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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1907)
OUR. CHILDREN'S CORNER. I WHEN BILL! AND BERTHA FOUGHT. f By Annie James. Billy waB Bevon years old nnd his .sister Bertha wan two yearn youngor. They had always played In tho great 'est good humor together, each giving up toys or, bonbons to tho other In tho Moat loving and generous mannor. But one day a Naughty Voice whisper ed Into BIlly'H ear: "Tako all tho ap ple and enndy from Bortha. You aro big and strong and can do It." They wore playing In tho warm Bit ting room when tho Naughty Voice whispered in Billy's car. They had a lllttle table spread for make helievo dinner, an applo cut In halves and two blocks of taffy. Bertha was playing at being hostess and Billy was hor "com pany." Billy reached across tho table and took both blocks of taffy, putting one in hi mouth and tho other into hie llttlo trousers pocket. "Oh-o-ooh! You took all 'o can'y," said llttlo Bertha, looking shocked at her guest's very uncivil conduct. "You muBt'nt do 'at way bruver. You mus' play nice." The Naughty Volco again whisper ed and Billy obeyed its promptingB. He reached over and took tho two pieces of applo jumped up from tho ta ble and ran out of tho room, looking back thru a crack in the door to muko a wry face at Bertha and laugh at her tears. "You're a bad D-a-d boy, bo you aro," cried Bortha. "I'll not.p'ay wif you any more. I dont llko you Bo I don't. Givo me back my can'y an ap ple or I'll go tell mamma." "You'd bettor not tell mamma," said Billy, threateningly. "I'll smack your cars If you do." Bertha began to weep loudly and de clared ho was a bad, bad bruver. 1311 ly, fearing that their mother who was Jn the sowing room up stairs might hear, ran into tho sitting room and clapped his hand over Bertha's mouth. The Naughty Volco hod prompted him how to act. "Shut up this minute," he commanded, his fat fist crushed agalnBt Bertha's mouth. Now the owner of tho Naughty Voice was in his glory. All ho had to do was to whisper into Bertha's oar to have a fight started. Tho situation was prlmo for just such a thing. Bertha, being now very angry with her bad brother, listened In turn to the Naughty Volco and heedod what 'it said. "Fight!" it whispered In hor ear. "Scratch, bite and pull hair." Bertha, a strong llttlo pudge of a girl, thrust her hands into her broth er's curly hair before that follow know ho had any Indention of retaliation. She pulled and scratched, hurting Bll ly till ho began to cry out But ho fought like a little animal, scratching his sister's wrists and pulling her laxen hair nearly oft her head. How long the fight might havo last ed there is no way of knowing, but It would probably havo kept going till one or the other hod oried "nough!" for the Naughty Voice was whisper ing first in Billy's ear and then in Ber tha's ear, urging them to "fight llko soldiers and never givo In." But tho noise of tho conllict tho crying and shuffling of feet caught the ears of their mother away up stairs and hur rying down to tho sitting room she bo held a sight that at first quite took away her breath. After she had separated the children She led them to her room, whore she placed them on chairs in front of her and sat down to question the causo of such an unusual and shocking Bight as she had just witnessed in tho sit ting room. After tho drying of tears, the adjustment of collars and shoe laces and smoothing of hair, Billy and Bertha told their stones. "But why did you tako all the can dy and apple from your sister?" asked their mamma, addressing Billy. "Didn't you know that was solfiBhness and that selfishness is wickedness?' Billy hung his head, but made no answer. The mother turned to Bortha: -'And you, little daughter, should have come to mother about It, Instead of fighting with your brother over it Be cause he was naughty was no excuse .for you to be so, too." "But bruver spoiled tho play," pout- cd Bortha. "Ho et up our play dinner nn' mado an ugly face at me. I jes' had to fight, ninmma." Whllo thero was a smile lurking In the mother's tender eyes, her voico became very, vory serious. "Well, my dear little son and daughter, I can see but one way to avoid future quarrels and fights between you. If I Bend Bor tha to her great aunt Mary and Billy to his grandmother, in the country, to live, thero will bo no chanco of your falling out again- Of course, you can not bo allowed to visit each other again after tho separation." Bertha's faco grow sorlous and her lips trembled as though she were about to break into tears. "I don't want to go to my great aunt Mary's," sho whimpered. "I want to stay wlf my mamma and " Here tho little miss broke into sobs, unable to complete hor sentence. Tho mother turned to Billy. "Well, son, what havo you to say In regard to go ing to live with grandmother?" sho asked. Billy hung his head in a shamed way, batting his eyes furiouBly, as though something were in them. "I I want to stay at home," he said in tremulous tones. "But how can I allow you to remain hero if your sister stays?" asked his mamma. "You don't wnnt to bo with hor, do you?" Billy nodded his head vlgorouBly. "I wnnt to have sister at home," he ad mitted. "But children who fight don't love one another." urged the mother. "I love sister," said Billy, thinking that he was about to loso her forover. "I was very naughty, mamma, and I think I need a whipping," he pleaded. "It was all ray fault, for I took the i ! i 1 '' i i ; i i ! ; J I ' , , -,-. ! : ! 1 i ' ; : i : 1 si 1 She pulled and scratched until Billy cried out. play dinner and et some of it, and put the rest in my pocket. I don't know why I was so bad honest I don't mamma." The mother folded both little oneB to her breast, saying: "It waa tho Naughty Volco that whispered In your oars. If you pay any heed to it it will come again and again, each time whis pering louder and bolder, urging you to do very, very naughty things, until at last you will become a very wicked boy and bring grief to those who love you so dearly." Billy sat very quiet, meditating a 'moment. Then he broke out with: "If the Naughty Voice whiBpers to me any more I'll make a face at It and tell it to get a move on itself, I will. And now, mamma, may sister and I stay at home with you and papa?" Bertha had dried her eyes during ner brothers and mothers conversa tion, and was an interested listener. Without waiting for her mother to an swer her brother's question she said vehemently: "The ole Naughty Voice whispered to me, too, mamma, dear. I dess it tole me to fight bruver, tause I jus' fought him as hard as I tould but all tho time I was not mad wif him. I love bruver an' don't want him to bo sent away to Granny's." "Then my little son and daughter won't ever, ever again liBten to the Naughty Voice?" asked mamma. "They will always remember what happened today when the wicked promptings come to their ears?" "xes, Indeed, mamma," promised Billy, "I'll not forget that I was al most sent to live with Granny away from papa and mamma and Bertha. I would have been so unhappy I would just have died of homesickness, so I would." "An' I'll never, never fink of quar reling wlf bruver again, nor biting blm and pulling his hair," declared Bertha ."An' we'll play at keeping house and having dinner, too, won't we, Billy?" Billy sat straight up taking from his pocket the appropriated play dinner, holding it out to Bertha. "Here Bor tha, take it an' go and fix up tho din ner again. I'll ceme down in a minute Sand knock at the door. Play I'm eom- pany invited to dinner. Will you?" "Yes, bruver, an' play 'at I'm a great lady like mamma, an' 'at I'm having a party. Ole Towser and ole pussy-cat can be uver company. They don't like taffy or apple an will Bit at the table very quiet." Then, with tho apple and taffy in her apron, Bertha ran, happy and laughing, from the room to prepare tho feast for the expected company. And it is safe to say that never again did the Naughty Voico find lis teners in Billy and Bertha. Their ono experience with him had almost cost them their happy home and each oth er's society, and they never, never for got it H Jests and Jingles. Wise Boy. HIb Mother Tom, I'm afraid that that girl you aro going to marry does not know how to cook. Tom I know she doesn't mother, and what's better than all she has promised nover to try to learn. Force of Habit. The Doctor Gracious, man. You gare that poor fellow arsenic yester day instead of salts. Havo you no ro- gretT The Druggist (absently) No; but have something just as good. A Hot One. to Mr. Naggitt I've a great mind go to tho mass meeting tonight Mrs. Naggitt Whoso? Mr. Naggitt Whoso? Whose what? Mrs. Naggitt Whoso great mind? The Way it Works. She Don't you think a woman is clever enough to do any work that a man can? He She's smarter than that. Why she's clever enough to make tho man do the work and give her tho benefit of it. Paying the Freight Willie (aged seven) Say, pa, when a man expresses an opinion can he collect charges on it? His Pa He can, if he's a lawyer. if 2 Tolstoi In His Home. By all odds the most interesting national feature that Russia allowed me to see was Count Tolstoi's novels. And yet I had never read any of Tol stoi's novels before meeting him, and' my notions of his altruism were vague Indeed, about what tho Ideas are of people who have never been In Russia or seen Tolstoi, and who, on learning that you have been there and met him ask immediately: "Say, on the level, is he a fakir or not?" Once and for all, so far as my sim ple intercourse with him Is concern ed, It may be most boldly declared that he never was a fakir no more of one when he was sampling all the vices' he could hear of, than he Is now in urging others not to follow his exam ple as an explorer of Vlcedom. Tho man at Yasnaya Polyana, in 1890 was a fairly well preserved oldi gentleman, with white beard, sunken gray eyes, overhanging bushy eye brows, and a slight stoop In the shoulders, which were carrying, I think, pretty close to seventy years of age. The place looked neglected and un kempt in many respects, but tho two remaining wings of the old mansion were roomy and comfortable. Eight children of tho original sixteen were living at the time of my visit, ranging in years from thirty and over to four teen. Tho countess was tne "doss oi the establishment in and out of the house. What she sold of a morning constituted the law for tho day, so far i i i as woric was concerneu. ano nnu as sistants, and I think a superintendent to help her, but she was tho final au thority in matters of management The count did not appear to tako any active part in the direction of af fairs. Ho spent his time writing, rid ing, walking and visiting with the guests, of whom there were a goodly number. At ono timo he may have worked in tho fields with the peasants but in July of 1896 he did not aharo any of their toil at least I personally did not see him at work among them. What the countess really thoughti about the whole business I never' found out. We had one short conver sation about tho count and his workj during which Bho delivered herself of theso remarks: "You will hear raanyj things here thnt I do not agree with 1 1 believe it is better to bo and do than to preach." I judged from these sen timents that Tolstoiism as a cult had) not captured her. But that sho thought' much of the count as a man and hus-1 band was evident from hor solicitous care of him. From "My Life So Far," by the late Joslah Flynt in "Suc cess" Magazine. Kissable. Grace You look tired. There's an awful worn look about your mouth. Evelyn I guess you don't know my fiance. An excellent demonstration of the art of government was given by thut guileless policeman of Newark whoi assaulted, battered ana nigged to a biatlon house tho acting mayor of that settlement. The acting mayor seems to have invited and deserved his fate. He asked questions. Ho criticised the curt generality of the answers he got. In short, he committed tho unpardon able sin of "giving lip" and not mov ing on, He was lucky to escape with his life. A policeman's time Is valu able. He has many friends to convorse with. Strangers havo no claim upon his attention. The first duty of a good citizen is to be meek. The circus giant has to sise up to the situation.