The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-09-14

morning
He was awake bright and early, call
ing for his breakfast. We wet some
meal, and sprinkled it before him, and
he ate readily. We let him hop out of
the basket, and before night he would
follow us about the room, affording us
a great deal of amusement. He seemed
to take great liking to Bruno, our
dog, and would cuddle down between
his legs, with contented peep, when
ever he got chance to do so. But
Bruno did not like to play step-mother
to chicken, and would run away
from him, much to the poor little
things dissatisfaction.
AS he grew up to dignity of real
feathers, there was such stately air
about him that he had quite military
appearance, and we called him Nap0-
leon. He soon learned to come at our
call, and would perch on our fingers
and pick flies off the window, seldom
missing one. 1t did not take him long
to learn that there were manv things in
the house that he could get into, and
we had to keep him out of doors if we
cared to keep him out of mischief
Every night he came to the door, peep
ing sleepily, and we knew that he
wanted to be put to bed in his basket
he was a good-sized chicken before he
could be persuaded to sleep anywhere
else, and then he complained bitterly
over the loss of his old nest.
He was always fond of getting into
mischief, and when he got to be year
old he veXed father very much by
scratching in the garden. One day he
dug up all-the radishes.- The next day
he wallowed in the potato-bed. Then
we shut him up. The very next day
he managed to get out, and the first we
knew he had coaxed half a dozen
usually well-behaved hens. into the
strawberry-be and our berries were
all gone when we discovered what he
was about.
Grandma had string of gold beads.
She had had them ever since she was
a little girl and priced them very much.
There were about thirty of them, and
she had them strung on a stout piece
of ribbon, with an amber bead between
two of gold. She did not wear them
very often, but used to take them out
of her box of trinkets andlet us look at
them occasionally. Bessie, who was
seven years old, admired them very
much, and often leased grandma to let
her wear them little while. But
grandma always said no. She was
afraid Bessie might lose them. .
One day Bessie was in grandma's
room alone, and she took a look at the
beads. How they shone and sparkled!
| If she only might wear them for just
: little while! Grandma had gone over
to Mrs. Prices. Why shouldn't she
put them on and take walk in the
1 garden? Nobody would ever know.
Z She couldn't resist the temptation
She put on the beads, and slipped out
of the house through the back door.
She walked up and down the path
t several times, feeling as ''dressed up"
as if she were queen with crown on.
Then she spied CLEAN of red among
2. the currant-bushes all at once, and
away she went to see if what she had
seen was ripe berries. If there was
any one thing she liked better than
. another it was currants, and in the eX-
:, element of her possible discovery she
y, forgot all about her beads.
. Sure enough, currants were ripe, and
" she began to pick and eat them. She
- was so busily engaged in that delight
. full occupation that she did not know
. when the ribbon became united, and
y off slipped one of the gold beads into
: the path behind her. But Napoleon
g did, for the minute the bead struck the
! ground he picked it up, and swallowed
= it as if it were kernel of corn. The
q amber beads, which were strung be-
= tween the gold ones, fitted the ribbon
=, more closely than the others did, and
. consequently worked their way down
y the ribbon slowly. But every time an
! amber one reached the end of the
= string and slipped off gold one fol-
= lowed it, and Napoleon picked it up.
- When Bessie thought of the beads, and
= felt for them, half of them We're gone,
;, and she turned Just in time to see
2 Napoleon swallow the last one that had
fallen off. ..-'
:. "Oh dear!" cried Bessie, frightened
n almost to death. what shall do?''
5 And then she sat down in the grass and
+ cried as hard as she could. --
Mother ran out to see what the mat
d ter was. r"" ' 4l "t is
''Oh, grandma's beads" sobbed
0 Bessie, 81 took 'em out of her box, and
II the string broke, or something, and
e I've lost some of 'em, and 'Poleon' S
eat some of 'em up"
> When it was found how matters
| stood, it was decided that Napoleon
u must die. He had been guilty
u of thigh crimes and misdemeanors,"
q and showed no signs of reformation
after many and severe punishments.
n He had been threatened with death
:, quite often, of late, if he did not mend
Il his ways. Now, in order to recover
g grandma's beads, it seemed necessary
1t that he should lose his head. Accord
e ingly he was caught and taken to the
t block, and beheaded with due solemn
l ty. In his crop the lost beads were
found-every one of them--to Bessie
great delight. She learned lesson
it that day which she has never forgot
y ten.-C Christian Union.