American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-09-19
JOHNNY'S LOST DOLLAR.


JOHNNY'S LOST DOLLAR.
BY hook and crook, and many hard
knocks, such as turning the grindstone,
pulling cookie out of the wheat and tax
ing medicine when he was sick, Johnny
Brown had picked up quite fortune,
rs it seemed to him when reckoned in
cents, namely, one dollarl
Don't YOU think that much? You
don't? Well, my dear little fellow, how
much money did you ever earn and t"y
up? Johnny never had Il cent given him
in his life; he earned his money like Il
man. But l must now tell you the story
of what became of Johnny's earnings
Johnny poured his cents out of the lit
tie tin box which he used for a safe (he
had no brazen frog to swallow his cents,
counted them carefully, tumblcd them
into his trousers pocket with much I'M
necessary jingle, and walked into town,
where he exchanged them at the bank
for gold dollar.
He could not but feel that he had made
a poor trade as he walked home through
the dust and heat-a pocketful of money
for that little yellow scale of gold
As he trudgcd along every now and
then he tossed his shining treas
ure a few feet ahead of. himself
in the most careless way in the world,
and then, when about to step over 1T,
would accidentally catch a glimpse of it,
and seize it with great ado, and brush
the dust off it till it shone again, and
stare at it, and study the very few words
on it, and throw it up and catch 1t, and
do all sorts of queer things, as most
bows do with their first money.
When Johnny had got home he had
not seen quite enough of his dollar; and
so. before he showed it to his folks, nc
thought he would have one nice little
play with it on the threshing-floor OF the
big barn.
So he brushed away the chaff and
straw with an old broom and cleared him
a fine place for rolling his precious
dollar.
Poor Johnny, The floor was just a
little bit shrunken by the long drought;
and, the very first roll, the dollar ended
by slipping through crack the width of
Il straw.
His fortune was lost! Johnny was a
beggar! His heart stopped beating; the
tears blinded him; his hand shook like
grandfather's.
But the hardy spirit that helped him
to earn the money soon braced him up
TO try to regain it. He fetched a crow
bar and pricd up the heavy plank, and
looked down into the blackness under
the barn.
Nothing but dark, dark, dark, and
maybe toads and snakes and things"
thought Johnny. 1t was plain that he
must have Il light
He ran to the house in IA great hurry,
for fear something might swallow his
dollar while he was gone. Into the
pantry he went, and took tallow candle
out of the candle-box, and few matches
from the safe.
AS he went out of the kitchen-door
his mother saw him, and asked what he
was going to do with the candle.
Johnny very honestly told his mother
all about his bad luck; and his mother
shook him little, then scoldcd him, and
finally ended by plying him.
Just then his father came in, and asked
what allied Johnny.
Mrs. Brown told him all about it.
Mr.. Brown scoldcd some, of course :;
but he did not shake Johnny nor pity
him.
Lets 90 to the barn, and see what
can be done about it." he said to Iohnny.
:. But you needn't bring that candle along;
| can't have the barn burned up Tor n
dollar!" So they went to the barn; and
both of them got down on their knees,
and peered into the dark, and got hay
seed in their hair, and dust in their eyes,
ana coDWtDS On lllcll 'lotiito.
"No use" said Mr.. Brown, Its gone.
Come, help me put back the plank"
But, instead of helping to replace the
plank, Johnny cried so loudly that the
school-tcachcr who was walking down
the road heard him, and went up to the
barn to see what was the matter.
Il had dollar-a-a-god dollar; and
it's lost" Johnny told him. And NJ.
Brown explained the matter, and added
I Il. .I.4r-
the barn with light as there was so
much dry litter about"
"You never studied natural philoso-
ply, did you, Johnny" said the school
master Nov l am going to give you
IA short lesson in practical optics II you
will 30 to the house and borrow two
looking glasses of your mother
Johnny went on the run, and soon
came back with the little looking glass
from the spare bedroom under one arm
and the cracked one from the kitchen
under the other.
The schoolmaster took them from
Johnny, and, going out in front of the
omen barn door, leaned one of the MIR
rors at such an angle MS 10 throw II daZ-
cling beam of sunshine into the duskS
barn Securing the glass in position he
went into the barn, and, standing near
the opening i'll the floor, he held the
other glass III such Il way as T." eaten thr
beam of sunlight and throw il downward
through the opening.
Como, Johnny" he called" now look
for your dollarr'
And Johnny came, and dropped upon
his knees and looked intcntly.
Please make your sun shine a little
farther the other way" Johnny said; and
the brilliant light moved slowly along.
Il see it, / see 1t! ] SEE ri" cried
Johnny, rs loud as he could bawl and as
swift as IA flash, forgetting all about
toads and snakes and things" he slipped
under the barn. and in IA tricc up popped
his little brown fist with little CLEAN of
gold between the closed fingers followed
by very happy face, in spite of its net
ting of cobwebS.
Give got it, I've got it,' cried Johnny.