(1838)
Now listen! In the country, close by the high road, stood a farmhouse;
perhaps you have passed by and seen it yourself. There was a little flower
garden with painted wooden palings in front of it; close by was a ditch, on
its fresh green bank grew a little daisy; the sun shone as warmly and
brightly upon it as on the magnificent garden flowers, and therefore it
thrived well. One morning it had quite opened, and its little snow-white
petals stood round the yellow centre, like the rays of the sun. It did not mind
that nobody saw it in the grass, and that it was a poor despised flower; on
the contrary, it was quite happy, and turned towards the sun, looking
upward and listening to the song of the lark high up in the air.
The little daisy was as happy as if the day had been a great holiday, but it
was only Monday. All the children were at school, and while they were
sitting on the forms and learning their lessons, it sat on its thin green stalk
and learnt from the sun and from its surroundings how kind God is, and it
rejoiced that the song of the little lark expressed so sweetly and distinctly its
own feelings. With a sort of reverence the daisy looked up to the bird that
could fly and sing, but it did not feel envious. “I can see and hear,” it
thought; “the sun shines upon me, and the forest kisses me. How rich I am!”
In the garden close by grew many large and magnificent flowers, and,
strange to say, the less fragrance they had the haughtier and prouder they
were. The peonies puffed themselves up in order to be larger than the roses,
but size is not everything! The tulips had the finest colours, and they knew
it well, too, for they were standing bolt upright like candles, that one might
see them the better. In their pride they did not see the little daisy, which
looked over to them and thought, “How rich and beautiful they are! I am
sure the pretty bird will fly down and call upon them. Thank God, that I
stand so near and can at least see all the splendour.” And while the daisy
