Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-06-01

Now" said Sara, "let's get into
this carpet and roll down hill!" Did you
ever hear anything more crazy than that?
So they lay down in it, side by side, with
their curly heads out near to one edge,
and then Sara took the end and folded it
over them. Then Allie said, when they
were all fixed:
"Now wait a minute, and when | say
Three We'll START
| So they began to count zone, two,
| three!'' and at the same instant they all
threw themselves just little and off they
vent Round and round them wound the
| carpet, tighter and tighter it folded them
| in, faster and faster did this precious
heap roll, till it went with the speed of
| the wind
OH what would their mamma have
said, could she have known that her
darlings were done up tighter than q
vice in her parlor chamber carpet, and
that it and they were gone on such a
! journey!
| Down, down the long hill, the butter
cups raising their wounded heads to see
what had hurt them, and the blades of
grass stretching out as long as they could,
as the bright heap passed over them!
| Down, down, and thicker and faster and
| tighter did the huge bundle grow! Down,
down, to the hummock, and there, with a
| big thump, it stopped!
The wiseSt thing about it all was that
the happy go-luckys" had put their
foolish heads near to the edge. for if they
hadn't, | never should have lived to tell
you about it. They would oil have been
| smothered.
AS 1t was, they went so quick, and had
| such funny feelings while they were going,
| that they never made a sound, but lust
shut their poor little eyes ill they felt the
bump on the hummock, and then Allie
opened hers and looked around, but all
she could see were Frankie's scared eyes
| looking into hers! and not one of them
could move a hair, they were fastened in
so tight
What was to be done? They knew they
had done wrong, but there they were, and
| there was the carpet at the foot of the hill.
anything and everything they had in the
world if they could only be back again
among the buttercups, telling stories
| They were in great pain, for they were
not side by side now, but all in bunch,
and it would be hard to say who was the
under onei
| At last they began to cry, and in a few
minutes James, the groom, heard them
and started TO find out who was hurt. 1t
was some time before he could tell where
the sounds came FROM but, by and by,
| seeing that strange-looking something at
| the foot Of the hill, he ran down to the
| hummock, and there, sure enough, were
| three little curly, foolish heads, sticking
| out from the edge Of the carpet
1t didn't take him many minutes to I'm
roll them and get them cut to the air
and they had to take a good many long
breaths before they could get the squeeze
out! James had to carry poor little
Frantic up the hill to his mamma, while
Sara and Allie walked very demurely,
hanging their heads and wishing very
much that they hadn't got to tell how silly
and naughty they had been.
But when their mamma saw the plight
they were in, she forgave them, for she
rightly thought they were punished
enough.
James went down and dragged back the
carpet, and, as he passed by, the yellow
buttercups nodded to each other, as much
as to say, q don't believe those happy
go-luckys' will try that again very soonr"
And don't believe they ever will; in
deed, h'o0a0 they didn't; but after that,
they always looked upon their mammals
parlor chamber carpet as curious sort of
a carriage, in which they had, once upon
time, had the queerest and the quickest
ride they ever took in all their lives!-
Mary p. CoZjaema, in CArtst5on Union.