On a piece of waste land lived the Broom cousins.
"My leaves are bigger than yours," said Gold Broom to White Broom.
"Size is not everything," said White Broom to Gold Broom; they were
always sparring at one another.
Buds came on the branches. Then the flowers sprang out and danced in
the sunshine.
"How pale and small your children are!" said Gold Broom to White Broom.
"Mine are golden and well grown. See how strong and happy they look."
"Yellow is such a common colour," said White Broom to Gold Broom.
"White is much more refined. My children are not overgrown, but they
are dainty. And how sweetly they are scented!"
The bees and moths came flying amongst the flowers, unrolling their
long tongues and sipping up the honey.
"Are not my children the best?" asked Gold Broom of the bees.
"Are not mine?" asked White Broom.
"That is hard to decide," said the Bees. "We love them all alike.
Gold Broom's children have more honey, but White Broom's honey is
sweeter to the taste." They flew away to their hive, leaving the
mothers to argue it out.
The children took no part in the discussion. They were too happy to
quarrel. They played and danced every day, till at last they grew
tired. Then they dropped their bright wings and shut themselves away
in their little green houses.
Here they sat in rows on round stools and grew fat. The walls were
lined with wool, so that the cold could not come in; every day Gold
Broom and White Broom sent food up the stalk-passages to them. Thus
they were comfortable and happy.
But outside the mothers were still quarrelling.
"My houses are bigger than yours," said Gold Broom.
"As I told you before, size is nothing," replied White Broom. "Anyway,
mine are much finer in shape."
The houses turned brown and black, and the children turned brown and
black. They were big and strong now, and they wished to come out. One
by one Gold Broom and White Broom twisted the walls of the houses. Out
sprang the children into the world. Pop! pop! pop! Such a splitting
and twisting of little house-walls curling back upon each other! Such
a jumping of brown and black children far out over the ground!
"Mine jump the farthest," said Gold Broom.
"Mine jump much more gracefully," said White Broom.
The children lay on the ground. The sun shone on them, the rain
softened their hard coats. They swelled and burst, tiny shoots came
out, and in a little while the ground was green with hundreds of young
broom plants.
"Mine are growing the best," said Gold Broom.
"What nonsense you talk!" said White Broom.