Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-11-28

came up the next morning he found them
fast asleep; he dashed the light across
Dicks eyes and made him open them.
Well, all that day the two little boys wan
dered about the wood, going further and
further from home all the time. They
found some blackberries and picked them,
and that was all the dinner they had that
day
Were they in the wood another night,
papa|
No; they got out of the wood and found
themselves in a field. There was big
stone wall in front of them, and they tried
to climb over ii. Dick managed very well,
but poor little Robin tunbled and hurt his
foot SO that he couldn't walk. Dick tried
to carry him, and got him to an old stack
in corner of the field, and there they had
to stay all night
Poor little boys. Go on, papa said
Truda, very much Interested. What did
they do the next morning?
Robin could not walk and Dick was
afraid to leave him. so they sat by the
hay stack and cried-two very forlorn lit
tie boys. They found some more black
berries in the hedge, and Dick picked all
he could reach, and gave the larger share
to Robin because he had hurt his foot.
They felt very queer, and Robin could not
keep awake; he would 90 to sleep, though
Dick shook him every now and then and
shonted in his ear
why, where was their father all this
time? Didn't he look for them, papaP
If | were lost you would look for me, said
Iruda.
Their father and mother were away
from home, and the servant was afraid
to tell any one that the children were lost,
until the day after Then she told some
men, and they went to look for them, and
one of them sent for their father to come
home
4 am glad! now they will be found
said Truda, cOntentedly.
AT last Dick saw some smoke curling
up among the trees u little way off. Now
Dick knew that where there was smoke
there must be u fire, and where there was
fire there must be some one to attend to
it. Robin was still fast asleep, and he
couldn't wake him; so leaving him under
the stack, be ran rs fast as he could to-
ward the trees, and there he found little
cottage. The door was open, and inside
he saw an old woman warming up some
potatoes in n frying pan. He did'not wait
to knock, but walked straight in and put
ting his arms around the little old woman,
burst into tears. She was quite frightened
at first, and could not think what was the
matter; but he soon told her.
I'm lost he sobbed, 'and Robin is
alseep under the stack, and we are so hun
cry That was quite enough for the kind
old woman. She made him tell her where
fetched Robin, and then she divided the
potatoes between them. There were not
many, and the boys were SO very hungry
that they were gone directly, and Robin
began TO cry for more. The old woman
looked troubled, and said she had not got
any more, whereupon Dick suggested
bread and butter. To his surprise, she
shook her head and said she had not had u
bit of bread in the house for three days.
He asked her to get some more potatoes,
but she shook her head again: they had
eaten he last.
why papa, the poor old woman must
have been hungry, too cried Truda. 'Had
she given Them her support
Yes, every bit of it. | do not know
what they would have done if the old wo-
man had not remembered that il was near
Iy time Tor the mail cart to pass. Taking
both the little boys with her, she went
down to the road, and there they stood till
the mail cart came up. Then she stopped
IL Hi, 81 a all al. IL nd
he promised to send some one for the
children, and then putting his baud
under the seat, he pulled out n large loaf
of bread, and dropped it into the old wo-
mans apron.
And the dear little old woman had some
supper too?
-, ycs there was plenty for all. And
after supper the boys went to sleep, but
they were soon awakened
4 know! | know! it was their father'
cried Truda. The ,ail-cart man told him,
and he ran off directly. o, weren't they
all glad?'
i was said her father. Robin was too
tired to know much about it,
why, papa WAS it you? And uncle
Robert when he was II little boy? Did it
really happen?'
Every bit of it,
And the poor old woman who gave you
all her supper! | love that old woman,
papa.
And so do l. Every Saturday after
that, Robin ard used to go and see her,
and would take her loaf of home baked
bread and some cheese or butter, or some
thing else nice. Our mother never for
got who fed her little boys when they were
hungry
Was she such very poor old woman,
papaY
so poor that she had often gone supper
less to bed, and sometimes had had nothing
but potatoes to eat for days
Truda's head went down on her fathers
shoulder.
Papa, just now an old woman came to
the door and asked me to give her some
bread and l wouldn't
why wouldn't you?'
1 didn't want to leave my fairy tales.
Papa, am so sorry
Poor old woman! perhaps she will go
suppclless to bed, Truda.'
The quick tears sprang into Truda's
eyes. 4 will never, never do it again,
papan And she never did. No poor wo-
man ever asked her for bread in vain and
many u poor old woman had nice supper
bought with Trudas pocket money when
she crew oller.-EdrlV Days.