6 THE ACORN need in a whole year.' Crack! The lid came off and we looked around. We were in a large room in which were boxes of all sizes and descriptions. He took us out very roughly, and carried us to Bankter who placed us neatly on his desk. One by one the others disappeared; but there I stayed until a week ago, when I was taken out, something written on my face, my mouth glued together, something glued over my eye, and three days ago I found myself here. That is my story. I suppose you have a story to tell." "Yes," replied the valentine, 'I have a story to tell; but it is much different from yours.,' "Tell it to me." "Tell it to us" cried the other papers. They settled back and the valentine told the following tale; "I am going to begin when we were in the flax field. There a great many of us grew side by side, and there the gentle breezes found us. Birds, bees, and butterflies fanned the air about us, supped our sweet honey, and sang to us all day. "I was so happy that I put a bluer tint in my blue flowers and more sweetness in the perfume and taste. "There we stood, day after day, swaying in the breezes which whispered beautiful songs to us. We knew nothing to make us feel sad until a gust of wind, in passing, stooped playfully and whispered in our ears. My flowers turned very pale and I trembled, bent, and swayed harder than ever. My heart was sad; but I whispered to all my fibres, 'Be brave.' "Two days later, to my horror, the wind's prophecy came true. I heard a great noise and closed my eyes in terror. I felt my side pierced, and fell to the ground exhausted. The next I remembered was when I looked around. No blue flowers waved in the breezes; no bird sang. No sound was heard but the clashing of a monster far away, the sighs of the poor flax victims, and the steady, oozing flow of our blood. I saw that all my friends had been treated as I. All our fragrant perfume went out upon the air in reproaches for the ill treatment we had received. "The next I remembered was finding myself in a large bundle along with many more of my friends. We were taken to a large boiler in which we were thrown. It had water in it and we were allowed to boil in it. After many more cruel things were done to us, we found ourselves extended into long fibres. Then we were placed in a machine which I heard someone say was a loom. When we came out, we were called linen, and were rolled about boards into bolts. We took a journey on a train; and after another lot of lifting, unpacking, and things too numerous to be told, we found ourselves arranged on shelves. "We remained here for a long THE ACORN 7 time. One day a lady came in to buy some linen. We all jumped with delight, for we were to see something besides department shelves and salesmen. Well, she bought us, and I was very sorry afterwards, because she had no sooner taken us home than she plunged a pair of scissors into my side, and made me cringe with pain. Then she exclaimed. 'There I've cut it crooked.' "I don't know just what did happen next, only that a needle kept stitching in me and every time it pierced me it would say, 'stitch, stitch, stitch,' until I was glad when the lady tossed us on the table and said, 'I am glad that one's done.' "While I remained at her house I went through all manner of tortures. I was doused in water, covered with soap, rubbed on a wrinkled board, boiled, squeezed, wrung, straightened out with a hot iron, and many other things used to persecute me.' "The next important thing I remembered I was being twisted, torn, tangled, and chewed in the teeth of a large machine. After much coloring, rolling, and flattening out I found myself a valentine.' "I was then placed in a box and sent away on a train. When I looked around again I found myself among many others. We were placed in a large window where we could see people passing by. Many times we could not see beyond the window for the crowd outside. I remember some faces very distinctly. One belonged to a little crippled girl. It was very pinched and white. How longingly she looked at me day after day. One day as she stood there pressing up closer with her nose flattened against the pane, a man came, and said; patting her kindly on the head, 'Little Maggie, it's too cold for you out here. You'll certainly take cold." "But, doctor,' she cried,' I just wanted to look at that pretty valentine. I never saw a prettier one in all my life.' 'Well, don't stay long, then,' he said smiling at her and left. Then she came into the store and asked a clerk how much I cost. I shall never forget how disappointed she was when he told her. 'I have only twenty-five cents' she said, 'so I can't buy it. I wanted to give it to my teacher.' Then she picked up a pretty, but smaller one and said she would take it. "Not long after, the docter came in, and picking me up, told the clerk to wrap me up. He tucked me under his arm and went out. Soon he took me out of the box and looked at me. 'Dear little Maggie', he said, 'poor little girl.' Then he wrote what you see under my collar. 'To little Maggie from Doctor Paul. With love.' He put the paper on the box again and, writing her name on it, sent me away. "When she opened the box,