Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-12-08


Then what a good time the children
hadl First they ran about Under the
shady trees, and they picked lowers,i and
don't know what they didn't do. They
played games, and after a while, when
they were tired, they all sat down on the
grass, and one of the gentlemen told q
story, very funny story about "A
Merry Cobbler, and how he lost his shoe
and found his fortune The story was
so funny that it made them all laugh very
much.
After this the minister said ''Now let's
all sing some songs and he took book
out of his pocket that had pretty songs in
| 1t, and they all began to sing; and they
sang one song and then another, all to-
gether, the children and the ladies and
the gentleman.
AS for Donkey John, he seemed to be
enjoying himself very much, eating the
grass, and not much notice did he take of
the funny story or the singing either.
| Quietly he kept walking along, nibbling
the grass close by where they all sat, till
all of a sudden, in the midst of one of
the songs, if John didn't stick his head
right over the minister's shoulder, and
| then such noise such noise as he
made was never heard before
The minister jumped up, he was so
startled, and then he laughed, and all the
children laughed great deal more than
they had before; they couldn't sing any
more, they laughed so much; so the min
lister laid the book down on the ground
and said it was time for dinner.
Then they went to the place where the
baskets were, and where little brook ran
along under the trees, and there they
spread the table cloth on the grass. And
then the dinner-all the nice biscuit and
butter, and the pies and the cakes, and
everybody was so hungry. The children
all thought nothing ever tasted SO good
! before; and then there were the apples
and the nuts, which | had almost forgot
| ten. One of the boys said he thought
there was more fun in cracking the nuts
than eating them but the girls said they
| liked the eating part best And all the
! time while they were so busy with the
nuts some of the ladies and gentlemen
! told such funny stories-one about Nit
/ .Mtting made them all laugh till they
cried.
But after awhile it began to be nearly
/ time to go home, and then the children
! and the ladies went to get their hats, which
/ they had left tied on the little trees. Don
! key John was there eating the grass still.
! His eyes were half shut, and he looked as
! though he didn't care whether he came to
! him. But he looked so good and so gen
/ tie, you would never have thought he did
any mischief in his life.
Oh there now! What was that, the first
| thing Bernard saw? There lying on the
1 grass was the minister's book, all chewed
to pieces n.
"Oh, John, John! What have you
been doingg oh, dear, dear after all I've
| told you. Well, 1 ought to have known
it, Such a bad beast as you are"
And then Bernard told Angie just what
John had done. ooh, Angie" he said
"what shall we dor"
Angie felt very sorry about it, and tears
would come in her eyes, and in Bernard's,
! too, they felt so ashamed to tell the min
/ lister. But Angie said it couldn't be helped
and she would ask her father, when he
went to town, to buy another book just
| like it for the minister,
! Now all the ladies and the children began
! to put on their things; but the minister's
wife kept looking and looking all round,
as though she had lost something.
"What are you looking for?" asked one
of the ladies.
The minister's wife said she couldn't
! find her bonnet she thought she had tied
| it to one of the trees; but she couldn't
! find 1t.
So then everybody began to look all
about everywhere; every one but Bernard,
he was busy putting John into the cart;
! but all the rest kept looking for the bon
net; and after they had been looking and
| looking, some one found it behind bush;
and there it was! all broken and mashed
up, and chewed to a wisp
Angie knew, the minute she saw it,
| that John had dragged it down off the
! tree and chewed it up. II was well he
didn't eat it all up; perhaps it had some
/ pins in it, which he didn't so much enjoy;
! but such looking bonnet as it was
Angie burst right out crying but the
minister's wife laughed, and held up the
bonnet, and made everybody laugh, and
! Angie had to laugh, too. The minister's
/ wife said she thought it was very funny,
| but ii was time to go home, so she straight
! ened out the bonnet and put il on.
And now the sun was going down, and
/ they all started with the empty baskets to
! go down the road On the way home,
! Bernard and Angie scolded John, that he
/ had behaved so badly; but John trotted
along, and didn't seem to care at all.
"Just to think of it, John, said Bernard,
/ .'to eat up the minister's book, and the
mistresss bonnet, and then to scare the
minister besides. | don't know what |
shall do to you"
! After the picnic, Bernard worked part
| of the time every day in his little garden
| but the summer was nearly over and then
/ after astime, the autumn came, and moth
/ ing would grow in the garden, and there
would be no grass for John to eat. Every
! day he used to wish he could do some
thing to get money to help his father and
mother. r- 2, .-
Well, one day gentleman came TO
/ Al o;, IsttIn nd ba gniI Rprpar1
you have donkey and nice little cart,
I haven't you !" and Bernard said, "Yes,
he had. "Well," said the gentleman,
whose name was Alvord, Z" want some
boxes brought over from Brownville, two
miles of, you know You bring them for
me in the cart, and | will pay you,
Bernard said he would, and that he
should like to do errands for people, and
earn a little money. So he harnessed up
John and off they started for Brownville
Bernard sat in the cart on the seat which
he had made, for he had begun to teach
John TO draw it and to go along as he
ought.
And John behaved that day like the
very best donkey in the world; he must
have understood that they were on inn
portant business. But along the road he
trotted and Bernard sat on the seat and
held the reins, and John didn't once
stop OF jump until they came to Brown.
Vile Then Bernard got the boxes and
started for home. And as they came
along the road Bernard met Squire Smith,
and he stopped'to tell the Squire that he
was doing an errand with his cart and
donkey for Mr.. Alvord and that he should
like to do all the errands for people that
he could, And Donkey John stood still
while Bernard said this, but he held up
his ears little, as if he would,say; "Yes,
Bernard and mean to do a great deal. "
Then after Bernard had talked with
Squire Smith little while, and told him
how his father had got the rheumatism
again, they trotted along and pretty soon
they met Squire Preston he stOpDed 10