Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-12-06
SADIE's THANKSGIVING.
BY LUCIA cHAaE BELL.


chairs, and the roses and geraniums in the
window looked brighter and thrifter
than ever, towering up above the trans
parent whiteness all about them. Johnny
and Davy were away shelling corn for old |
Mrs. Nelf; little three year old Kit was
taking her afternoon nap, curled up |
among the pillows in the bedroom by her |
sick mother, and the whole house seemed |
delightfully."- clean and quiet, for won |
der. Sadie kept blithely humming,
Through lanes and hedgerows pearly," |
while she put away her ironing blanket, |
and put the teakettle on, and rolled out |
the light biscuits for supper. 1t always |
seemed as If she could "smell fresh hay"
when she sang that old song, and some |
how IL always came into her head when |
she felt glad. You see, Sadie had made |
up her mind to have Thanks |
giving when the day came round. Nobody |
In Budgeton ever did have Thanksgiv- |
ing dinner that she knew of, and the day
there was almost sure to be muddy
day, with scowling sky, and chilly,
damp ar, that penetrated to your very
bones, in the most dlscouraging man.
ner.
But Sadie had read about the good old
fashioned Thanksgivings in NewEngland,
when according to the Jolly stories
about them, the country folks kept the
day with hearty cheer, and the clouds
sent down glorious "slcighin' SHOWS"
and the preacher thundered out good
solid orthodox sermons, and the people
sang with zest that told of real thank
fulness and the near prospect of generous
big dinners.
"And guess we've got some things to
be thandulfo for, she said to herself, busily
tripping to and fro at her work. cold
Mrs. Bennett said | was going to have
felon on my finger, and l didn't And
poor mothers old aunty, that talked of
coming to live with us, didn't. We'd
have been glad to have her come, you
know" and Sadie whispered confidential.
ly to the biscuit-roller, "but she's a poor
sick old lady, and mothers sick too. and
we were 'fraid we couldn't keep her nice,
and warm, and comfortable Then the
groceryman gave Johnny an old hen that
got sick in the coop at the grocery, so he
couldn't sell her, and we nursed her up
till she got to be good as new, and laws
an egg now every day. Another thing,
we haven't had any equinoctial storm
= this year, to speak of, and the roof leaks.
And the very best thing we've got to be
glad of is about mother; because the doc
tor says she'll get well sure; and besides,
she doesn't have that mis- able pain nights,
now, at all. I guess she needn't ever
work much if she does get well. Rob
and I'll keep her just to love and
look at as Mrs. Bennett says about her
two worked foot stools"
To be sure, Sadies reasons for thank.
fulness might have been little bewilder-
ing to anybody else, but they were clear
enough to her mind; and when she
thought about the last one, such happy,
B loving light shone over her round, freckled
face that 1t seemed almost beautiful. As
o1,a ~ Il
worked out in the country, might man.
age to get a turkey, or at least a nice fat
chicken, and some pumpkins, and Jug
OF cream, and those would be orthodox
materials for q splendid THANKSGIVING
feast. She had just "done up" the best
table cloth that very afternoon, so stiff
and glossy you might almost fancy it to
DE real damask. Mrs. Bennett would
lend her big glass dish to put the ounce
preserves in, and three more spoons, so
there'd be enough to go round, and then,
perhaps, Sadie thought she would invite
the minister. She did wish it would
snow, real, thorough snow storm, that
would set the sleigh bells to tinkling, and
make people feel CHEEKY and glad in spite
OF themselves. Somehow it seemed as if
everybody always felt down hearted in
Budgeton. To be sure it wouldn't be par.
ticularly CHEEKY for Johnny and Davy, if
the wind should happen to blow snow
Spray through the cracks in the roof down
ON their bed up garret; but then they
often wished they were soldiers, and
could sleep out doors, and soldiers
wouldn't care for snow.
"Why, Rob Willis!" said Sadie, all of
sudden, hearing the door open. Not that
she was surprised to see Rob, for he al
ways came home on Saturday afternoons,
but because he carried over his shoulder
like bag of meal-a little mite of a
girl about as old as Kit, but not rosy,
and plump, and wholesome looking, like
!, her. She had wan little face, with a
queer, grave, much h-enduring expression,
and large, 1abby ears, with q miserable
sore behind one of them. Her old, coarse,
homemade flannel skirt hardly covered
her poor, rough red knees; she wore no
; stockings, and her shoes were much too
large. A piece of an old blanket shawl
pinned over her head completed the attire
ofsthe forlorn little creature on that bleak
November day.
- Rob planted her on her two feet beside
the stove in a stiff, awkward fashion, for
all the world as if he were setting fence
post, and, looking at Sadie with queer
twinkle in his eyes, said:
Il thought I'd take a girl to raise-that
Is, just TO raise till next Monday. It's
Widow Spinner's little girl, you know.
Widow Spinner came from the poor house
last winter to work for Joshua Grubbs
folks; and when she died in the spring
folks said she'd had to work herself to
death. Mrs. Grubbs said she guessed
she'd raise the little girl, IT would be a
cheap way of gittin' help in a few years. ,
b And, Sadie, you just ought to see how
she raises herl I'm sent over to Grubbs',
sometimes, on errands, and I've seen
things that fairly made me grit my teeth.
. She's gono barefooted, this little mite,
here, in the frosty weather, till her feet
are all cracked, and chapped, and bis
specks in her little bits of footprints. my
self" Rob was in no mood for joking
now; he stood up very straight and ear.
nest, telling his story with fever of pity
and indignation heating his brown face
% so deeply in earnest that he didn't know
how queer some of his words sounded.
81 do believe they haven't pulled the
!. snarls out of her head for months and
months" he went on, in his eager voice,
, NOR washed her face; and they just push
and scat her around, g if she were some
good-for-nothing little cat. And you see,
sadie, got to thinking when l was over
there this morning, what if that was our
. little Kit p and it made choking in my
: throat, somehow, just to think of it; and
by and by it came into my head to bring
her home, just for little comfortable
visit with us over Sunday, and L asked
Mrs. Grubbs about it, and she just
laughed, and said all right And, Sa-
die, want you to doctor up those little
feet"
: Sadie seated the child comfortably by
the fire, and listened to Rob's story with
her big gray eyes flashing, and every now
and then, shook her head in an ominous
) way, Just as she always did when she
heard anything that Mortified or excited
= her.
. I'D show 'em, if ! ever went therep'
she said, when Rob had finished. "Id
- tell 'em was astonished at people doing