Chapter V: Part 5

“How will we know about the surprise?” Jane asked in perplexity. “Are we supposed to go into the building and ask one of the librarians?”

“Well, if we aren’t dopes!” suddenly cried Vevi.

She stopped short and began to laugh.

“What’s wrong with you?” demanded Jane.

“The surprise!” cried Vevi. “One can see it a mile away! It’s a wonderful one too!”

The other Brownies were bewildered by the little girl’s words. But only for a moment.

“Oh, I see it too!” exclaimed Connie.

She and Vevi both began to run toward the library.

Then Jane, Rosemary and Sunny joined the race.

The surprise, everyone now knew, was a beautiful flower bed!

As the girls approached closer, they could see it plainly.

The circular bed which Miss Mohr had given to the Brownie Scouts for their very own, now was a mass of blooms.

Yellow and gold and brown tulips blazed in the sunlight. The Brownies never had seen a more gorgeous sight.

“Oh, it’s wonderful!” cried Vevi, dancing about the bed. “Just what I wanted!”

“It’s our very own too!” added Sunny.

“Look at the center of the bed,” directed Connie.

Mr. Van Der Lann had so arranged the tulips that they resembled the clover-shaped Scout emblem.

The letters “G. S.” were spelled out in bright yellow tulips.

“That stands for Girl Scouts,” commented Jane. “I do wish Mr. Van Der Lann had made a ‘B’ to stand for Brownie.”

“All Brownie Scouts fly up to become Girl Scouts when they’re old enough,” declared Connie. “I like our flower bed just as he made it.”

“So do I,” agreed Rosemary. “I think this is the nicest surprise our troop ever had.”

“The very best,” echoed Sunny.

“How do you suppose Mr. Van Der Lann made the tulips grow so fast?” speculated Jane. “Why, it’s almost miraculous!”

“He couldn’t have planted bulbs, that’s certain,” replied Connie. “I know! He must have brought potted plants from Windmill Farm!”

“However he did it, I guess it proves the Brownie Story,” asserted Vevi.

The other girls asked her what she meant.

Vevi grinned happily and bent down to sniff the fragrance of a big yellow tulip. Then with twinkling eyes, she replied:

“Don’t you see? It’s magic, pure magic!”

“It does seem almost like it,” admitted Connie.

“This wonderful surprise proves that elves are still at work,” Vevi said with a laugh. “They live in Rosedale and everywhere in the world. And best of all, they serve the Brownies!”

THE END

Transcriber’s Note

Punctuation has been standardised. Chapter headings have been retained as published, most with figures, others words. Spelling and hyphenation have been retained as in the original publication except as follows:

Page 72
varieties wil be shown _changed to_
varieties will be shown

Page 92
Vevi and Connie saw that the river _changed to_
Vevi and Hanny saw that the river

Page 92
the lowbent branches _changed to_
the low-bent branches

Page 112
went over to asked the garden _changed to_
went over to ask the garden

Page 134
that the canves bag _changed to_
that the canvas bag

Page 139
Vevi who understand what _changed to_
Vevi who understood what

Page 202
She look at her wristwatch _changed to_
She looked at her wristwatch

Page 211
As the girls aproached closer _changed to_
As the girls approached closer