Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 December 1880 — The Strawberry and the Peach. [ARTICLE]

The Strawberry and the Peach.

A FABLE. “What a delicious day this is, ’to be sure!” said a beautiful large scarlet strawberry,-on a fine afternoon in July, as she coyly peeped out from cool, dark-green leaves. “I am afraid it is going to rain!” grumbled a luscious peach that was ripening high upon the wall oyer the strawberry’s head. And the peach was right, for pn—ently there came on a drenching shower, which made them l»oth glad to hide behind their sheltering leaves After the rain there canae out,' as usual, a whole army of slugs and snails, seeking what they "should devour. And a great white slug, spying the strawberry’s red dress beneath her leaves, crawled up to her, and began to be exceedingly rude. “Oh, dear me!” moaned the poor strawberry, “that nasty, greedy slug has bitten a piece out of my side!” “That is what comes of living on the ground!” jeered the peach. "Now I am up safe on the wall, out of the way of those vile crawling and creenngthings!” 1 But presently the rain cleared quite away, and the hot sun came out again and shone gloriously.. Then a black and yellow wasp who was roving about looking after a meal, caught sight of the peach, who was sunning herself against the wall, and With a buzz of joy he flew toward her, and fastening on to her, drove his nippers deep into her jucy flesh. "Oh!” screamed the peach, “this cruel wasp is nipping a bit out of my face!” But the wasp did not care one straw for the shrieks of the t>each, and he did not fly away until he had bitten a large hole in her round, rosy cheek. “O neighbor Strawberry!” sobbed the peach, “my beauty is quite gone. T was wrong to reproach you: for now I find that I was not out of the reach of misfortune myself!” We may gather from this that no station is so humble or so exalted ea to be free from trials and troublss. And we should never reproach our neighbor with misfortune that is not his fault, inasmuch as we know not how soon calamity may overtake our selves. " .

In an article on Miss Amy Bradley’s work at Wilmington, N. C. the New England Journal of Education says: “There is hardly an element of the new Southern civilization that is springing so fair all through these states that is not included in the work of this admirable woman, who has become to hundreds of little children and their parents a veritable mother of souls.”