Woodbine-Arbor; or, The Little Gardeners: A Story of a Happy Childhood

A lively household of six children lives on a spacious country estate near New York, where a generous father and mother encourage their youngsters to spend their free hours among the flowerbeds, fruit trees, and neat rows of vegetables. With tiny tools perfectly sized for their hands, the brothers and sisters learn to dig, plant, water, and prune, turning the garden into a classroom of industry and cooperation. Their daily routine blends lessons from school with the fresh, earthy rhythm of tending the earth.

When spring arrives, the siblings decide to create their own wooden arbor—a modest project that quickly becomes a team effort. Henry and Charles shape the frame, while Maria, Elizabeth, Harriet, and John fetch supplies and lend steady hands. In just a few days the “Woodbine Arbor” stands completed, its corners twined with fragrant vines and roses, offering a shaded haven for rest and quiet conversation.

The garden and its new arbor become the heart of the children’s happy childhood, a place where they learn responsibility, kindness, and the simple pleasure of watching their labors blossom.