Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-02-06
THE BETTER WAY.

TTrnfellowing, which we copy from
! lracenf number of The Household, is
an oldn1pry, and was originally published
aavera1 ears ago, but the moral conveyed
e "a - good now as everl:
Faru Gray had a neighbor who was
not q est-tempered man in the "orla'
4houfk mainly kind and obliglng lie
wne olIoemaker His name was Barton.
One day in harvest-time, when every
hand was as busya as bee, this man came
over to farmer Gray and sad, III fa'hel
petulant tone of voice:
"Mr. Gray, I wish you would seho over
and drive your geese home.
nWhv "a. Mr. Barton what have my
geese been doing 90 the farmer SAID, III
mild uuI1E tone.
ssThsI7St into my garden, and | will
not ha1e"
II am very sorry for it, neighbor Bar
ton. but What can | do ?"
ttWhY. yoke them, and keep them on
YOUR on npre misses. 1t is no kind of a
WY to 1ce your geese run all over every
farm and garden in the neighborhood."
stBut cannot see to it now; it is har-
vest time, friend Barton, and every man,
woman and child on the farm has as much
as they can do Try and bear it week
or SO, and then Twill see if can possibly
remedy the evil"
81 can't bear it, and l won't bear it any
LONGER pine shoemaker said. $50 II you
DO not fake care of them, friend Gray,
shall hoye to take care of them for you"
ssWelI neighbor Barton, you can do as
you ploase,' farmer Gray replied, in his
uspea qpiet tone. II am sorry they
trouble you, but cannot attend to them
now.
I'll attend to them for you, see if l
don't the shoemaker said, still more
angrily than when lie first called on far
mer Cray.
stWhat on earth can be the matter with
them geese y said Mrs. Gray, about tif-
teen minutes afterward.
81 really cannot tell, unless neighbor
Barton is taking care of them. He
threa.ened to unless l yoked them right
off"
ssI'aking care Of them? How taking
care Of HEM:
ssAs to that | am quite in the dark.
Killing them, perhaps. He said that if l
didn't take care of them he would. SO |
suppose he is engaged in the neighborly
business Of taking care of our geese"
joint William! Run over and see
what Mr.. Barton is doing with my geese, !"
Mns. Grey said in a quick and anxious
tone, to two little boys who were playing
}, near.
The urchins scampered off, we'll pleased
to perform an errand.
"Oh he if has dared to do anything to
my geese l will never forgive him!' the
good wife said angrilv.
stH-u-s-h, Sally make no rash speeches!
it ismoIe than probable that he has killed
tWoak three of them. But never mind
! If he has, he will get over his pet and be
sorry forit.'
Qes, but what good will his being
sorry do me- Will it bring my geese to
lifey
al, vel, Sally, never mind. Let us
wait until we hear what all this disturb
ance Il bout"
In shout ten minutes the children came
home baring the bodies of three geese
each WHO'LL head.
ION mi this too much for human Ell
I'VE found them laying out in the
road, said the eldest of the two children
And when we picked them up, Mr. Bar
ton said, Tell your father that have
yoked his geese for him, to save him the
trouble, rs his hands are too busy to do
it,. '.a b y, Cor ~ s.;a ,,rs Grow ~
<10 LII k0dlt Tome.
And what good would that do?"
why, it would do a great deal Of good!
1t would teach him better manners. It
would punish him."
And punish US into the bargain. We
have loet three geese now, but we still
have tholr good fat bodies to eat. A law
suit would cost us a good many geese,
and not even leave US so much as the
feathers besides giving us a world of
trouble and veXation. No, no, Sally, just
Yet It Ieet and he will be sorry for it,
Sorry FOR it, indeed! And what good
will hia icing sorry for it do US, l should
like to know. Next, he will kill COW,
and thonwe must be satisfied with his
being sorry for it! Now, | can tell you
that don't believe in that doctrine. Nor
do be1ieve anything about his being
SORT, the grabbed, ill-natured wretch!'
Don't call hard names, Sally" farmer
Gray said, in mild, soothing tone.
<sNeighbor Barton was not like himself
when he killed the geese Like every
other angry person he was little insane,
and he did what he would not have done
had he been in his right mind. When
you are q little excited, you know, Sally,
that even you do and say unreasonable
things"
Me do and say unreasonable things,"
exclaimed Mrs. Gray, with a look and
tone of indignant establishment; me say
and do things when am angry? l don't
understand you, Mr.. Gray"
Maybe can help you little. Don't
you remember the churn?"
Yes, but never mind about it."
So you have not forgotten how unrea-
AOnAble You were about the churn It
wasn't rod for anything-you knew it
wasn'ts1nd you'd never put a jar of cream
unto M1e long as you lived that you
woulos1 And yet, on trial, you found
that cnu4 the best you had ever used,
and nov 1ou wouldn't part with it on
ration. So you see, Sally, that
seYenyoUnn say and do unreasonable
.nln&s I'll you are angry, just as well as
MA 0MF saw that her husband was
ri9nt--n1sstill she felt indignant at the
outtaGo Gnmitted on her geese So she
to0k 49, Aree fat geese, and after strip
ping e feathers, had them prepared
On1Next morning, as Mr.. Gray was
pass ing the road, he met the shoe
make as they had to pass very near
to eac1 her, the farmer smiled, and
SPOKE Azly. MIR. Barton looked and felt
very 10y, but farmer Gray did not
seem tQ Ynember the unpleasant incident
of the o. before.
about eleven O'Clock on the
same daH that one Of farmer Gray's
ilttlo 0Q41 came running to him and cry.