Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1872-09-26
STRAWBERRIES AND SCRIP.
BY SOPHIA MAY.

BY SOPHIA MAY.
One warm morning, two little girls,
with great yellow basket between them,
were picking strawberries in beautiful
garden.
"What a blazing hot sum- groaned
Mary, from the depth of a speckled
shaker.
go dear, yes i' responded Phebe, "I
should think it would melt, and drop
right out of the sky. And Mrs. Town
send won't give us but three cents a box
for picking SO there r'
"Well, it doesn't make any difference
to her how hot it is, you know" said
Mary, bitterly. "She has blinds to her
house."
eyes, and sits there eating ice-cream,
l s'pose," returned little Phebe land
gets seventy-five cents box, but
wouldn't give us more'n three cents if we
should faint to pieces out here, and be
picked up dead I''
go, she isn't eating ice-cream this time
O. day." said Mary, who always kept up
her spirits by laughing at Phebe.
"Well, she had some last night. seri.
Gus, truly, black and bluely, for saw
her through the door. Ny mother doesn't
have ice-cream. She eats this slip stuff
you boil in kettle"
"Slip stuff ? o, you mean rye pud,
ding. She dosen't eat that all the time,
you goosie !"
"But she eats brown bread, Mary Pen
ny, and she's great deal better woman
than Mrs. Townsend, and ought to have
honey, and picked lines, and mincepie
every single day she lives"
"Well, there, Phe, she can't bear pick
led lines, you child; nor honey, either.
But there are nice things she does like,
and it's too wicked bad she can't have
'em, when she isn't bit well, and has to
sew so hard; and that's what | always
said p exclaimed brown-eyed, thoughtful
Mary, growing earnest. "Some people
are very different from Mrs. Townsend.
Now, there's Mrs. Stlllman if she didn't
live so far off, and we could pick for her
why, once she gave Angie Connor all
she got for three boxes, and told her to
keep it, for it was hard work to pick in
such blazing sun And Angie took the
money, and bought her mother a great
piece of salmon with it"
go my" cried Phebe. LET us take
the money Mr.. Potter gives US, and not
let Mrs. Townsend have it, and buy our
mamma great big piece of-of-"
The rattle-brained child finished the sem
tence with needless jerk of her elbow,
which almost upset her basket.
"Why, Phebe Penny l-Hark Was
that you standing right behind me?"
"No, indeed Put back your shaker.
Here am. Don't you see me?"
But l heard somebody" persisted
Mary, looking about in a startled way.
Yes, and there, not far off, was Mrs.
Townsend, walking beside row of currant
hr1ch chnC Acl, r. h. etn
Mary had just heard on the gravelpath,
close by her side?
"Phebe," whispered she, as the lady's
figure disappeared behind a syringa
tree, "Phebe Penny, she was right here
a minute ago, and heard what you
said r'
Ibid she | What'd / say ?" replied
careless Phebe, with provoking inditfer-
ence.
"Don't you know, child You said,
Let's steal some of the strawberry money;
that's just what you saId."
Phebe only laughed, and picked a peb-
BILE out of her leaky shoe She never took
things to heart as Mary did; and as for
that little speech, what if Mrs. Townsend
had overheard it "She'd only think
children were foolisher than she s'posed
for"
But when they went into the house with
their basket full of berries, Mary's whole
face was dyed crimson, and she could not
raise her eyes for shame.
"Move your chairs up to the drop
table," said Mrs. Townsend, land help
me take off the hulls."
That was what she always said, but
Mary fancied that her voice was even
sharper than usual. They all three hulled
the berries in silence, and then Mrs.
Townsend herself took them off the large
white platters, and arranged them in the
boxes. She never allowed any one else
to do it, and Mary always noticed that
she was very sure to put the largest ber-
ries on top.
''They are unusually nice to-day" said
she, as she placed the boxes carefully in
a market-basket, and gave the basket to
the little girls. "And you may tell MIR.
Potter that / expect half a dollar for
them, and am not willing to take cent
less"
"Yes'm," murmured Phebe; and then
they trudged off down the dusty street to
the variety store, where everything was
kept, from shoestrings and peppermints
to sugar-cured hams. Mr.. Potter was in
a very genial mood, called them nice lit
| tie girls, gave them each stick OF candy,
and said he was perfectly willing to pay
fifty cents a box for such strawberries as
theirs. He took the eight boxes out OF
the market basket, and put back in their
places eight empty ones, and then gave
Mary a two-dollar bill for Mrs. Town
send.
81 will send her the rest tomorrow"
said he
The children sauntered leisurely along,
nibbling candy, and swinging the basket
between them. The sun was cooling his
face behind cloud, and there was really
some comfort in walking Mary forgot
Phebe's unfortunate speech in the garden,
and thought how nice it was that their
work was done for the day, and they
could have the rest of the time to do what
they pleased.
When they reached Mrs. Townsend's
that lady had gone out riding, and there
was no one at home to take the basket
but old Kate Maloney, the maid of all
work
"The money is in one of the boxes" "
said Mary; but Kate might or might not
have heard, for just then she was open
ing the oven door to look at the custards
which were baking in white cups.
The day went on as all days do. The
sun came out of the cloud, and finished
ripening some more strawberries; and
next morning Mary and Phebe were again
in the beautiful garden, picking into the
same yellow basket. Afterward they sat
with Mrs. Townsend beside the drop