Jal Jilt . .
Talk of the Tor.
UK Japanese doll got up very
early one morning and har
nessed his wooden cow to the
cart that he might go to town.
Ho traveled nnl traveled along
the mjLntel shelf a great way. The wooden
cow did not go very fast, bo the Japanese
doll saw all the sights along the way.
Suddenly he heard someone calling,
'Ji'py. Jsppy, Jnppy. atop!"
And the Japanese doll said, "Bo Bossy!
Bo Bossy 1" to the cow, and the cow
topped.
Then the dolt aaw who It wan that had
called to him; It waa a paper nun. She
wan standing now In front ot the wooden
cow, with a great earthen Jar In her
arms an big a a tub.
"Your cow looked no hot and thirsty,"
Said the paper nun, "that I thought I
Would bring her something to drink."
"You are very kind," Bald the dull, aa
the nun net the Jar down In the road
way. The row an 1 (Tod It and then drank It
all up, for It waa full of milk Instead of
water.
A little Maltese kitten had followed the
nun, and while the cow waa busy drink
ing the milk the kitten crept from behind
the nun's skirts to lap up some spatters
of milk around the bottom of the Jar.
Just then a loud and very peculiar noise
from away down the road I mean the
mantel shelf made the kitten scamper off
for safety.
The nun and the Japanese doll looked
down the road In the direction from which
the sound came. Even the wooden cow
turned her head and the kitten peeped
around from the shelter of the nun's
Mack skirt.
What they saw waa a yellow china
chlckrn coming with a hand organ. When
It rams up to them the chicken stopped,
and It played such a merry tune that the
kitten cam out In the road where It
could bear better.
The nun chipped her hands, for she was
good natured and liked a bit of muslo
row and then; while the Japanese doll
leaned over the rati of his cart and said
to the- chicken, "That Is a very pretty
tune, sir."
Tho doll had Just finished speaking when
tho HDD rone. Its bright rays shone In at
the window and clear across the room.
That made the mantel shelf folk all stop
JiiRt where they were; they never move
about by daylight. And when little girl
Margaret came down stairs there she saw
the Japanese doll and the wooden cow and
the pnper nun and the kitten and the
chlckon with ths hand organ. St. Nicho
las. . Wy of Mr. Owl.
In the Nineteenth Century and After, R.
TkiBworth Smith defends the owl from the
landers to which his solemn face often
gives rise. He gives a number of anec
dotes from his personal experience with
this Interesting creature.
"Owls." he says, "ulways pair for life,
and their affection for one another ts as
marked as that for their young. Some
years sgo I was tapping an rim tree with
my climbing stlrk, hoping to see a Jackdaw
cuttle out of Its hlitlng place. Instead of
that, a brown owl slowly poked Its solemn
looking head out of the hole, and remained
there, looking down upon uio with Its big,
mournful, dreamy eyes.
"I climbed the tree. The owl did not stir
an Inch. I lifted It gently out. Owls, as I
have said, are alwnys thin, not much else
th .n feathers; but tills one. from Its
weight, seemed to be feathers, nnd noth
ing el at all. Its eyes Hlowly gluscd; It
turned over on Its side, and died In my
hand. I blew Its fluffy feathers apart to
see If I could unravel the mystery of its
death. There was one tiny shothole In Its
skull, and on Inquiry I found that some
few weeks before a boy, anxious, like oth
ers of his kind, to 'kill something,' had
fired at a big brown owl which had come
lumbering out of an ivy tree. Its winter
resting place. The bird had quivered as
he struck it, but had not fallen to the
ground, and, escaping for the time, had
evidently been dying by Inches ever since
In the hollow In which I had found it; while
her mate, faithful unto death, had kept
her supplied with mice and rats, several
of which, quite recently killed, I found in
the nest or stored In the hedge below.
"WMlo the female brown owl Is sitting
the male bird usually keeps wntch on nai
adjoining tree, ready to do battle for her
and hers against all comers. Many years
ago. In the parish of Stafford, I was swarm
ing up an elm tree toward a large hole
which seemed likely to contain some treas
ure. When I was a few feet up I felt a
heavy blow In the middle of my bock, as if
my companion had thrown a clod of hard
earth at me. Turning round I saw a
brown owl fly back to his post In an ad
Joining tree, whence he had mado his de
scent upon me. I continued my climb, and
the samo attack was delivered with even
greater force second and a third time. In
the hollow, which at last I reached. I
found the wife sitting In undisturbed re
pose above her young, and the husband,
having, I suppose, sufficiently delivered his
soul by his three charges, and thinking
that thero was nothing further to be done,
and that no harm was meant, now looked
on as calmly as his wife."
Wtial Kermlt Thought of the Snakr.
rresJdent Roosevelt's son, Kermlt, has a
face of the gravest solemnity, which, when
he was a little chap, gave a humorous turn
to everything he said. One day the chil
dren came running into Mr. Roosevelt's
den In the greatest excitement over a snake
they had seen.
Teddy, Jr., was so worked up over the
glitter of the reptile's eyes, as It swayed
Its head, hissed and darted out Its fiery
tongue, that all he could get breath to say
was:
"Oh, papa, It had a head such a head
I wish you could have seen the thing's
head."
"Well," said Mr. Roosevelt, "and didn't
It have a tall 7"
Kermlt, standing wide-eyed beside his
brother, looked Into his father's face and
aid, solemnly:
at was all tall."
An "Awful" Story.
There was once an awful little girl who
had an awful way of saying "awful" to
everything. She lived in an awful house.
In an awful street, In an awful village,
which was an awful distance from every
other awful place. She went to an awful
school where she had an awful teacher,
who gave her lessons out of an awful book.
Kvery day she wus so awful hungry that
does not get over saying "awful" about
she looked awful healthy. Her hat wus
awful small and her feet were awful largo.
She went to an awful church, and her min
ister was an awful preacher. When she
took an awful walk she climbed awful
hills and when she got awful tired she sat
down under an awful tree to rest herself.
In summer she found the weather awful
hot, nnd In winter awful cold. When It
didn't rain there was an awful drouth, and
when an awful drouth was over there waa
an awful rain. So that this awful girl was
all the time In an awful state, and if she
she ate an awful amount of foot, so that
everything she will, by and by, come to an
awful end. And this awful little girl lives
In this awful city.
Grandma's Advice.
Help yourself, help yourself, little boy, do;
Don t wait for others to wait upon you;
Orandtna was holding her afternoon chat,
Knitting and rocalng away as she sat.
"Iiook at the birds, how they build their
own nests.
Watch the brown bees, always tolling their
best.
Put your own hands to the plow If you'd
thrive;
Don't waste your moments in wishing, but
strive."
TTp In Ikt face looked a mischievous elf.
"Don't forget, darling," said uhe, "help
yourself."
Afternoon shadows grew drowsy and
deep;
Grandma was trnnquilly folded In sleep;
Nothing was heard but the old farmhouse
clock,
Plodding along with Its warning tick,
tock.
Out from the pantry there came a loud
crash ;
Pussv Jumped up from the hearth like a
(lash;
Hack tu her chair strode this practical
boy,
Steeped to the ears In Jam, custard and
Joy.
Grinning, he cried, "Please, I've upset the
shelf;
Grandma, I minded; I did help myself."
George Cooper.
Whistled tor the Other Boy.
The small boy was comtng home at a
much later hour than be was wont to be
out alone. It was growing quite dark, and.
as he came through the grove he could be
heard whistling vigorously, if not very
tunefully, long before he reached the
house. The elders exchanged amused
glances.
"What made you whistle so loudly, Wil
lie?" asked one of them as the little fellow
entered.
"Well, you see," answered Willie, sob
erly, "it was pretty dark out there, and I
thought If some boy some little boy
should be coming along he might be afraid,
and It would be less lonesome for him if he
heard me whistle."
Whistling to keep up the courage of some
other boy, says Forward, had brought tho
young traveler bravely home. No one
knows how much the cheery note In the
darkness may help someone else, and al
ways it makes one's own step firmer.
Crows Murk Line.
George Wreake, of Sibley township, near
lie Sueur, Minn., has a pet crow. Hob,
which has been with him four years and
which he claims Is the most Intelligent
and useful bird living.
There Is In the Wreake home an old
heirloom, a beautiful cuckoo clock, brought
from Switzerland, In pioneer days; one of
the kind that have a little door at the
top In front, out of which springs a little
bird every sixty minutes and calls the
hours with a "cuckoo" for every unit of
the hour.
After the crow had been In the family
about two years ho began to mock the
clock cuckoo nnd this finally grew to be
a pasplon with him, so that he hardly
ever failed to give a melodious "caw"
when the clock cuckoo was calling the
hour. Some six months ago, by reason of
an accident to the shelf on which It was
standing, the clock fell and the striking
or cuckoo part was completely broken,
so the door never opens and the bird never
comes out. This appeared to be a groat
puzzle to Bob, for he watched the clock
for several days and seemed to be study
ing deeply. At last, however, he came to
a conclusion and greatly startled the fam
ily by taking up the duty the cuckoo had
previously performed, and counting out
the hours perfectly, at the exact moment,
with a clear call of "caw" for every hour
the clock ought to have struck, one for
1 o'clock, five for 6 o'clock and so on
around the circle. Ho has kept his work
up to the present time and calls every
hour when he can see the face of the
clock as regularly and perfectly as an or
dinary timepiece with ita hammer and
bell.
If a lamp be set at night where the
light falls on the face of the clock, the
crow, though he will doze between times
on his perch, will waken and call every
hour nil night long. More than this, If a
lamp bo kept lighted and a pin be thrust
Into the wooden face of the clock bo that
the minute hand will pass over It, but the
hour hand will catch on it and stop the
clock at any hour of the morning between
4 and 7 o'clock. Bob will notice It as soon
as the clock stops, and raise a shrill caw
ing that Is as good as an alarm clock,
and keep It up till some one gets up and
comes and removes the pin.
Only Kntnral.
"Speaking of animals, in my opinion the
elephant is the cleverest of them all," said
the old circus man. "I remember once,
many years ago, when Jacko, who was
then in my charge, showed me one day
that he could read."
"Oh, come now!" said a listener.
"111 prove It to you in about two min
utes. Well, as 1 was saying, the old fellow
got Into a scrape with the royal Bengal
tiger, and before we could got them
separated he had his trunk pretty badly
damaged. After the scrimmage was over,
Jacko broke loose and started down the
street fast. 'He's goln' wild,' somebody
shouted. "Don't you believe It,' said I.
Now, where do you suppose that elephant
went to?"
"Went to the surgeon's, I suppose. Can't
you get a better yarn "
"No; he didn't go to tha surge in s, el her.
He went straight to a little shop where a
sign read: 'Trunks repaired while you
wait.' Of course, he had made a mistake,
but' what do you expect of a poor dumb
brute?"
Too Dnay to Make a IVoUc.
A Kansas City teacher of a kindergarten
was incapacitated from work one day last
week by the following incident. The sub
ject of the lecture and object Us-on was
animals, birds and then more animals.
"Now, children," said the teacher, "I
want each of you to think of fame ai lmal
or bird and try for a moment to be like
the particular one you are thinking ab .ut,
and make the same kind of nelscs they
are in the habit of making."
Here was the command. Here the finale:
Instantly the schoolroom became a me
nagerie. I. Ions rearing, dogs barking, ll.ds
Kinging and twittering, cows lowing, cilvej
bleating, cats meowing, etc., all in an up
roar and excitement all, with one slnjjlo
exception.
Off in a remotp corner a little feilow
wna sitting perfectly still, appatently In
different and unmindful of all the rest. The
teacher, observing him, approached and
aid:
"Waldo, why are you not taking part
with the other children?"
Waving her off with a deprecating hand
and wide, rebuking eyes, he fervently
whispered:
"h sh sh, teacher sh! I'm a 'ooster,
a. I'm a-layln' a ulg!" Kansas City Star.
