Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-03-19
llinnie's Pet.

ohce, When was IN Eng -.
friends who lived in pleasant part sisl.ed some
try. They had fine old house, filed with an ffesa-
Of beautiful things, bat nothing indoors Was 80
delightful as the wide green lawn, with its SMOOTH
soft turf and the wide garden, with its labsrnoms
and lilies, and yioIets, and host on hosts of roses
There was pretty silvery fountain playing among
the flowers, so close to a little bower Of honey
suekles that the butterflies fiuttering about them
had to be very careful or the FIRST they knew, they
got their wings soaked through with spray.
| About the house and grounds were all kinds OF
beautiful pets-grey hounds, and spanlels ana lap
dogs and silver pheasants and sweet-singng caas-
res but here, in this pleasantest spot right under
the honeysuckle-bower, all alone by himself. IN q
large green cage, sat an ugly gray owl lie was
the crossest, surliest old fellow ever saw IN all my
hfe.- l tried to make friends with him-but It was
no use; he never treated with decent civility
and one day, when was Offering him bit Of cake.
he caught my finger and bit it till it bled; and |
| said to Mrs. M, n
What do You keep that cross old creature fors'
noticed that my friend looked sad, when she
answered me, and said
1--WE only keep him for our dear little Minnie's
| sake--he was her pet"
Now, / had never heard Of her little Minnie
SO Lasked about her, and was told this story
. Minnie was sweet, gentle little girl who loved
everybody, and every creature that God bad made
and everybody and every creature she met loved
her. Rough people were gentle to her, and cross
people were kindly she could go straight up to
vicious horses, and fierce dogs, and spiteful cats
lsl.-- on1
don't think that anything could resist her loving
ways, unless it were mad bull, or setting hen.
One night, as Minnie lay awake in her little bed.
in the nursery, listening to summer rain. she
heard a strange futtering and scratching 10 the
chimney, and she called to her nurse, and said,
" Biddy, what is that iunny noise up thssss'
Biddy listened a moment and said sure its
away-so go to sleep wild ye my dlarlingl'' ~ -.
Minnie tried to go to sleep. lks geod girl. sat
after awhile she heard that sound ssaii, ass
presently something came firs.esis Sild scratching
right down into the CRATE and out into the rooms
Minnie called again to Biddy; but Biddy was tired
and sleepy, and rouidzf wake up. 1t was so dark
that Minnie could see nothing and she felt little
strange bat she was no coward and as the bird
seemed very quiet, she went to sleep again after
awhile, and dreamed that great foeks of rocks
were flying over her, slowly, slowly, and making
the darkness with their jet black wings.
She woke early in the morning, and the first
thing she saw, was great gray owl, perched on
the bedpost at her feet staring at her with his big
round eyes. He did not ly of when she star,ei
up in bed, but only rufed up MS feathers, and said
- Whov Minnie had never seen an owl before;
but she was not afraid and she answered merriIy.
" You'd better say Who why who are you
yourself, you queer old Wonder-eyes'"
Then she woke Biddy, who was dreadfully fright
ened and called up the bntler, who caught the
owl, and put him in cage.
This strange bird was always rather iil-naturei
and gruf, to everybody but Minnie-hs seemed to
take her kindly from the 6rst. So he was called
Minnie's pet and nobody disputed her right to
him. He would take food from her little hand and
never peck her; he would perch on her shoulder
and let her take him an airing round the gar
den and sometimes be would sit and watch her
study her lesson, and as wise and solemn as learn
ed professor, till he would fall to winking and
blinking. and go of into sound Sleep
Minnie grew really fond OF this pet, grave and
unsociaf as he was; but she always called him by
the funny name she had given him at first Oid
Wossder-eyes r. s-s.r
In the winter time little Minnie was taken Ill.
and grew worse and worse, till her friends all knew
that she was going to leave them very soon Dar-
ling little Minnie was not sorry to die. As she
had loved everybody and every creature God had
made, she could not help loving God and she was
not afraid TO go to Hin when He called her.
The day before she died, she gave all her pets to
her brothers and sisters but she said to her mother
:" You take care of poor old Wonder-eyes-for
he'll have nobody to love him when am gone"
The owl missed Minnie very much whenever
he heard any one coming he would cry Who
and when he found it wasn't his friend, he would
rufie up his feathers, and look as though he felt
himself insulted. He grew erosser and crosser
every day, till there would have been no bearing
with him. if it had not been for the remory of Min
ME.
The next time / saw the old owl sitting glarinr
growing on his perch. understood why he was SO
but so did the finger he Ma had os a aiIy 10.
venture very near, TO tell him how sorry was for
him. When think of him now, / don't blame
him, but pity him for his erossness; and always
say to myself-"Poor Old Hondsr-eyes''-
Pilgrim