St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1876-06-09
flor the Children.
Polly's Revenge.

!
i"f dIsmIsslon forth from the. schnnI-
house poured the happy children ,nr..
most among them Polly Dayton VIA
running briskly down the road snnn
our -distanced her noisy companions.
:, IL hau been trying afternoon for
Polly. Her sums would NOT add .h..
had descended the spelling class third
from The foot, and had barely escaped
eA'ia imprisonment because of her gen
eIal lhattention and disorder. Ordiua-
ilil She WAS busy as ii bee, and the.
'cacltr could see no reason for her
mlsbchavinur.
But Polly thought there WAS = very
Sood reason. That noon time she had
gone INTO the woods to INSPECT tb,.
chestnut trees not with much hone. tor
The season WAS baclANa ard and the burrs
pelsistently gIeen; when to her sur-
Pi lse, she beheld Il goodlN company of
brown coats scattered here and there
over the ground. Quickly she stooped
and began gathering them into her
apron but the school-bell broke in up-
on hen laptnres and despoiled her hopes
of Il feast. She hurried her picking.
and, dcpositimg apron and all at the
foot OF the tree, scampcred dutifully
back.
SO far Polly was Il good little girl.
Yet II required much etiolt for her to
face these long columns of figures " hen
her thoughts had room only for the
brown-coats in the woods. But she.
hattIed hard, and might have succeed
ed, only that, as the minutes passed.
she noticed Bob Buffers seat still va
cant, and no prospect of his return.
! Il, 1
the source of great troubles, failures
and dISapp"lntments; and the belief
that be WAS even now deNouriuw her
rhesthuts WAS more than poor Polly
could bear. She gave full vent to her
wrath and Indignation, nor cared for
the result.
Polly WAS right. Escaped finally
from durancc vile. she hurried to the
woods but to view IL heap OF empty
burrs, and Bob Buffers unmistakahle
t"w-head retreating down the road. 1t
MAS too much for Polly.
"I"u mean boy" she shouted, iii
1t" something dreadful. see if don't :"
and with this, great tears IAN down her
cheeks. She Sobbcd aloud.
This would seem foolish behavior for
Polly. when shortly there would Ice II
dtlugc of ChestnutS in the land but
You see. II WAS not ~ much the loss of
the hlown-c"atS that gIieved her .S the
part that Bob Butler had played there
IN. am sorry to admit that presently
she dried her tears and mcditatcd some
| plan for revenge.
But though Polly thought. and
thought, she as constantly shook hrI
head. 1t was II" easy task there was
| little that she could do fuI which Bob
would care. Suddenly her face bright
! tmtd.
Il know :" she cried. and with an um-
conscious kick at the empty brown
coats, she fairly flew down the road
way, never pansing till she reached Il
small house, in the door of which sat
an old gentleman reading.
This last was Uncle Alec. Il man with
DO relatives in the world save the meek
little woman VIII" kept his heuSr. vet I'M
Gle to all the children in the ncighbor-
hood the special object of their vcnerI-
tinn and love. To these Uncle Alec was
wisdom peIS"mitied; to Polly. especial
lN. an untIilimg help. That he could
solve her problem. she did not doubt.
"lncle Alec" she cried. brcathlc>SlN.
Il want You to tell me somrthin dread
| tul to do to Bob Butler"
And what did Uncle Alec Sc"ld,
look stem, and tell her what il wicked
! girl she waSe Not at all: he simply
patttd her flushed check. and said.
softly:
"Why. little Poll, what has Bob But
Ter been doing to you ;"
Polly, in her ragerness to punish the
encmy, had thought only of 'ncI. Alec'S
power to help; something in the grave
voice troubled her: she wished ~lr.
hadn't come. Still she poured ont hur-
ricdlN the story of her wrongs. eNclam-
ing:
Il must d" s"nethin' dreadful. He's
Il bad boy, and will -
Did Uncle Alec scod \" he smiled.
Little Poll" he said, ''N"u want Il"
he rcNeuged on Bob Butler? lou want
to do something that will make him
oh, so sorry that he rmptird your
hrown-coats. and keep him from ever
troubling You again I"u want t."
punish him drradtnlly ?"
YES" gasped Polly.
.Well," continued Uncle Alec. "I've
just got the recipe. Only You must
promise to do aS SAY"
Polly, | am sorry to admit, gave
hearty assent. But when Uncle Alec
spoke she hlazed away indignant.
Little Poll,' he slid, lin Il few days
nuts will be ripe. Iou must go T." the
woods and empty enough brown coats
to fiji Your dinner pail. Heap it full
and plenty, then go to Bob Butler and
say N"u picked them for him
For Il moment Polly could find no
speech. Suspense, disappointment aud
anger held her spell bound. Pick chest
nuts for Bob Butler. Fill her dinner
pail for that odious boy
Il won't :" she cried, spasmodically.
"Uncle Alec. won't - aud without an
other word she rushed from the house.
But the next day came to Polly the
remembrance of her promise she dared
not lie to Uncle Alec, 50 desperately
she began her task. Speedily the
brown-coats multiplied, and ut the end
of IL week Polly found her pail full. and
in company with herself. standing III
the presence of Bob Butler.
These are chestnutS," she said. IL
picked them for-you."
Bob started.
picked them for me-" he echoed.
YES" she replied, "hecanse you stole
mine. It's the receep."
Bob Butler was not deliberately Il
wicked boy-only mischievous, and
poorly taught. A great tear rolled down
his check he hung his head in shame.
IL don't understand you quite. Polly"
he said. "but I'm awful sorry. And I'll
take You sleddin' every da! this winter
see if don't"
And Bob kept his word not only
1,nt .I s.f ,,rt