Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-02-12
Patty Mudse's Pies.

bti . IA hhN-' ANNs
Little Patty Nudge looked up from her
story book with a sigh, aud as she look
ed up She caught the reflection Of her
face in the mirror over the table aud sigh.
ed again
" o. dear if were only slender aud
pale aud graceful, aud grown up young
lady,-or a princess, aud lived in an ele-
CANT mansion, aud had heaps Of money and
could carry boquets Of flowers to sick folks,
lying on snowy couches, or could glide
like an angel over battlefeds to bathe
the palil brows Of dying heroes, or could
seek out the gloomy abodes Of poverty,
and illuminate them with my presence -
But here | am, nothing but Patty Nudge
short auI stout and homely, with a broad
face and vide mouth, and exactly
POOR. bu, then have % work rather hard
for little gil aud a. for toe troubles Of
this world, somehow | don't feel as bad
about them as | ought to, or else folk.
round here don't have any 70 speak Of 1t
isu't easy for me to feel badly about any.
thing, believe But would like to know
how 20 soy -ymrathizing things, and hav,
mission such as the sermons and poem,
tell about, aud do something great iol
/ the good Of mankind wonder # evel
shall
"Now's your chance said iitl,
squeakiug voice Where did it come from
There was nothing in sight but heap Of
pumps and small mola,to girl passing tn,
garden fence, scantiIy clad, aud shiverinl
| in the cold November sunshine. All tina
/ Patty knew Of her was that her name wa
" Poppy aud that she belonged TO a fam
| lily who bad recently been helped North by
the Freedmuu's Aid Society; they haC
once been slaves, and very shiftlcss ones
/ it appeared from their unwillingness tC
labor, and their ignorant ways Of doing tn,
| little they could do. They are staying il
one end Of an old tumbled-down house lit
lie ways from Patty's, and Of late had beel
a good deal neglected by the thrifty peopl
VI ue village, who somehow bad forgotten
that il takes an education OF WORK 10 low
and do it well.
But it could not be this little girl VIII
spoke; she was hurryiDg on, without turn
ing a glance toward the house eager, n
doubt, to reach her miserable shelter iron
the cold the hens aud pigs would scarcel
call it that How cherries it must be
with the wind screaming and putting be
tween the loose clap-boards And wha
kind Of a dinner did they have yesterday
and what would they have for Thanksgivin
tomorrow ? Aud so after all this thinking
Patty was gliding back into her sentiments
visions Of charity when
"Now's your chance " said the squeak
voice again Patty's curiosity was full
aroused. She went cut and stood upon III
doorstep. The mulatio child was out {
sight aud everything was still but the winC
and that hardly whispered through the lea
less boughs Of the pear trees. But ther
was the voice close to her now. Hel
me down. it said And Patty's mout
opened wider than ever, as she saw the toI
most pumpkin Of the pile at her side, mo,
ing itself without aid of hands. She too
hold Of its stem, aud, although it was OF
Of the heaviest of the lot she scarcely fe
its weight at all The pumpkin seemed
l. itself to give one great leap to the groun'
where il stood shaking its thick sides as
j wearied by the unusual exertion "Carr
me in," said the voice pantiugly. Patt
, had not believed her own ears until nov
A pumpkin talking That was moi
wonderful than .Esop's fables, truly,
, Cook me-" said the little squeakir
voice again. Cook me-" Patty kne
how to work very we'll. She had bee
helping her mother make the ThanksgiyiI
pies aud puddings for some time but Il
e idea Of a pumpkin walking into the hou
q and asking to be cooked was too funny.
y Just then her mother came in. "Alot
, er, may make some pumpkin pies ?" sa
's Patty. "Well, don't care" was q
answer of the busy woman. "Our fol
= don't seem to be over fond Of 'em, and |
; afraid they won't fancy any of your mu
,o sin up. But you can make em if you
a get somebody to eat EN-"
s. Patty was determined to have her pi
g. as nice as they could be made, so she pou
~ ed out her milk, stirred in the spices al
Il sweetening, aud made the crust light, VIC
or derinI while she was rolling it out W
We would cat them. But the pumpkin tc
N her as it boiled in the kettle, no long
u with that low squeak, but with deep m
Of Of steal rumble, as if laughing with JOY oy
its own fate, BLACK Poppy's people-bla
ks Poppy's people" Aud when it emerg
a from the oven in the form Of half doz
glossy, haky pies, Patty thought it look
~ :, as happy and a great deal handsomer tb
when ii rolled so cumsily down from
pile by the doorstep.
- And Patty herself, when she carried
pies to Poppy's wretched home--havi
nd first set one aside in the cupboard, that
-, mother might see that she could bake P
a, 'er worth anybody's eating alm
beautiful with the excitement of doinl
kindly deed. Her sun Drowned hands a
r stout arms were just fitted for the We
81, they had been doing, and she had as mt
T1ty reason to be proud of them as any lady
ill her delicate fingers for certainly those
the prettiest hands that do most wllin
- the work they were made for.
And black Poppy's people could not hi
received one of the graceful minister
-. spirits Of the story books with more {
W. quent gratitude than they did the HON
little girl and her heavy basket of pi
Indeed. to the half starved beings,
was vision of oyeliness-a real angel
mercy.
= And in helping to keep them comforta
~ for the winter, aud in teaching them ]
to take care Of themselves, Patty, vi
m out knowing it, has " found her missio
wy She does not get much time now for look
at her own broad face and large featu