Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-03-21
THE HEAD OF THE CLASS.

THE HEAD OF THE CLASS.
Willie Fiske was one of the very bright
est boys in town, and, although he loved
fun as we'll as any of the rest of his mates
yet he was very fond Of study, and was
never quite contented until he reached the
head of the class in which he was.
When he was eleven years old he en-
terea the grammar school, and his father
said to him at that time: willie, if you
ever get to be the first one of the first
class in the first divisioA-that is, to be at
the head of this great SCHOOL, will give
you a gold watch"
1t looked liked a pretty big Job; but
Willie was quite ready to undertake it
and answered.: 4
GAIL right, papa; you can just make up
your mind to hand over the watch by the
time I'm fourteen years old"
He went to work very much in earnest,
and, as he passed from time to time
through different classes, and succeeded
in keeping at the head Of them-often for
weeks together-he began to feel that the
watch was pretty sure thing, aud would
imagine how grand he should feel to take
it out and "tell the fellows the time of,
day."
Willie was very generous boy, and
was never so happy as when sharing some
good thing with others. He always de-
Tended the smaller boys, and if any one
was in trouble he was on hand at once to
help them out of it. OF course he was
great faYOrite with both the bows
and girls, and no one ever seemed to
envy him because he had rich father, or
| because he was SO good a scholar just
as he reached his fourteenth birthday be
entered the highest class IN the school,
1t was now that the watch was to be won
or lost. He had not been ia the class q
week before he found that he had rival
"a very sweet little girl, named Flossie
Lee. She had just come into the school,
as her parents had only recently moved
to our village from distant city, and
Flossle, after an examination, had been
placed in the same class with Willie.
OF course che was stranger to US all,
but there was something SO pleasant in
her face, and her manner so gentle, that
if she had chosen she could have had
hosts of friends, but she seemed to prefer
to keep good deal 10y herself. Her
simple dresses, with the neat ruff1es in
the neck and sleeves, with her fresh wkite
aprons that never seemed to get spot
on them, looked very plain beside the
stylish suits of the other girls. Perhaps
she felt this and so kept apart from
them. But one thing was sure: Flossie
was at that school to get her education
and she knew she must make the most of
her time. Her parents did not have
great deal of money; but, as their little
girl was fine scholar, they felt that they
must send her to school as long as they
could, and Flossie often told them that
she ''meant to be a teacher and earn lots
Of money for them" So you see that, al
though she didn't have a gold watch to
work for, she had something worth
good deal more. And this Flossie Lee
was the rival Willie had found, for she
very soon skipped over all the others and
took her place at the head of the class,
and it looked as though it was going to
be pretty hard task to get her out Of it.
Quite ia despair, one day Willie said to
his mamma:
otis no use trying, I tell you, l shall
never get higher than number two-never!
Flossie can't fail. But th:re's one thing
about it, if anyone has got to keep me
fromsgetting to the head this year I'd
rather it would be Flossie than ANYBODY
else in school, for like her first rate"
And guess he did, for many fire
pear, or bunch of grapes, or delicious
orange did Willie take from his own
home table and watch his chanch to put
them into Flossie's modest little lunch
basket that hung under her saque in the
hall OF the school, "for," as he told his
mamma one day, "Flossie never seems to
have anything but crackers or bread and
butter for luncheon, and she almost al
ways goes off by herself to eat it, when
all the rest of US are having lots of good
les; and I tell you it's fun mamma, to
hide and watch her eyes shine when she
finds the things I've put in guess she
thinks it's some good fairy that puts
them there, don't you?'
One day at recess, as group of boys
and girls were chattering together about
a very hard lesson they had just finished
receiting. in which every one of the class
had failed at least once, save Flossie, one
OF the boys, who was rather rough in his
way, called out:
Say, Will Fiske, you can bet on one
thing pretty sure, and that is that you'll
never get that gold watch as long as
Flossie Lees in the class. Numbr one
she is. and number one she'll stay"
II know that" said Fanny Huntly.
who never had perfect lesson in her life;
" l should think you'd be as mad as fire
at her, Willie, instead of doing what l
saw you do to-day. Who was it put that
orange into her basket, 1 should like to
know, eh9',
"'Fore I'd be such a tell-tsle, Fan
Huntly," said bright girl in the group;
eff you weren't always peeking round
you would not see so much.''
81 don't care" answered Willie; II am
not ashamed of it. Yes, l did put an
orange into her basket, and wish 1 had
the chance oftener, for she's good and
kind, and like her the best of any girl
in school 80 there, noww and turning
on bis heel he called out:
"Come on, fellows, lets have a game of
hockey before the bell rings" and in two
minutes he had forgotten all about it.
Not so FIossie, who had heard every
word. The children had stood directly
underneath an open window, where be-
hind the blinds Flossie had been seated
eating the orange she had found in her
basket. The tears were in her eyes as
Willie turned away, but they were more
happy tears than sad ones. She exclaimed
to herself: ''Then its he that's been put
ting all these good things into my basket;
and he can't get gold watch because
always know my lessons. Oh, wish l
could fail!'
She puzzled over it for long time how
she could manage to fail honestly, for
she said to herself: I can never say l |
don't know if do, when the questions
are asked me-"
AT last she thought OF way. II know
how I can do it, she said; ''day after to-
morrow cofnes orr freOpranhv reviou nf |