noon
You can judge , then , of the sensation among the young folks , and older ones , for that matter , when one evening there appeared hung upon a conspicuous place in the garden-hedge , a broad strip of white cloth trimmed with evergreen and printed with the following notice in evergreen letters : `` WANTED : -- By the Christmas Monks , two _ good _ boys to assist in garden work . Applicants will be examined by Fathers Anselmus and Ambrose , in the convent refectory , on April 10th . '' This notice was hung out about five o'clock in the evening , some time in the early part of February . By noon , the street was so full of boys staring at it with their mouths wide open , so as to see better , that the king was obliged to send his bodyguard before him to clear the way with brooms , when he wanted to pass on his way from his chamber of state to his palace . There was not a boy in the country but looked upon this position as the height of human felicity . To work all the year in that wonderful garden , and see those wonderful things growing ! and without doubt any boy who worked there could have all the toys he wanted , just as a boy who works in a candy-shop always has all the candy he wants !