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"It doesn't ht? No, it certainly does not," replied Helen

"Well, it's as good an exaht, of strife, of selfishness, as you will find in the forest," he said "Now come over, you an' Bo, an' let me show you what I mean"

"Come on, Nell," cried Bo, with enthusias loath, Helen ith theether," said Dale "They're pretty well shaded by the spruces, but they get the sunlight from east an' south These little trees all cae Four of thee around as ed he is--how he stands over most of the others, but not so ether, very close, you see Most of theer than my thumb Look ho branches they have, an' none lon Look at ho leaves Do you see how all the branches stand out toward the east an' south--how the leaves, of course, face the same way? See how one branch of one tree bends aside one froht Here are one--two--three dead trees Look, I can snap them off An' now look down under theh--down to these only a foot high Look how pale, delicate, fragile, unhealthy! They get so little sunshine They were born with the other trees, but did not get an equal start Position gives the advantage, perhaps"

Dale led the girls around the little grove, illustrating his words by action He seeht for water an' sun But mostly sun, because, if the leaves can absorb the sun, the tree an' roots will grow to grasp the needed moisture Shade is death--slow death to the life of trees These little aspens are fightin' for place in the sunlight It is a merciless battle They push an' bend one another's branches aside an' choke them Only perhaps half of these aspens will survive, to rown trees over there One season will give advantage to this saplin' an' next year to that one A few seasons' advantage to one assures its dominance over the others But it is never sure of holdin' that dorowin' rival does not overthrow it, then sooner or later old age will For there is absolute and continual fight What is true of these aspens is true of all the trees in the forest an' of all plant life in the forest What is most wonderful to me is the tenacity of life"