What will happen to them ? ' In spring , when the swallows and storks came , the fir-tree asked them , ` Do you know where they were taken ? Have you met them ? ' The swallows knew nothing of them , but the stork nodded his head thoughtfully , saying , ' I think I know . I met many new ships as I flew from Egypt ; there were splendid masts on the ships . I 'll wager those were they ! They had the scent of fir-trees . Ah ! those are grand , grand ! ' ` Oh ! if I were only big enough to sail away over the sea too ! What sort of thing is the sea ? what does it look like ? ' ` Oh ! it would take much too long to tell you all that , ' said the stork , and off he went . ` Rejoice in your youth , ' said the sunbeams , ` rejoice in the sweet growing time , in the young life within you . ' And the wind kissed it and the dew wept tears over it , but the fir-tree did not understand . Towards Christmas-time quite little trees were cut down , some not as big as the young fir-tree , or just the same age , and now it had no peace or rest for longing to be away . These little trees , which were chosen for their beauty , kept all their branches ; they were put in carts and drawn out of the wood by horses . ` Whither are those going ? '
asked the XXXXX ; ` they are no bigger than I , and one there was much smaller even !
Egypt Whither branches fir-tree fir-trees spring stork storks sunbeams swallows