THE HESPERIAN
OLD GRANNY SEARS.
TUB HESPERIAN PRIZE STORY.
She was old and ugly and hump-backed.
When she went away from home, she always
wore a tall black, cone-shaped hat with a
stiff, narrow brim; a band of black ribbon
was tied around tho crown, and hung down
behind in two long streamers.
To seo her at a distance, reminded one so
much of tho quaint familiar pictures of
"Mother ,Gooso" that one would almost in
voluntarily look around to seo if tho "very
fine gander" and tho "son Jack" were not
also around somewhere near. But when she
came closer close enough to give one a
glimse of her face ! well, this is how she
looked: her mouth was big; she only had a
few teeth, and these were yellow; her puffy
cheeks were brown and shiny; her little,
piercing eyes wore black, and shaded by a
heavy growth of eye-brows; her forehead
was wrinkled, and herboak-liko nose and up
turned chin threatened to meet, sometime,
in front of her sunken lips.
So, when she came nearer, tho thought
of "Mother Goose, with her gander and her
son Jack" disappeared, and one could think
only of witches, and broom sticks, and weird
mischief.
And, yet, Old Granny Sears, for that
was what she was called, was not even a
relative of Old Mother Goose singing jolly
little ditties to tho children, nor had she ever
been caught dealing in witchcraft.
She was just a human woman, living all
by herself, in a little old weather-beaten
house, close beside tho road, where it turned
at the foot of the hill.
Tho corner of the dingy fence which en
closed her little sodded yard was so close to
the road, that passing teams almost pushed
against it, and tho post, to which the boards
were nailed, was well worn in places, where
heavy wagon wheels had knocked it.
Here, at this corner, tho children used to
stand and peek timidly through tho fence at
the queer old woman of whom they were all
afraid.
In summer, hbr front door was usually
open, and they could seo her bent, deformed
figuro stooping over tho loom, in which she
wove rag carpets. Tho rude, Strang looking
machine, with its roll of vari-colored carpets,
and tho quoer little old weaver held a strange
fascination for tho childron. It was such a
mystory to them how she could, change tho
balls of red, and white, and yollow rags, so
rudely sowed together, into yards of smooth,
bright carpet. Perhaps their fear of her was
partly due to awe of this superior power of
hers.
Sometimes, she would come and stand in
tho open door, and then how the watchers
outside tho fence would scatter! It would
seem ub if they had suddenly remembered
speedy errands their mothers had sent them
on. It is hard to guess what they thought
would happen to them if they stayed to meet
her gaze but is certain that none of them
were ever brave enough to try it.
Sometimes they saw her go out into the
yard with & dish of corn meal, mixed with
water. This she sprinkled about her, on
tho ground, and coaxingly called, "Chick,
chick, chick." Then a hundred or more
half grown chickens, white, black, yellow,
and speckled, would swarm around her,
chirping and greedily picking up the morsels,
while she talked to them, and gently scolded
them, just as if they could understand.
And then, sometimes, she carried corn
out to tho opon shed, near the alloy, and"
gave it to the solemn-faced red cow, which
stood there chewing, all day long. Tho cow
was not afraid of her, any more than the
chickens had been, but turned toward her
with as much affection as any cow has over
been known to evince; and the old woman
would gently stroke her head, and talk to
her, calling her by name, just as if she were
a person.
Tho childron had noticed these signs of
gentleness in tho woman, yet still they woro
afraid of her. In fact, "Granny Soars" was
a name that struck terror to all tho children
in town even the lion-hearted small boy.
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