Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 April 1893 — CHILDREN'S COLUMN. [ARTICLE]

CHILDREN'S COLUMN.

A DEPARTMENT FOR LITTLE BOYS AND CIRLS. Something that Will Interest the Juvenile Members of Every Household Quaint Actions and Bright Sayings of (Lite Children. Dollyls Bed Time. The sun has set, We must go In— ' My precious pet, You’re dressed so thin! fbe other doll, that mamma keeps., • Is now quite still and sweetly sleeps. Safe on my Ittp, All quiet lie. While your nice cap I smoothly tie; I’ll fix your pretty ruffled gown, lhen in your cradle lay you down. The cricket sings Its “Cheep, cheep, cheep;” The song that brings The soundest sleep Dear pussy close beside you lies And Carlo’s here so old and wise. I hear the call „ L,-. I must not mis 3 My sweetest doll. ' v Take one more kiss; My mamma waits and 1 go right To my crib, too; good nlgh't! good night! —Nursery Days.

Bee Maidens. Near the little town of La Ferte, In France, there is an apple tree which bears only imperfect blossoms; and the fact, has given rise to a very beautiful custom observed among the maidens of the village. When springtime comes, and the apple tree hails the glorious time with a glad burst of blossoms, the girls of the place arm themselves with gay ribbons and perfect blossoms from their favorite trees, and go singing to the' lonely tree which has produced only the imperfect blossoms. Each girl then kisses a cluster of the imperfect blossoms, and in so doing dusts them with the pollen from the perfect blossoms. She then ties a distinguishing ribbon near to the cluster she had dusted. The tree looks very gay when thus decorated, with the pink blossoms smiling up to heaven, and the dainty ribbons fluttering in the perfumeladen air; but the hCst .of.it is when the petals fall like “summer, snow, ” and the little apples begin to shape. Then the maidens pluck off all but the best fruit, and let that take all the strength of the tree, so that the apples grow famously and come to perfection. And now i 3 seen the strange part of the affair; the apples, instead of being all of one kind, are as different as the maidens who kissed their blossoms, the fact being that the apple is exaetly like the apple on the tree from which.the pollen-bearing blossom was takeit '"gkf bn ; this one tree will be seen round,' rosy-cheeked apples, long yellow apples, juicy apples, mealy apples, dainty little apples, and “monstrous” big apples. Each maiden has the apple she liked the most. —Yankee Blade. A Portuguese Kipling. A Portuguese boy in a Malacca public school was told to write a composition telling all he knew about the English. This is what he wrote, the spelling being amended except in the one marvelous word “docut,” which means dogcart: “English is very proud and very white. They are mostly governors, schoolmasters, policemen, magistrates, and a few are lawyers' and doctors and banks and many other things. They never work. They wear hats and boots and ride in docuts. Some English goes to church, but only once. They are clever tennis and ball games and drinks much brandy and other things. Some are married. They eat a much quantity of many things. One of their great delights smoking cigars and shooting and raining coming home in it. English is clever at all things. My father says Portuguese is black and ugly and catch fish, but English is white and pretty and eats fish what is caught. Father is black and ugly, but making nets. English is very fierce. If anybody does something they swear- dam. English women is few. They ride and play the music and sing and make faces. It, is easy no work nor little houses. I don’t know any more English. That is all I know.”

“Something Better.” “Here comes Old Simon,” cried Ben Davis, as he and his schoolmates met an aged grocer, who having no horse was obliged to deliver his groceries himself. “The old fellow is carrying a bag of beans somewhere,” cried Fred Brown. “Look! look! he has spilled half of them, and they are all getting a good wetting in the snow. Ha! ha! What fun! Do see the old man try to pick them up. He’s about as blind as a mole, too.” “Let’s give the bag another shake,” laughed Bob Maggs, and set the rest of the beans a-flyin’.” “Oh, no,” cried Sammie Beers,“let’s do something better than that Let’s run and help him pick up the beans. He isn’t to blame for being old and blind.” “Course he isn’t,” cried Ben. “Who said he was?” “Nobody,” answered Fred; “but I say, let’s help him load up that bag again.” Then the boys told the, grocer what they meant to do. They began their task at once, and in a few moments had returned the greater part of the beans to the bag.—-Harper’s Young People. 1

Childish I'rattle. “I had my picture taken to-day,” said Wallie. “Well, did you stand still so that it might be a good one?” “No,” said Willie; “I wanted to see how I looked moving.” “There’s some things I can’t understand,” said Hal. “If I get my feet wet I get a cold in,-my head, but I can wet my head twice a day and never geta cold in my feet.” Wee Miss —l hate that little girl! Mamma—You should not hate anybody; my dear. Wee Miss—Well, If I mustn't hate her, I’ll try not to, but.l,guess it’ll make my head ache. “What did you learn that’s new in school to-day, Bob?” “I learned that the earth, is round, like a ball.” “That isn't new. Columbus knew that.” “Well, it was new to me,” said Bob.—Harper’s Young People. A bright little 5-year-old of Jacksonville, Fla., was given a nickel to

put In the collection box a few Sundays since, and tossing it up in her hand turned to her grandmother and asked if she should put it in “heads or tails. ” Little Dot —Grown folks don’t care anything for circuses. Little Dick—Yes they do. Little Dot —No, they don’t. They only goes so as to take the childrens. Little DickYes, that’s what they say; but the} never take any books along to read. —Good News. Mother: Where have you been, Johnny? Johnny: Down by th’ ole mill watchin’ a man paint a picture. Mother: Didn’t you bother him? Johnny: Naw! He seemed to be real interested in me. Mother: Whatflid he say? Johnny: He asked me if I didn’t think ’twas most dinner time, and you’d miss me.—Yankee World. A little North Side boy, who had beep the pet of the household during all the years of his brief existence, was considerably disgruntled upon the to him unexpected arrival of a baby sister with a strong soprano voice, which she exercised pretty constantly. “I know why God sent Helen,” he said one day to his mamma after the christening. “She cried so much he couldn’t stand her.” —Chicago Post.