Bloomington High School - Aepix Yearbook (Bloomington, IL)

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THE AEGIS by, which was blissfully trying to climb a portion of the wall, much too near his section. What are you doing down tl1ere ?l' he demanded, in thundering tones, 'fThis wall was meant for me. See that you keep to your dirty black stringlt' Oh, dear me, replied the tender-hearted little sweet-pea, much chagrined, 'fl had no idea you could ever get over this far, Mr. Ivy. Some people have such, a good opinion of their growing powers I Now this was unusual, especially from a sweet-pea, but it was all unusual- this quarreling and complaining and hard-feeling and bitterness in Miss Aurelia.'s sweet, little, old-fashioned garden. What accounted for it all, the enmity be- tween, the dainty tea-rose and the good natured phlox, the hostility of the four- o'clocks toward the many-colored zinnias and the dignified coolness existing be- tween the calla-lily and the stately iris? Bright-faced old Sol was surely doing his part and the playful little breezes tried hard to be impartial. But, though the sunbeams huried hither and thither in their efforts to cheer and the bees buzzed many an encouraging message, the warfare continued and even waxed in hostility. Soon, even the sweetest-natured flowers in the garden were drawn into the con- flict, the white lily forgot her purity and hurled offending expletives in the face of an unsuspecting gladiolus, the roses, too, grew ill-tempered and quarrelsome, taunting the little Held daisy for her unsophisticated ways, while the Violets corn- plained loudly of the petals Mrs. Locust Tree was showering down upon their heads. Veritably the garden was becoming a dangerous field of battle, when quite suddenly, there was a noticeable change in the atmosphere. It all started with a little cool breeze coming from the west. As soon as it had Huttered by, there corn- meneed pereeptibly to be a lull in the clamorings. Next a soft curtain seemed to have been drawn over the sun, and the air grew darker and quieter. Then a gentle wind. swayed the locust branches to and fro and a low rumble of thunder came from the darkening sky. Suddenly the black cloud overhead burst, and a shower of raindrops splashed upon the upturned leaves and petals in the garden. From that minute, all quarrels and irritable feelings were forgotten and no thought remained but that of drinking in eagerly each refreshing drop. Thus, the rain continued and the pleasure in receiving it grew, until dripping with moisture, each little plant turned and twisted and nodded in delight, knowing that the cause for irritation was removed and that good fellowship was again to be established in flowerdoni. Then the rain ceased, the sunbeams reappeared, and the dear blue sky smiled down into a sea. of happy flower-faces, twinkling gaily, behind a shim- mer of silver water-drops. 'JDO I shade you too much ? asked Mrs. Hollyhock of the modest little pansy, the next time Mr. Breeze comes this way, l'll just sway over to the other side and let a shaft of sunlight down to you. 'fOh, it's perfectly lovely of you, replied Pansy, but don't trouble yourself at all. When the sun gets low in the west, I shall get all I need. f'Come up and let's explore this wall together, sang Mr. Ivy down to the eager little sweet-pea, while the roses laughed and called the meadow-daisy a clever little thing when she twirled her head and sent the rain-drops scattering. An hour later, peace and quiet reigned in Miss Aurelia's little garden. The flowers nodded and swayed and sent pleasant little sallies back and forth, while the breezes played at will among them and the perfume of the lily permeated the air. 16

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THE AEGIS You shut the sun away from me, plaintively murmured the pansy, Mplease, Mrs. I-Iollyhock, if you'd only bend just a little- Nonsense ! was the unfeeling interruption, it is your own fault if you don't get enough sunshine. You put all your strength into those soft, foolish little blossoms of yours, instead of trying to grow tall and straight so that you could reach for your own sunshine. Then, you 'are continually complaining to others, who have succeeded in becoming a little more independent and capable than youf' N ever mind, little Pansy, called a scarlet geranium from across the path, your blossoms are a great deal prettier than Mrs. Hollyhock's even if you don't get so much sun. She thinks she is the queenliest flower growing, but I wouldn't give a dew-drop for all her height and stateliness. Just watch her flirt with that sunbeam. Bah! The delicate cosmos in the next bed, waved their slender fingers, and shook their heads in dismay, upon overhearing this conversation. Mercy! What are we coming to,'! sighed one. Mrs Hollyhock thinks of no one but herself 5 little Pansy is gloomy and out-of-sorts and our own gay Geranium- S:ister,', complained the frail pink flower, next her, ayou bend yourself against my petals every time you emphasize a word. Do stiffen yourself against Mr. Breeze or at least manage to keep in your own territory. And I might add, continued the first one, indignantly, 'that when even the members of one's own family begin grumbling and complaining, simply be- cause they are jealous of the attention Mr. Breeze is showing one, then, surely, the limit of endurance is reached. And with a sniff of utter disgust, she turned away. From the farthest corner, the white lily lifted its drooping head and sent, in the motion, a subtle breath of ethereal sweetness to the uttermost parts of the garden. But when the ivy, creeping on the stone wall, smelled it, he turned his face in scorn. Ughl he grumbled, 'fMadame Lily is more vain of her perfume than a thousand such colorless plants ought to be. Some of these days, the gardener will come in and clip oi her blossoms, and, then, how will she feel, all bare and shorn o her beauty. I'd rather depend upon my leaves and not have to be afraid every minute of being robbed of my splendor. And with a sigh of satisfaction he leisurely stretched a delicate thread-like tendril over the rough stone before him. But his supreme content was short-lived. A purple snap-dragon below him was quarreling with a saucy little daisy and the sound of their querulous voices drowned the message Mr. Breeze was trying to whisper in his ear. f'Be still, down therelu he finally called irritably, it would be a great pity if every fiower in this garden couldn't get into a testy humor and shout at the top of his voice, just when somebody else is trying to carry on a conversation with a visitor. Now then, Mr. Breezef' But Mr. Breeze had Heated away to the rose-bush to woo the softly blushing buds, just unfolding their petals to the sunlight, so that poor Mr. Ivy was left in a worse mood than ever. He took out his spite on an unsuspecting sweet-pea near- 15

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THE AEGIS Miss Aurelia came down to the gate and watched the drip of the lingering raindrops as they fell from the locust tree to the flowers below, there to hang on the tips of the leaves, little iridescent balls of crystal that trembled and slowly fell to the cool damp earth. Oh, said Miss Aurelia, my flowers are in tears ll' Thus it is, that the dullness of human comprehension blinds even the keenest of mortals, to the real moods and humors of Mother Nature. THE SEVEN BROTHERS CLYDE EDWARDS. Long ago in the dim forgotten ages before all magic had gone from the world, a certain Indian tribe, had a village beside a peacefullly flowing river. According to custom, there stood in the center of this village the large Council House in front of which was the Council Place or sacred dancing ground. There was the usual number of small children in this camp, but apart from them were seven small boys who were known as the Seven Brothers. These boys did not seem to care for the usual sport of childhood, but instead seemed to prefer the more serious side of life as they spent all of their time at the Council Place, danc- ing the mystic dances of their people to the measured beat of a. war-drum. For a long time the mothers of the boys paid little attention to this thinking that they would soon tire of it, but as time went on and the boys still continued their useless dancing the mothers grew angry and often called to them saying: lf you do not help me dry these fish-nets you will get nothing to eat. But a full meal always awaited the boys at' sunset. C Finally the mothers made plans together. That day as the sun went from sight and a full moon rose, as usual the boys ceased dancing and went to the wig- wams. There they found instead of the customary bowl of meat only a bowl of stones. In silence each boy arose, gathered up his bow and quiver of arrows, stepped forth into the moonlight and returned to the Council Place while the mothers followed behind to see what would happen. Still in silence the tiny warriors began the slow, sad Death Dance and the mothers saw to their surprise and horror that as they danced they were slowly ris- ing from the earth. One mother, more quielq-witted than the rest rushed forward and siezing her boy by the foot before he passed from reach pulled him back to the ground, but the solid earth opened and he disappeared into it. The other boys danced on and continued rising until they reached the heavens where they have remained to this day, and on moonlight nights they may be seen dancing the sad Death Dance and perhaps on a. very clear night one may even see the seventh brother who disappeared into the earth for these Seven Brothers are now the constellation called The Pleiadesf' 17