Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-11-01

L nearu nOlS@. L tnlnk the little girl Is
awake" and sure enough, when the
woman entered the little bedroom,
there was Jennie sitting up, wide awake,
her blue eyes very wide open and a
look of wonderment on her face, for she
could not imagine, for the lifeao her
where she was
"Oh," said the lady, so you are
awakel Don't you want some supper"
" Yes, ma'am," said Jennie, very
quickly, for she was hungry enough, as
you may suppose.
So the good lady gave her IL large
bowl of bread and milk, which the child
devoured without loss of time, thinking
it the best meal she ever sat down to-
Then the woman took Jennie on her
lap and began to question her.
What Is your name?'
Jennie Ray
where do you live?'
In the city"
:; Yes, but on what street? ?"
" [ don't know"
What Is your papa's name? What
does mama call him? p
" Mamma calls him my dear.''
The farmer and his wife laughed.
Then Jennie told them of her resolve to
60 to the country, of her long and tire
some walk, of her encounter with the
rude children, ending by asking abrupt
ly,-
Where am II"
"You are in the country"
"Oh, then l can see the grass and the
red trees and blue COWS, and-is this a
yellow house|
" No, this house is il white one" And
then she drew from the child an ac-
count of the wonders she had expected
to see in the country. The lady did not
laugh at the narrative, for she saw it
was very natural conclusion the child
had arrived at from seeing the painted
pictures in her books. She only said,-
"In the morning my husband will
take you home. | will awaken you
early enough so that you may take a
look about the farmyard and garden be-
fore you set Out?'
"That will be so nicer' said Jennie;
and she was undressed and put to bed
True to her word, the lady aroused
her at an early hour, and while his
breakfast was preparing the farmer
carried her all about the place, because
she could not walk very we'll without
shoes She saw the cows, and was as
tonished to find them almost any color
but blue; the trees, instead of being red,
were green as the grass; the houses
were not yellow, and there were hills all
about in the distance; in short, the
country was not bit as she expected to
find it, but thousand times more at
tractive and wonderful. There were
pigs, chickens, turkeys, geese, and a
flower and vegetable garden; so many
strange things that Jennie was sorry to
be taken away from them ali and carried
in to breakfast.
The lady kindly improvised a hat for
her, and she sat beside the farmer der
ing the ride to the city, her eyes wide
open to the wonders constantly spring
ing up on either hand. She was not
old enough to realize the distress she
had caused her parents, and she enjoyed
the ride in that market wagon more
than she had ever enjoyed anything be-
fore. The farmer drove directly to the
police station, and who should Jennie
see but her fcSher, just coming out of
the office, sad and anxious after night
spent in fruitless search for her?
"Papa" she cried, joyously.
Fer father knew the voice, turned,
and in a second had her in his arms.
How glad he was! He kissed her again
and again, and he thanked the kind
farmer for bringing him his lost child,
and offered to give him some money,
but the man refused to accept it.
Then they rode home in carriage just
as fast as the horses could take them,
and Mrs. Ray was so glad to see her
little girl that she was almost swooned
for over JOY, and Jennie herself was very
glad to be at home once more.
Mamma" said she, I'm sorry [
ran away, but I'll never do so again if
you'll forgive me this time"
And we have every reason to believe
that Jennie will kept her word