' A group
of these golden willows, seen in a rainstorm, will have so bright an
appearance as to make it seem as if the sun were actually shining."
[Illustration: THE WHITE WILLOW (_Salix alba_).]
"I wish we had them all around here, then," said Edith; "I like to see
the sun shining when it rains."
"But the sun is _not_ shining, dear," replied her governess: "it is only
the reflection from the willows that makes it look so; and we can make
just such sunshine ourselves when it rains, or when there is dullness of
any sort, by being all the more cheerful and striving to make others
happy. Who loves to be called 'Little Sunshine'?"
"I do," said the child, caressing the hand that had patted her rosy
cheek.
"Let's all be golden willows," said Malcolm, in a comical way that made
them laugh.
Miss Harson told him that he could not make a better attempt than to be
one of those home-brighteners who bring the sunshine with them, but she
added that such people are always considerate for others. Malcolm
wondered a little if this meant that _he_ was not, but he soon forgot it
in hearing the many things that were to be said of the willow.
"The family-name of this tree is _Salix_, from a word that means 'to
spring,' because a willow-branch, if planted, will take root and grow so
quickly that it seems almost like magic. 'And they shall _spring up_ as
among the grass, as willows by the watercourses,' says the prophet
Isaiah, speaking of the children of the people of God.
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