Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1852-02-04

A WoyDERFuL HISTORY
Showing how the Hare ran a race with
the Porcupine, and how the former J
~ lfls mfserabiy persisted.

lsf = 1A4tD rro,f. r1A1I-DruTsc
1s This legend IS laughable to relate, and
yet true withal. For my grandfather,
whenever he told ID. was wont to say IT
must be so, my son, Otherwise how could
I ten isithe57S ssAnd itiwas5in this wise
that. the thing came to pass, z oas i.ilsel
.ItMas q far Sunday morn before hsr9
veststide, about buckWheat bloom. q The
sun shope btigh in. the sky, the morningl
/ wind blew warm over the, stubble,- the
larks- sang in the air. the bees hummed
| in the1 bnekwheat, rail- mature rejoieed--7
land with it the Porcupine; For the Porl
cupiRc stood before bis door, with folded
farms, gazing out towards, the morning
wind, and trilled (quinkeIeehde) "a little
song, in a msiinefneither better nor worse
than that of any, porcuplne, when he sings:
1 And while he thus hummeds 1T came into.
his head that, while his wife washed and
dried the, children, he would take a little
walk in the field, and see how his turnips
were getting on. For. the turnips grew
near his house, and as he ate of them,l
with his family, he called them his own.
Said and done. The Porcupine shut the
door and went his way TO the field. And
at no great distance from home, as he
was going through the bushes which
grow in the field which lies near the road
which runs by the rock which is just be-
fore the hedge which is not far from the
brook which runs behind the slope which
lies below the spot where the tUrnips
grow, he met the Hare, who had gone
| forth on similar business, -namely, to look
after his cabbages. And as the Porcu-
pine saw the Hare, he civilly babe him
good morning. But the Hare (who ON
his own meadow was quite the gentleman,
and murderously polite at that answered
the Porcupine nothing but said to him,
with the sneering air Of nobleman,
why are you strolling around here so
early in the morning?
Taking walk answered the Porcu-
pine.
Wall, indeed' laughed the Hare ; 'it
seems to me that you might better use your
legs for something else
This answer aggravated the Porcupine,
who was crooked by nature, being some
what bent in the legs, and not straight in
the soul and he replied accordingly,
You think, then, that your legs are worth
more than mine p
That 1 do answered the Hare
THAT remains to be proved quoth
Porcupine, for bet that in race beat
you
'Fudgev replied the Hare; with your
crooked legs =? But l take the bet-what
is it?'
"A louisd'or and bottle of wine, said
the Porcupine.
Done! cried the Hare. 'Cut and run,
Pm readyp
Let me first go, replied the Porcupine,
and get my breakfast
When the Porcupine reached home, he
said, Wife, dress yourself, and come to
the field, for l am to run race with the
Hare for gold louisd'or and bottle of
wine 7
Man, man ? she answered, art thou
mad Q What race with the Hare'
Hold your tongue, wife, replied the
Porcupine. Ladies should never meddle
with their husbands business. So dress
and come =
And when they were in the field he
said, See, we will run our race on this
ploughcd ground, between the burrows,
where neither can see the other. Now
you must stand at the one end of the fur
row, SO that, when the Hare comes racing
up on the other side, you may cry out
Here am p And this she did like a
good wife.
And as the Porcupine came on the
ground, behold the Hare was there
Whats the word o asked Fur-Cat.
Cut and rum replied Porcupine.
And off the Hare went, like storm
wind, over the field. But the Porcupine
ran exactly three steps, and then turned
back. And as the Hare came full pace
to the other end, there was Porcupine,
his wife, and she cried, Lo, here am ~
And the Hare stared and wondered not
little, thinking that it was Porcupine
himself; for l forgot to tell you that the
Porcupine's wife is the very image of her
husband.
The Old Nick must have helped you,
snapped the Hare. Here goes again
And off he shot like the storm wind,
till his ears lay fiat; but Mrs. Porcupine
lay still, And as he came to the other
end, her Husband cried, Here we are
again. how arc you?'
Then the Hare began to swear like a
J Yiscount, and snarled, Try it again
Take it easy, son 7 answered the Por-
cupine, AS often as you like, for aught
l care =
: So the Hare ran four.and seventy times,
and every other heat tho Porcupine cried
Here we are again but the odd runs
were called of by Madame. And on the
seventy heat. the Hare dropped dead
l in the furrow, But the Porcupine took
his bottle Of wine, gave his wife the lous-
5 dor, and they joyfully went their way
homewards,-and still live there, for
! aught know
, This was the great race between the
4 Porcupine and the Hare, which came off
. on the Buxthuder Heath and to all who
read the history, wish Joy. The moral