Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 October 1892 — FOR OUR LITTLE FOLKS. [ARTICLE]

FOR OUR LITTLE FOLKS.

A COLUMN OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO THEM. What Children Hen Done, YVbat They Are Doing, and What They Should Do to Put Their Childhood Days. What the School Belt Say*. , It la wonderful what unlike thlugs The school bell says to the boys when It rings! For Instance, the laggard, who drags along On his way to school, hears this sort o/ song: Oh—suz—hum! Why did I come? Study till four—books are a bore! Ob, how I wish I could run off and fish! See! There's the brook, Here’s line and book. What’s that you say? Hurry up—eh? Oh—hum—ho! —' ' . S’poso I must go, Btudy till four. Books are a bore! Then the boy who lores to be faithful and true, Who does what his parents think best kC should do, Comes bravely along With tacheV and bocks. The breeze In his whistle, the sun in his lpoks. And these are tho thoughts that well up like a song. As he bears the old bell, with Its faithful ding-dong: Cling, clang, cling— I’m so glad I could ting! Heaven so blue, . Duty to do! ft Birds In the air, • >*>«*’- Everything fair, , Even the boy Finds study a, Joy! When my work’s done * I’m ready for fun. Keener my play For the tasks of the day, Cilng. clang, cling— I'm so glad I could sing! Tfc*je are the songs which the two boys heard. When the school-bell was ringing, word foi word. Which do you think was tho truer song? Which do you hear as you're trudgin'] along? • Don’t be a laggard!—far better. I say. To work when you work, and play when you play! —Exchange.

A Fish Story. Papa—Did you catch fish? Little Son—Only one, but it was w bln one.” 41 Very big?" “Oh, awful big." “Did it get away?” “No. but it ’most brokethe >pol» pullin’ it mit." “Well, well! Where is it?" “In my pocket”—Good News. Every Attention. “Mr. Schoolmaster, 1 hope you will treat this little boy of mine exactly as if he were your own son.” “Ob, yes; certainly; I will give him a whipping every day, since you desire it.”—Tid-Blts. A Friend In Aeed. How often we find that when misfortune befalls us we are deserted by many whom we imagined were our most devoted friends, and upon whom we had strong claims fipr sympathy and help. From those wO)know little, we naturally expect little, or nothing. But here in the animal world we have an extraordinary example of disinterested friendship in the time of need. A poor sparrow by some mischance had lost the sight of both eyes. Few people have much to say for the sparrow, he eats the young seedlings just as they are coming up in the garden, so the gardener prosecutes him, and the farmer hates him because he makes raids on the corn. Now this poor blind bird would have had a very poor ohance against tho world; without his eyesight he must speedily have come to grief, but a hen, upon whom the sparrow hrad no sort of claim, took upon herself the full charge of him, guarded him jeab ously under her wing, brought him food, and protected him from his brother sparrows, who would soon have killed him. We may learn a good deal from this hen, we who are only too ready to turn away from sorrow and misfortune, because whan wo ourselves are prosperous and happy they might cloud and disturb our peaceful horizon for a time.

An Astonished Fox. A gentleman In Meaford, Ontario, told me that when a boy at home he used to be greatly amused with the hunting stories of an old man called Nehemiah, or ’Miah. writes Marshall Saunders, in Good News. ’Miah would come to the house, take up his station in the kitchen, then the children of the family would gather round him for a tale of the woods. ’Miah was a good mimiej Rnß would accompany his storfeA With appropriate gestures. Upon one occasion he told the boys that be went into the woods, not with his gun, but with hands In his pockets, just strolling about for a lark. There was a light snow on the ground, and he soon came upon the recent tracks of a fox. Near by was an uprooted tree, its roots stuck up high in air. ’Miah crept (and he dropped down on the kitchen floor, and showed the boys how he went) behind the roots, and began to chirp and squeak like a mouse.

Now a nice, plump, young mouse is a dainty morsel for a fox, and by and by ’Miah saw Mr. Fox coming back. ’Miah showed the children how the fox came, trotting nimbly along, then stopping to listen, turning his head wisely from side to side, and holding up one paw. To see ’Miah on hands and knees, going across the kitchen and snuffing the air, always convulsed the children. He would be fox and mouse alternately. The mouse would squeak, the fox would advance. Finally Mr. Fox crept lightly up to the tree trunk and looked. Probably his mouth was opened to receive the mouse, when ’Miah opened his mouth and sprang up with a terrific yell. The astounded fox fell over and over on the ground as if he were shot ’Miah always vowed that it took the fox several seconds to recover himself enough to run away. And then he looked so sheepish. A trick had been played on him! ’Miah sat on the ground and laughed and laughed. He always assured the chil* dren that he had twice as much fun as he would have had if he had taken his gun and shot the fox.