Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-06-13
Annetta PIummer's Diary.

My mother told me that it would be a
good way for me to make believe that |
am telling Miss Annetta Fourteen what
happens every day. I asked my mother,
"Will she be I? Will Miss Annetta
Fourteen be the same then that am now
when / am seven"
She said, "She will be the same T., and
she will not be the same l."
Then l asked my mother to tell me
how [ could be the same I, and not be
the same |. She said, "You are the same
you that you were when you were baby,
and you are not the same YOU" She said
that if it were the very same you-no,
the very same THAT | was when | was
a baby, [ should want rattle to shake,
and to be trotted, and to pat cakes!
That made me laugh out loud.
Then my mother asked me if | should
not like to read a little cunning diary,
where Annetta Baby put down when she
learned how to pat-a-cake, and when she
jumped the first time in baby-jumper.
and when she fell out of bed And I
said [ should
| shall tell something now in my dairy
about poor little Banty White. She died
this morning She had the pip. She
was little beauty. Oh, she was just as
white as snow all over, and every one in
the family loved her very much. She
would come when we called her, and she
knew her name. She had four chickens
once, and once she had seven. They are
sold.
cried when my Banty died. She was
very cunning and very nice. My moth
er does not think it is foolish to cry for
something like. She thinks it is foolish
to cry when you can't have things that
you want, and when you cannot 90 to
the places that you want to. My moth
er talks to me great deal about Banty
White. The Plaguer talks some. The
Plaguer is my cousin Hiram. He is fit
teen. He is very tall. He likes to
plague us when we do not wish him to
do so. He says "Boo!" in our ears
when we do not know he is there.
They counted four good things about
Banty.. Klnd-that was one of the good
things. My cat had three Kittens and
two died. My cat had fits. They were
running fits. And once she ran away.
That was the last one she had, for she
did not live much longer, and her little
kitty was left without any mother. Banty
White let the kitty come under her
wings and did not push it out. She was
kind to it a great many days. When
she called her chickies to eat something,
she wanted kitty to come too, and she
wanted the kitty to run under her wings
when the chickies came under; and when
the kitty did not come quick, she kept
saying "Cluck cluck! cluck." till
somebody put it under. Then she kept
still.
Not quarrelsome. This makes two
good things. When any other Banty
ran to get the same crumble that she was
going after, she did not fly at that other
one.
Not pick out the best This makes
three good things. When anybody threw
down corn, or crumbs, or bugs,-my
father picked off squash-bugs to give to
the hens,-she did not try to pick for the
biggest one, and she did not either try to
keep the best place for herself. The best
hen-place is close to the back door.
Banty White was tied to stake there,
but she was willing the other ones should
have that good place, too.
Not proud. Four good things. The
Plaguer told me Of this one. He said
some hens are so proud when they lay
eggs that they 60 around eackling very
loud, just as much as to say, "See what
I've done! I've donew He said Banty
White never made very loud cackling
My mother said that she heard the boys
"cackle," one day, when they had
brought in some large sticks of wood.
That made us laugh. Then she said she
heard a little girl "cackle," one day,
when she had picked more huckleberries
than the other did. I know what little
girl she meant. Me.
One day, my father and my mother
and myself went to see my aunt, and we
stayed there all night, and Hiram put
my Banty under a barrel to make her
not want to sit, and he forgot she was
under there, and she starved almost to
: death, because she had no food to eat.
) One day, when our great Shanghai
hen wanted to sit, the Jimmyjohns went
away into corner of the hen-house and
tried to get hold of her legs to pull her off,
and she pecked them. Most everybody
knows about the Jimmies now, | think,
for there are only our two little twin
boys who look just alike. One OF the
n Jimmies held out stick for her to bite,
t and so she did little while; but she
l. stopped biting the stick when he began tc
S put out his other hand to take hold OF
y her legs, and pecked that hand. Then
h he threw sand in her face, so she coulo
y not see his hand; but she could. Their
d he threw some pine-needles that were
e on the ground in the house; but they
f did not stop her from pecking that hane
d he was taking hold of her legs with
y Then he put his straw hat on her head
is so that she had to knock her head on thu
f. inside of it, and then they both tool
a hold of her legs and pulled her Oh
q This is very funny story. They coult
not get out. They let her go bacl