The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1877-11-29
"A Bird in the Hand, Worth Two in the
Bush"

"Halloo Kiah, where now2'
"Of for berries.
stop | know something worth two
Of that. Leave your pals here and 60
trouting with me / know where there 5
lots ofthem, and I'm just going for trout.
The man up at Oak Grove House wants
all he can get, and / want money. ] don t
mean to let anybody else know a thing
about il, but you may go shares with me
Meant to go yesterday, but there was
chores to do, and didn't find my line
till most noon. Then twas all in knots,
and twas such awful hot weather.
thought I'd wait"
Il can't stop. for hot weather fipens
the berries first rate. Hope you'll make
a pile of money"
Hold on. Don't you want money p
"Yes, that's what l work for. ] can
sell all my berries after they re well dried,
if can't before. I'm sure of them, and
amt sure Of trout. Good luck to you.
So saying, Kiah Green turned from the
boy who had detained him, and who now
made another effort to change his plans
for the day.
Hold on a minute. 'Taint often a fel-
low has such chance. You can make
more money going with me, than you
don't anybody else know where them
trout are, and after we've caught them.
all we've got 10 do is TO 90 TO the Oak
Grove House and sell them" And Jim
Harris yawned lazily, as he pushed back
his tangled hair from his forehead, half
surprised that Kiah Green failed to ap-
preciate the magnanimiiy Of his offer
"Just my luck he muttered after being
left alone.
whats the matter now p asked Jim's
mother, a faded out looking woman, vino
came to the kitchen door, and who seem
ed too thoroughly discouraged to smile.
She had been watching Kiah and
wishing i'm was like him, thinking how
comfortably they could live, and how
poorly they did live.
Matter enough, replied Jim fretiully,
and then proceeded to state his griev-
ances, which simply amounted to the
fact that an other had refused to accede
to his proposal
You haven't anything to complain
of, said his mother There don [ any
body take anything that belongs to you.
You re just like your father, always talk
ing about bad luck / don't know as
you've begun on liquor or tobacco, but |
expect every day when you will lie
made great plans and let the fences rot
down; and told what he was going to
do, when there was enough to be done all
the time. So we grew poorer and poorer
till the farm went, and then he drank
himself to death. and / don't know as
twas much matter. / wasn't any worse
off | couldn't be- There's the widow
Green, as clipper as can be, always tell
ing how much she has to be thankful for,
through everybody knows she lost as
good a husband as ever woman had
Kiah's always busy. IL he can't do one
think, he'll do another. He helps his
mother; but / never had anyone to help
me-"
But you used to have enough mother.
I've heard you say so"
Yes, when we were married your
father had good farm, but a man can
let things go to ruin easy, and he can't
help it, when he spends his time smok-
ing and drinking. That's what makes
bad luck. / never expected to come to
this living in such poor house. The
miserablest family in town always used
to live here, and guess they do now.
wish you'd took up with Mr.. Sawyer's
offer; you'd had your board and some
more. Now / don't know but we shall
both starve unless | apply to the town"
at amt so bad as that, is il 2 exclaim-
ed Jim in an excited tone. IL amt to
blame. | thought / could earn a good
deal more than Mr. Sawyer offered, and
| mean to now. You get breakfast and
I'll start right off II / can get good
string of trout, they'll bring some
money"
"You Amt sure Of the trout You
might pick berries. You d be sure of
them, and widow Green says, "A bird in
the hand is worth two in the BUSH
"Kiah's always saying that, but never
thought, till now, what il means. His
berries are the bird in the hand, and my
trout are the two in the bush But per.
haps | shall catch two. How soon can |
have breakfastY
ANY time. There ain't anything but
corn cake and, boiled potatoes and salt
If we had some b ries, they'd be so
much more
Il can get something better than ber-
ries."
Il hope you will. But Id rather see
it. You might pick up dry limbs and
pine cones to make fires, If you couldn
do anything else Kiah's got heaps OF
cones and limbs. but likely when winter
comes we shall be burning green wood,
if we have fire at all. We -Asn.t. unless
the town provides it.
II aint going TO be a town paupcr
You may count on that III show you
what / can do.
This was said very decidedly, tut no