The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-12-31
choose and I choosed this.

choose, anu L cQOOS6u lulS.
"Benny's reasoning was good deal
like his carving; it looked right and the
result was highly satisfactory. Using the
haky crust for plates, and our fingers for
forks, we lost no time over our first course.
And funny tableau it must have made,
when at last the old people filed out from
around the long table.
"'Benny Reid What are you doing?'
exclaimed his mother, severely.
40, I told him he might, said grand
mother, bringing up in the rear, and stop
ping aghast as her eye fell upon the ruins
Of her mammoth pie-that beautiful up
per crust, with its carvings of grapeleaves
and miniature chickens
"' Yes, ma am; she told me to choose,
and I choosed repeated Benny, trife
less confidently than before.
So Ibid, so did = said grandma re-
signedly. But I never thought well,
well, it can't be helped and the poor
dears were so hungry But a Thanks
giving supper without chicken-pie was
never heard of in this house.
Couldn't they, began Aunt Nell, a
shy little thing of six years, tugging at
her mothers dress. Couldn't they, if
we didn't eat any turkey-chicken, fill up
the hole and darn the crust?'
How everybody did laugh, to be sure
1t helped to settle their dinners, [ guess;
and then grandfather said
we won't have a patched pie; but
theren be cold turkey enough-that is,
if this rabble do without.
"'And therell be plenty if they don't,
said grandmother, wiping her eyes: It's
lucky pa insisted on having roast-chicken,
too, for they wa MT hardly touched and
I'll go and make it right into salad. So
come along dearies, and eat all you
want.
"You may depend upon it, we did, all
except Benny. Nothing seemed to relish
with him, not even plum pudding. He
wouldn't talk and he wouldn't join in one
of the games, with which the old folks
tried to coax back their appetites before
supper At last he followed grandmother
into the kitchen.
"'I-I-I guess I knew-you didn t
mean-that one, he stammered but l
wanted it so bad-and you did say so,
you know. If you'd only scolded-I
shouldn't cared, but and the little
fellow burst into tears.
"' Now he's my little man again, said
grandma, taking the wet cheeks in her
warm hands. I'VE won't mind about the
pie, but grandma did want her Benny to
be brave, and honest, and true. She
doesn't want him to grow up one Of the
tricky sort; that's the trouble in business
and politics; folks choose the big pies,
which amt rightfully theirs, instead of
the little ones, honestly earned. Don't
you ever get rich that way, Benny. No
matter if you can argue it out right, if
you don't feel right clear way through,
you'd better be poor man.
"'Yesm, sobbed Benny I didn't
feel so very wicked, but felt awful
mean. It's bad enough to be most starved,
but feeling mean is a hundred times
worse.
"And that's the moral OF my story.
Rays grandma stopped so suddenly,
that Ray himself, leaning eagerly forward
to catch every word, lost his balance and
rolled quite over hassock, cat, snuf-box,
and ALL Off flew the cover, and up came
cloud of yellow dust into Rays face
and over Tabby's shiny black fur.
"There!" said grandma, demurely, Il
was going to sprinkle Tabby with snuff,
for fear Of feas, and now you've saved
me the trouble 70
"Twasn' t feas-achstz-choo-o I was
after-stz-tch-o-ol l meant-to make
her statehood Say, grandma, its
queer, but-ach-sthchooo-oI you know,
what Benny did looked right-stz-z-chol
when it was wrong; and now, 1 was right
when I meant-er-er-well, nothing so
very bad, only-oh, dear stz-z-ach-stz-
choo-o-ol for fun, you know"
Exactly, my little mischief-maker, "
said grandma, lending poor Ray her hand
kerchief. "The moral of your story may
be found in the 10th verse of the seventh
Psalm. Suppose you get the big Bible
and read it, Hp.-Gololen Rule.