Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 May 1903 — THE PATH THE CALF MADE. [ARTICLE]

THE PATH THE CALF MADE.

One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home, aa good calves should; But made a trail all bent aakew, A crooked trail, a* all calves do. Since then two hundred years ha wm fled. And, I Infer, the calf it dead. But still he left behind his trail, And thereby bang* my moral tale. The trail wa* taken up next day By a lone dog that paaaed that way i And then a wlae bell-wether abeep Pursued the trail o’er vale and steep, And drew the flock behind him, too, As good bell-wethers always do. And from that day o’er hill and glade Through those old woods a path was made; And many men wound In and out, And dodged, and turned, and bent about And ottered word* of righteous wrath Because ‘twaa such a crooked path. But still they followed—do not laugh— The first migrations of that calf, And through this winding woodway atalked, Because he wabbled when he walked. This forest path became a lane, That bent, and turned, and turned again} This crooked lane became a road. Where many a poor horse with hts load Toiled on beneath the burning sun, And traveled tome three miles in one. And thus, a century and a half They trod in the footsteps of that calf. The years passed on In swiftness fleet, The road became a village street; And this, before meD were aware A city’a crowded thoroughfare; And soon the central street was this Of a renowned metropolis; And men two centuries and a half Trod In the footsteps of that calf. Each day a hundred thousand rout Followed the zigzag calf about; And o’er his crooked journey went The traffic of a continent. A hundred thousand men were led By one calf near three centuries dead. They followed still his crooked way, And lost one hundred years a day; For such reverence is lent To well established precedent. A moral lesson this might teach, Were I ordained and called to preach; For men are prone to go It blind Along the calf paths of the mind, And work away from sun to sun To do what other men have done. They follow in the beaten track, And out, and io, and forth, and back, And still their devious course pursue, To keep the path that others do. But how the wise old wood gods laugh Who saw the first primeval calf! Ah! many things this tale might teach, But I am not ordained to preach. —Sam Walter Fosa.