St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-08-18
for the Children.
GrUh1iyi0'!S .SfOrH.

wv hen l was little gIr!, BEGAN
Grandma Hollis.
What :" exclaimed Ca!l, ~toppina in
the middle of Il SomcrSault, and looking
at his mranlmothcr, with lis face upside
down between his two feet.
Il WAS "oing to tell you Il story about
when | was little "irl,' said She.
Carl was ON his feet by this time
II didn't know you ever wa- Il little
9irl," he exclaimed in a tone Of aston
>hmcnt.
"What did yon think - ne a~krl
LAUGHING.
Why, / thought yon were alway~
Grandma Hollis" he sui.
"Wcll, | wasn't" She replied. Il
WAS a little Girl one, no hiG@rr than
your cousin jamie
''And did You wear Your spc'taclc~
and your cap then - asked Carl and
was your name Grandma ~
mo, indeed" said "ranlmn. Il
looked Just like any other little airI, and
my name was llrtty Rice. lived with
my father and mother Just ~ You do
with yours. had two older hrothcr@,
but no sister.
Our house WAS very different from tbs
one.
There were no stoves then, but at one
end Of the LONG kitchen there was y great
fireplace. 1t was 81 lar@c that Great
logs could lie across the andrunS, and
the bri@nt blazr lighted the whole room
in the evening. My brother, and | oft
On roasted our apples and rhe,inuIs
there.
Over the fire hun" Il large iron thin
called 4 crane. My mother used 10 hang
the tca-kcltlc Oh it, and swim" it over
the blaze, TO heat the water. She boil
ed meat there, too.
liked to see her lift the kettles and
| hang them on the hooks and then swing
them over the fire. | often asked her To
let me do it, bnt she said, 80, you must
wait till you are older AMI hi"ger.'
One day my mother went 10 visit 4
sick nci"hbor. 1t wa- Il Ion. way TO
tue sicl, woman's house, though she WIS
our nearest neighbour 50 my mother
left me ut home alone and told me not
to 90 near the fire.
But after sic had conc, thoueht it
would he Il nice time TO play with the
crane | could not find the tca-kcttIr or
the great dinncr-pot, for my mother put
them away somewhere.
While was hunting for them, | hap
pcncd To see 4 basket filled with tow,
that my mother used about her spinning.
| thought that would do Just rs well rs
the tca-kcttlr, and better Tor | conld
play that the tow WAS puldn", and |
was going to boil it.
- carried the basket To the fire
p. &c, and after good deal of trouble,
managed to get it hung ON the crane.
Then | swung it over the fire.
But what do you think
Instead Of hanging there like the tea
kettle or the dinncr-pot, the basket and
the tow began to burn up! O. how
they did bum.
And | was frightened half out of my
wits, and wondered what mother would
do when she came home and found il
out.
/ was miserable enough the rest of
the afternoon, can tell You.
by and by my mother came in, and
She kissed me, and then bean To smell
the burnt tow.
What have you been doing, IIrty ?
said she.
Then | ciicI as hard as | could, and
told her all about it. She was very sor-
ry, but she punished me. and | knew
that | deserved it. | never disobcycd
her by playing with the crane again"
Carl thought that was Il pretty rood
story. He asked his grandmother ever
so many questions about ii, and forgot
to turn another somersault that day.
When his papa came home TO tea,
Carl climbed into his lap and told him
the story.
"My grandma wasn't always grand
ma SAID he, but she was Il little girl
And her mother went Il visiting ana told
her not 10 get into the fire, and she did,
; And she played with the crane.
And she found her mothers toes in Il
basket, and she burned them all up.
And pretty soon her mother came in.
and BEGAN TO snuff up her nose, and said,
why, grandma Hollis, what's burning g
And lletty cried, and her mother whip
ped her"
They all laughed at Carls story, but
grandma laughed more than any one
else.
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