St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, September 1878, No. 11 | Page 4

seen of considerable size. Their
fur is coarse and of little value, but they are sought after by fishermen

for the sake of their oil, which commands a ready sale for a good price.
After we had got fully rested, we launched our boat, rowed homeward,
and soon landed upon the beach.

SPRING AND SUMMER.
BY DORA READ GOODALE.
In Spring we note the breaking Of every baby bud; In Spring we note
the waking Of wild flowers of the wood; In Summer's fuller power, In
Summer's deeper soul, We watch no single flower,-- We see, we
breathe the whole.

THE AX OF RANIER.
BY THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH.
Once upon a time, there lived on the borders of a forest an old woman
named Jehanne, who had an only son, a youth of twenty-one years, who
was called Ranier. Where the two had originally come from no one
knew; but they had lived in their little hut for many years. Ranier was a
wood-cutter, and depended on his daily labor for the support of himself
and mother, while the latter eked out their scanty means by spinning.
The son, although poor, was not without learning, for an old monk in a
neighboring convent had taught him to read and write, and had given
him instructions in arithmetic. Ranier was handsome, active and strong,
and very much attached to his mother, to whom he paid all the honor
and obedience due from a son to a parent.
One morning in spring, Ranier went to his work in the forest with his
ax on his shoulder, whistling one of the simple airs of the country as he
pursued his way. Striding along beneath the branches of the great oaks
and chestnuts, he began to reflect upon the hard fate which seemed to
doom him to toil and wretchedness, and, thus thinking, whistled no
longer. Presently he sat down upon a moss-covered rock, and laying his

ax by his side, let his thoughts shape themselves into words.
"This is a sad life of mine," said Ranier. "I might better it, perhaps,
were I to enlist in the army of the king, where I should at least have
food and clothing; but I cannot leave my mother, of whom I am the
sole stay and support. Must I always live thus,--a poor wood-chopper,
earning one day the bread I eat the next, and no more?"
Ranier suddenly felt that some one was near him, and, on looking up,
sprang to his feet and removed his cap. Before him stood a beautiful
lady, clad in a robe of green satin, with a mantle of crimson velvet on
her shoulders, and bearing in her hand a white wand.
"Ranier!" said the unknown, "I am the fairy, Rougevert. I know your
history, and have heard your complaint. What gift shall I bestow on
you?"
"Beautiful fairy," replied the young man, "I scarcely know what to ask.
But I bethink me that my ax is nearly worn out, and I have no money
with which to buy another."
The fairy smiled, for she knew that the answer of Ranier came from his
embarrassment; and, going to a tree hard by, she tapped on the bark
with her wand. Thereupon the tree opened, and she took from a recess
in its center, a keen-edged ax with an ashen handle.
"Here," said Rougevert, "is the most excellent ax in the world. With
this you can achieve what no wood-chopper has ever done yet. You
have only to whisper to yourself what you wish done, and then speak to
it properly, and the ax will at once perform all you require, without
taxing your strength, and with marvelous quickness."
The fairy then taught him the words he should use, and, promising to
farther befriend him as he had need, vanished.
Ranier took the ax, and went at once to the place where he intended to
labor for the day. He was not sure that the ax would do what the giver
had promised, but thought it proper to try its powers. "For," he said to

himself, "the ranger has given me a hundred trees to fell, for each of
which I am to receive a silver groat. To cut these in the usual way
would take many days. I will wish the ax to fell and trim them speedily,
so,"--he continued aloud, as he had been taught by the fairy,--"Ax! ax!
chop! chop! and work for my profit!"
Thereupon the ax suddenly leapt from his hands, and began to chop
with great skill and swiftness. Having soon cut down, trimmed and
rolled a hundred trees together, it returned, and placed itself in the
hands of Ranier.
The wood-chopper was very much delighted with all this, and sat there
pleasantly reflecting upon his