Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-05-30

OF having roasted apple. Then Lottie
brought out the lantern and rubbed up
the glass little, and lighted and carried
it up the Ladder to the loft overhead.
This lantern was made almost like a
locomotive light, with great refectors of
bright tin and red glass in front. Right
under the gable of the log house was a
kind OF double window, SO that the light
shone away down the road; and just as
soon as the mail carrier crossed the river
and came up out of the little belt of
timber, he could see the light like a
great red star. 1t helped him on dark
nights when the road was hard to find,
and then it seemed to make the way
shorter to see it shining away there, and
remem Der that his little girls had lighted
it for him. When LOttie sat down in the
big chair, Bun came and Struggled in be-
side her, Just because it seemed SO good
to have Lottie there again; and while
they rocked and talked, she told her all
about her day, and how she had made
herself cry over make-believe story.
She jumped down to point it all out on
the wlndow-the old witch and the lit
tie girl sitting by the brook, and the
white shower raining down-only the
tea kettle and the wind had been play
ing tricks with the old witch and turned.
her into a little white church with a
high steeple. Lottie laughed at Buns
story, and then said
cpl make another end to it, The old
woman wasn't a witch, she was the queen
Of the fairies, and the flannel made her so
warm she turned into lovely lady, just
as butterflies hatch out of ugly cater
pillars, and she smiled at the little girl
and flew away. And all the trees and
bushes blossomed full of beautiful flow
ers, and the grass was full of ripe straw
berries, and there were gold fishes in the
brook, that sang like canaries, and great
showers of star sailed through the air
before the little girl like fire-fies. And
while she was sitting by the book, eating
Strawberries, and listening to the music,
a little blue bird came and said to her:
This wood is enchanted, and you can
never get out of it unless some one that
loves you very much keeps thinking
about you all the time While they
think about you, you will go right, but
the moment they stop, you'll lose your
way"
And the little girl laughed and said:
I've got father, and he's thinking
about me, and Pve got little sister and
she's thinking about me-"
And so she got up from the grass and
ran straight ahead, and all the stars like
fire-tiies fluttered on before her, and
something seemed to pull her along like
a string tied around her heart, till by
and by she got out of the woods, and was
only a little girl with freckled face,
and big bundle of flannel But she
got home pretty soon and there was her
little sister, wishing for her as hard as
she could, and the father came home and
they were all as happy as''-
Away in the distance, Lottie heard a
long quivering call-"Hoo-oo-oo," such
sound as the looms make when they 90
laughing to themselves over the clear
little Minnesota lakes. She ran to the
door, put the brown hands to her mouth
and answered it as well as if she had been
a boy. That was the fathers signal, and
all was hurry and scurry to have every
thing look its brightest and best for him.
The tea was ready and the tea-kettle left
to purr sleepily on the back of the stove,
while, in spite of all the bright tin cover
could do, little whiffs of fragrant steam
crept out from the iron pot and said,
"Soup! hot soupW all over the room.
Presently they heard the stable door
shut with a bang, and in a minute more
a great clustering giant of a man came
whistling into the house. He had on a
buffalo overcoat, wolfskin cap, and
enormous boots and mittens. His great
bush beard grew almost up to his merry
eyes, and beard, eyebrows and breast
were all grizzled with frost. You might
have been frightened half to death if he
had suddenly pounced upon you and
squeezed you up in his strong arms, but
bless you! Bun and Lottie were not
frightened, for he was all the world to
them. And that is the end of the story
Christian Union.