Page:The grandmother; a story of country life in Bohemia.pdf/301

Rh "But, Grandma, you said I should keep it till I am grown up and then wear it in my belt."

"What you value the most, you must bestow upon your friend, if you wish to do him honor. Give it to him; it is becoming for girls to present flowers."

Adelka put the pretty rose into Orel's hat.

"O my dear Adelka," said Mr. Beyer, "I don't know how long that rose will keep its beauty. Orel is a wild bird, the whole day long he flies over rocks and hills, in wind and rain."

Adelka turned her questioning eyes to Orel.

"Do not think so, father," said the boy looking with great pleasure upon the gift; "during the week while I am in the mountains, my rose shall be put away; I shall wear it only on Sundays and holidays, and then it will always stay pretty."

Adelka was pleased. No one thought that she herself would be the rose for which, some day, Orel would long, which he would carry off into the snow-covered mountains, and there in the seclusion of the forest keep and cherish for his delight; that her love would become the light and bliss of his whole life.