, painted with purple, above a whorl of three egg-shaped leaves with tapering points characterize this flower of May and early June.
Purple Trillium, H-scented Wake Robin ( Trillium erectum). Its common name, Purple Trillium, and its scientific name, Trillium erectum, describe this flower very well. One notices at sight its likeness to the painted trillium in proximity to which it is often found growing. In this locality it blooms a little earlier than the painted trillium and does not remain so long with us.
Turtle-head, Snake-head (Chelone glabra). The two-foot stem is stout, smooth and erect. The flowers are clustered in a short head and are white with a pinkish tinge. July to September.
Tansy, Bitter-buttons (Tanacetum vulgare). The many tiny tubular deep-yellow flowers of this plant form a head called a corymb. The leaves are very much cleft or divided. Tansy was one of the favorites of our grandmothers. Most men of sixty years can remember "tansy tea." It is still used in some places for a tonic. Summer.
V.
Common Blue Violet ( Viola cucullata). Its heart-shaped leaves distinguish it from the Bird-foot Violet (Viola pedata), the latter having a much divided leaf.
The Early Blue Violet or Palmated Violet (Viola palmata) dif- fers from the two preceding species in having leaves ranging from the heart-shaped leaves of the Common Blue Violet to leaves with five to seven lobes.
The Canada Violet ( Viola Canadensis) differs from the three preceding species in having leaves on the stem instead of basal leaves. )
The Downy Yellow Violet ( Viola pubescens) is erect and leafy with yellow purple-veined flowers.
Smooth Yellow Violet ( Viola scabriuscula). This plant blooms earlier and is slightly smaller than the Downy Yellow Violet. It also differs in that it has more coarsely toothed leaves.
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THE PLANT LIFE OF TOPSHAM
We have two species of the white violets:
Lance-leaved Violet (Viola lanceolata) differs from the follow- ing species in having narrow leaves instead of broad-rounded ones.
Sweet White Violet ( Viola blanda). This smallest and dainti- est of the violet family is found in damp woodsy places. Its fra- grant white flower, veined with purple, resembles the common vio- let in many ways.
For whom I plucked this flower, For whom I robbed the dell, 'Twill do no good to ask me, For I will never tell.
Y.
Yarrow, Milfoil ( Achillea Millefolium ). The stem of this plant is stout and gray-green. Its aromatic leaves are soft and feathery and deeply cut. The flowers are small. There is a story that Achilles used this plant to cure the wounds of his soldiers. It has been used to cure divers ailments for a long time. The Swedish people once used it in making beer.
FERNS OF TOPSHAM.
Ferns grow almost everywhere in the town. The following list was made by Charles E. Disney. He found them all within a few miles of his summer home at Waits River.
(1) Adiantum pedatum-Maiden-hair Fern.
(2) Aspidium Boottii-Boott's Shield Fern.
(3) Aspidium cristatum-Crested Shield Fern.
(4) Aspidium Goldianum-Goldie's Shield Fern.
(5) Aspidium marginale-Marginal Shield Fern or Ever- green Wood Fern.
(6) Aspidium Noveboracense -- New York Fern.
(7) Aspidium Simulatum --- Massachusetts' Fern.
(8) Aspidium spinulosum variety intermedium- Spinulose Shield Fern.
(9) Aspidium Thelypteris-Marsh Fern.
(10) Asplenium ebeneum -- Ebony Spleenwort.
(11) Asplenium Ruta-muraria-Wall Rue, or Rue Spleen- wort.
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THE PLANT LIFE OF TOPSHAM
(12) Asplenium Trichomanes -- Maiden-hair Spleenwort.
(13) Asplenium viride -- Green Spleenwort.
(14) Asplenium Felix-foemina-Lady Fern.
(15) Asplenium thelypteroides-Silvery Spleenwort.
(16) Botrychium lanceolatum-Lance-leaved Grape Fern.
(17) Botrychium Lunaria --- Moonwort.
(18) Botrychium matricariaefolium-Matricary Grape Fern.
(19) Botrychium dissectum or ternatum-Common Grape
Fern or Ternate Grape Fern.
(20) Botrychium simplex-Little Grape Fern.
(21) Botrychium Virginianum -- Rattlesnake Fern or Vir- ginia Grape Fern.
(22) Cystopteris bulbifera-Bulblet-bladder Fern.
(23) Cystopteris fragilis-Fragile-bladder Fern.
(24 ) Dicksonia pilosiuscula-Boulder Fern or Hay-scented
Fern.
(25) Onoclea sensibilis-Sensitive Fern.
(26) Ophioglossum vulgatum-Adder's Tongue.
(27) Osmunda cinnamomea-Cinnamon Fern.
(28) Osmunda Claytoniana-Interrupted Fern.
(29) Osmunda regalis-Royal Fern or Flowering Fern.
(30) Phegopteris Dryopteris-Oak Fern.
(31) Phegopteris hexagonoptera -- Broad Beech Fern.
(32) Phegopteris polypodioides-Long Beech Fern.
(33) Polypodium vulgare -- Common Polypody or Rock Fern or Snake Fern.
(34) Polystichum acrostichoides -- Christmas Fern.
(35) Pteris aquilina-Bracken, or Brake or Eagle Fern.
(36) Struthiopteris Germanica-Ostrich Fern.
(37) Woodsia Ilvensis-Rusty Woodsia.
(38) Woodsia obtusa - Obtuse Woodsia or Blunt-lobed
Woodsia.
163
BIRDS SEEN IN TOPSHAM
BIRDS SEEN IN TOPSHAM
A list of the birds often seen in Topsham is given in the next few pages. Most of these are summer residents only. A few re- main or come during the winter.
Few people realize how much we owe to these feathered friends in helping us to keep destructive insects within bounds. Without the help of the birds our forest trees and wild fruits would be ravaged year after year. There is no doubt but these trees and fruits would eventually disappear altogether.
THE BROKEN WING.
A bird with a broken wing. Was brought this morning to me; A little bird that yesterday Could flit from tree to tree.
Maybe a stone from a shooter, In the hands of a careless boy,
Or a shot from a hunter's gun Has changed to sorrow its joy.
Whoever it was, we know That birdie will never again
Bring happiness by its songs To the hearts of women or men.
For this bird of broken wing, After suffering a day is dead;
Of the shooter and the hunter's gun, Need there anything more be said?
Only a bird, someone will say, No more than a stony clod, Yet even so lowly a being Is sacred in the sight of God.
B.
The Bobolink or Rice Bunting. The Bluebird.
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BIRDS SEEN IN TOPSHAM
The Rusty Blackbird or Rusty Grackle.
The Red-winged Blackbird. The Snow Bunting, the Snowflake, White Snow Bird. The Yellow Bird, the American Gold Finch, Summer Warbler. The Indigo Bunting.
C.
The Catbird.
The Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The Black-billed Cuckoo.
The Chickadee, Black-capped Titmouse. The American Crossbill, Common Crossbill.
The Chebec, Least Flycatcher.
The American Crow, the Common Crow. The Cowbird, the Cow Blackbird. The Black and White Creeper. The Brown Creeper.
The Cedar Bird, the Cherry Bird, the Cedar Waxwing.
F.
The Pine Finch, the Siskin. The Gound Finch, Towhee, Chewink. The Purple Finch.
The American Gold Finch, Thistle-bird, Wild Canary. The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.
The Spotted Flycatcher. The Northern Flicker.
G.
The Purple Grackle. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The Pine Grosbeak.
H.
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Hummingbird.
J.
Slate-colored Junco. 'The Blue Jay.
165
BIRDS SEEN IN TOPSHAM
K.
The Kingbird, the Tyrant Flycatcher. The Golden-crowned Kinglet. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The Kingfisher.
M.
The Meadowlark.
N.
The White-breasted Nuthatch. The Red-breasted Nuthatch.
0.
The Baltimore Oriole, Golden Robin. The Ovenbird.
P.
The Phoebe, the Pewit Flycatcher. The Partridge, the Ruffled Grouse. The Wood Pewee. The Red Poll.
The Sand Piper. The American Pipit, the Titlark.
R.
The American Robin. The American Redstart.
S.
The Vesper Sparrow, Bay-winged Sparrow, Grass Finch. The Tree Sparrow. The Song Sparrow. The Chipping Sparrow. The English Sparrow. The Blue Snowbird. The Barn Swallow. The Bank Swallow.
166
BIRDS SEEN IN TOPSHAM
The Chimney Swallow, the Chimney Swift.
The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. The Common Snipe.
The Starling.
T.
The Brown Thrasher, Red Thrasher, French Mocking Bird. The Maryland Yellow Throat. The Scarlet Tanager. The New York Thrush. The Wilson Thrush, the Veery.
V.
The Red-eyed Viero. The White-eyed Viero.
W.
The Cedar Waxwing. The House Wren.
The Yellow-crowned Warbler, Myrtle Bird.
The Pine-Creeping Warbler. The Worm-Eating Warbler.
The Red-headed Woodpecker. The Golden-winged Woodpecker. The Hairy Woodpecker. The Northern Downy Woodpecker. The Whip-Poor-Will.
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BIRDS SEEN IN TOPSHAM
THE WHIP-POOR-WILL.
In these early autumn days, From the trees upon the hill,
Comes a call thru-out the dusk, And that call is whip-poor-will.
Whip-poor-will. 'tis whip-poor-will, Just at eve and early morn, From the trees that overlook, Waving grain and fields of corn.
Helpful is the whip-poor-will, Searching ever thru the day
For those tree-destroying pests In the forests where they stay.
On the nest his little mate, Hidden in some leafy dell,
Hears him sing above her head, Whip-poor-will. O, Whip-poor-will.
When she hears his whip-poor-will. Like the mists her fears dispel, For she knows that he just says "All is well! O, All is well!"
168
IN WINTER
IN WINTER.
-
----
In winter the squirrels They come and they go, From the hillside forests. Where cold winds blow.
This one on the shelf, (He's eating a nut) Has taken my woodshed, And there built a hut.
Very słeek is his coat, And his eyes are so bright
That they rival the stars On a cold winter night.
He teases till he gets Everything that he wants,
And the rest of the day My window-sill haunts.
1,69
AN EXPLANATION AND A CORRECTION
EXPLANATION OF WILLARD'S PLAN.
The town was surveyed according to Major Caleb Willard's plan in 1820 by Samuel Butterfield. The east line of the town and of each lot by that survey had a general direction of 20 degrees east of a magnetic north and south line. The east and west lines were 65 degrees west of the magnetic north and south line.
There has been a change of the magnetic poles so that at present the north and south lines of the lots are about 27 degrees east of north; and the east and west lines about 59 degrees west. This is shown by old stone walls still standing on original lot lines.
CORRECTION.
Correction for the woodlot beginning at the southeast corner of the John Jones lot: Beginning at the southeast corner of the John Jones lot; thence southerly parallel with the east line of the John Jones lot 5812 rods; thence easterly nearly parallel with the south end of the John Jones lot 101 rods: thence northerly paral- iel with the west end of the woodlot 29 rods; thence northwesterly to the point of beginning. The said lot contains 28 acres.
J. N. Smith owns the John Jones lot of 50 acres and the wood- lot of 28 acres. The present owners are:
Charlotte J. Furman. 159 acres, tax 9.54 Fred C. Toby, 122 acres, tax 7.32
J. N. Smith, 78 acres, tax .. 4.68
TOTAL, 359 acres; tax. $21.54
!
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A TOPSHAM FAIRY STORY
A TOPSHAM FAIRY STORY
THE LITTLE OLD HOUSE
Once upon a time a little old house stood on the side of a hill. A forest grew on three sides of the house. On the fourth side lay a beautiful meadow. Beyond the meadow lay the river. In sum- mer this noisy river could be seen through the trees which grew along its banks. In winter it lay deeply buried beneath the snow.
Sparkling brooks flowed from the hills to feed the river. In early spring dogtooth violets grew along the brooks; and on the hillsides the hepatica, the spring beauty, and many other flowers sprang up lifting their blossoms above the last-year maple leaves.
The man who lived in this little old house on the side of the hill was all alone. He had neither wife nor child, and his nearest neighbors lived many miles away. He was often lonely just as you, children, would be if you had no father nor mother, no bro- thers, sisters nor friends.
When the snows of the winter were gone the man often walk- ed in the forest which lay upon the three sides of his little house. Sometimes when everything was very quiet he imagined that he could hear the fairy-like tread of little feet among the dry leaves. And again as he sat upon a fallen log or upon a mossy stone he sometimes thought he heard shrill small voices talking, always in
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A TOPSHAM FAIRY STORY
a language that he could not understand.
The man walked in the forest more and more often as the warm days of summer came. One day while sitting upon a great rock that was cleft from top to bottom, he heard a feeble groan. The groan came from the cleft in the rock.
Reaching his hand to the bottom of the opening, the man felt a soft little body. Grasping this body, he lifted it from the open- ing. He was very much surprised to see lying in his hand a won- derful little fairy with a broken leg.
The man cut a pine needle into short pieces and set the broken leg. He then picked up the fairy who directed him to a fairy castle in an old maple-tree stump not far away. Placing the in - jured fairy at the doorway of the castle the man withdrew.
The man came back to the fairy castle, not only the next day but for several days to see how the lame fairy was getting along. He was surprised to find that now he was not only able to see the fairies but that he could understand their language as well.
As soon as the fairy had recovered from his lameness he and the man became the best of friends. They often took long walks in the forest. Sometimes in these walks the fairy sat on the man's shoulder. At other times he walked along by the side of the man pushing the dead leaves out of the way with his tiny hands.
On one of these walks the man said to the fairy: "How came you to be imprisoned in the rock where I found you?"
"I was hunting thistle-down for my bed," said the fairy, "and wandered into the land of an ogre who hates all fairies. He seized me and threw me into the opening in the rock."
At another time the man asked the fairy why he had never been able to see any of the fairies before. "Oh," said the fairy, "it is only after a mortal has done a fairy a service that he can see the fairies and understand their language."
The man learned from this fairy friend that the fairies who lived in the castle in the old maple-tree stump were ruled by a queen who alone of all the fairies in the forest had the gift of magic. She had turned the ogre that threw the fairy into the rock opening into an ugly toadstool which he was to remain ever afterwards.
The man and the fairies often met in the forest, and some- times the fairies would visit the man in his little house on the side of the hill; and sometimes they would wake him with their songs as they danced in the moonlighted space on the floor of his cham- per bedroom.
The man often spoke to the fairies of the many pleasant hours that he had spent with them during the summer. But as fall ap- proached he became sad for he knew that he would soon lose his
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A TOPSHAM FAIRY STORY
fairy friends. He knew that they could not live in the forest dur- ing a long cold winter with its deep snows.
One day the man said to the fairy queen: "I shall be very lonely when you and your fairies leave for a warmer region."
The fairy queen smiled as she said: "I shall have a wonderful surprise for you in a few days."
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