The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-02-20
NIMPo's TRIP ON THE CREEK
From St. Nicholas for February.

| which the children were allowed to play,
! for it was not considered deep enough
to be dangerous. Nanny's house was
a favorite place to vi it, especially with
such a girl as Nimbo, who never could
get enough of the woods.
As she ard Robbie approached the
! house, Nanny and her brother came out,
and they all went to the woods. First
they got their hands and arms full of
wild flowers, pretty moss, acorns, and
pine cones; and when at last they could
carry no more, they found a pretty
place for house.
1t was against the roots of a large
| tree which had blown down. The great
! bundle of roots, higher than their
! heads, and full of earth, stood up
! straight, and before it was the hole it
| had left. This droll house they adorned
with their treasures, making a car
pet of moss and boquets of the flowers,
which they stuck into cracks in the
great root.
played a while. Then finding a fiat
stone for table, they spread it with
cookies from basket Mrs. Cole had
given them.
They spent some time over this meal,
eating from plates of clean birch bark,
| and drinking "white tea" out of dainty
acorn cups.
Then John proposed that they should
go and play on the creek, and down
! they went. For some time they built
| dams where the water was very shallow.
| Then they sailed boats made of pieces
of bark, loaded with small pebbles,
| which they called bags of wheat, or
with passepgers-made of pieces of
/ twigs, with acorn cups for hats. These
| boats all started off bravely, and sailed
| gaily down the creek for few rods,
| but there the current took them toward
a rock in the middle of the stream, and
| against that nearly every one was
| wrecked. If it passed it was sure to
| be capsized in little eddy just beyond.
After enjoying this little time John
proposed that they all should sail about
on boards. OF course, Nimpo was
ready for that, so they got few boards,
fastened them side by side as best they
could, and took a long pole to push
their RATS along. In this way they
went up and down the creek and had
fine times.
Robbie was not big enough to have a
boat by himself, so he sailed with John
for a while. But at last John thought
he would go down through the rapids,
as they called place where the creek
spread out wide, and was filled with
large stones.
Nimpo told Robbie to come to her
boat, and she pushed her boards up to-
ward Johns, so that he could do it.
Before she was quite ready Robbie
jumped On, and coming so suddenly,
upset the narrow raft and threw them
both into the water.
1t was not very dangerous, as have
said, for it was not deep, but it was
very wet, and Nimpo fell her full
length.
John and Mamie hurried to help her,
and in a moment she stood on the bank,
wet to the skin and Robbie was in the
same plight. They hurried up to the
house. Mrs. Cole wanted Nimpo to put
on some of Nanuy's clothes, and hang
her own up to dry, but Nimpo would
not consent. She said she would stand
by the kitchen fire and dry herself.
So by the fire she stood, one long
hour that hot day, while Mrs. Cole took
off Robbie's clothes and dried them.
Even then she was not half dry, but
she was tired and warm, and she thought
she looked dry enough to go through
the streets.
But something led her dress, it
would not dry stra hit. In spite of
pulling and smoOthnC, it would not
come right" and lc saw very plainly
that she could never wear it again.
eff Mrs Pumpkins does her duty"
said Mrs. Cole, as at last Nimpo and
Robbie started for home, " she'll put
you to bed. and give you hot dose of
ginger tea"
II guess she WON'T" thought Nimpo,
g for l won't tell her a word about it.
hate ginger tea"
1t was nearly dusk when she entered
the kitchen-door, hoping to slip up
stairs before any one saw her. But
Mrs Primkins' eyes we're sharp.
" Why, Nimpo Rievor! What on
earth Have you been in the water ?"
Nimpo's heart sank.
81 got little wet, up at Mrs, Coles,
said she.
"Got little wet / should think so
Did you fall in the creek up there ?"
eyes," faltered NimpO, "but I'm all
dry now"
"All dry Humph You've proGa-
bly, got your death o. cold. But I'll do
my duty any way, as promised your
ma. Little did l know what chore it
would be, either" she muttered to her
self, adding at once, "you go right
straight to bed, and be spry about it,
too, and I'll come mp there with cup
of tea for you"
Nimpo groaned but did not dare TO
rebel, and besides she was little fright
ened about the death O. cold" She
didn't wish to die just yet.
She climbed to her room, undressed,
put on dry clothes, and laid down on
the bed
In few minutes Mrs. Primkins came
up, in one hand blanket, in the other
a bowl. Putting the bowl on the stand,
she wrapped Nimpo in the blanket,
which she had heated by the kitcAen
fire, and then she held the bowl to her
lips and told her to drink every drop.
The tea was, indeed, g horrid black
stuff, " as Nimpo inwardly called it, very
much worse than ginger tea. Nimpo
choked and gasped and gagged, but
swallowed it.
Mrs. Primkins smiled grimly, and
gave her lump of sugar to take the
taste out of her mouth.
"Now, don't you stir hand or foot
out of that blanket, however warm you
get. If you don't get a good sweat
you IL hive d GILL; sure as you live.
When it's time for you to come out I'll
run up or send Augusty;;" and down
stairs she went.
This ended Nimpo's first whole day
of liberty. She had a good chance to
think it over as she lay there wide
awake. She had spoiled her visit to.
| Nanny, ruined her own nice dress and
/ boots, and, perhaps, caught dreadful
cold and fever
/ On the whole she had been unhappy
ever since her mother left, though she
couldn't exactly see why.
81 wouldn't mind the wetting," she
thought, as she lay there alone. 81
could stand this horrid blanket, though
/ believe l shall Sunderland that hor-
rid stuff !" shuddering at the thought
of it "but know my dress is spoiled,
and what shall do without nice dress
till mother gets back ? And Helen
Benson's birthday party next week !?
Oh, dear why didn't l wear a clean cal
leo and white apron as mother always
made me - And Nimpo's first day of
r !