The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-07-02
THE POULTRY SHOW.

landed at the foot Of the garden, where
the river ran, fast wedged in cake of
ice, with hardly any feathers, and with
both feet frozen. Marcia took them in
and wrapped their poor claws in oil and
wool, and fed them in basket, and gave
them the air on fine days by walking
abroad with the basket On her arm, till,
as she went by, the neighbo1s were wont
to speak of her as the poultry show.
But Marcia was sublimely Indifferent
to neighbors considering that they existed
only for the purpose Of "borrowing'' and
being much more fond of dumb animals
than humanity, going about half the time
followed by her pets-a bird in her hair,
parrot on her finger, cats purring round
her feet and dogs bounding in her path
She heartily agreed with somebody who
says dog is a perpetual baby in the
house, never growing up and never tell
ing tales Of course her brothers and
her superior elder sisters, and all her
cousins and their confidential friends,
thought Marcia's last fancy was the worst
OF all. '1Those ridiculous chickens,n was
becoming a family watch-word But
their condition ON that cake of ice, as thew
tloated farther and farther away from the
barn-yard that was home, rather touched
Marcia's heart, and she would have given
them her own breakfast, and would have
gone without every day herself, rather
than not have fed them. Although the
means at home We're limited, still they
were not SO much SO that the chickens
needed to go unfed; but the fact of Mar
cia's temper getting fired early in the
affair, although she said nothing, deter
mined her to make those chickens paw for
what they had; and when one day, she
brought in dozen great pearley eggs and
laid them in triumph on her mother s Ian,
she felt that she had said great DEAL
But, those eggs bestowed, she allowed
her mother no more Great ideas had
entered her head. She came home one
day from long walk with black Span
lsh ID her arms, for which she had con-
tracted debt to be paid in her Houdin
eggs. When, some six weeks afterward,
dozen curious little gallinaceous speci-
mems were running about the ward,
Marcia watched them with intense curl
osity, and for weeks, if not months, to
come, seemed to be holding her breath.
Not an egg of her Houdin hens, however.
did she allow to be taken for pudding or
cake: one basketful of them went to buy
ing pair Of young brown Leghorns, an
other basketful was found to have pur-
chasing power equal to securing pair Of
white bantams, and then the Houdin hen,
whose inclinations had been seriously
tempered with, insisted upon raising a
family of her own. But Marcia felt well
equipped, and she iadded only some pa
tience to her stock in trade Just then.
At four months old her brown Leghorn
pullet laid an egg, and Oh that same day
she brought one of her twelve chickens
into the house in a rapture-it was a
black chicken with huge white top
knot. IL
My fortunes mader said Marcia.
''There are No fowl like these in all this
part OF the country. It's a black Poland.
read about them in the library book"
Il declare, Marcia" moaned her moth
er, II believe you're insane about these
miserable birds. You have no time or
thought for any thing else. And here is
all your music going to waste
GLOW many years have / been taking
lessons, mammal
GLOW many years? Ever since you
were born, was going to say
"And can't play page without my
notes, nor then so that the composer
wouldn't run away if he heard me- So
what is the use? Now I have found just
what I'm fit for. If only had some sort
OF carpenters skill
''Well, should like to know what you
want that for in taking care of hens"
said Bessie.
'Ishould think it would be of about as
much use as embroidery said Emily.
'Marcia always was so impracticabler y
sighed her mother.
What is it you want to do, Marcia?'
asked Philip-Tom's classmate, who
spent half his time at the place. , -
lust to make boxes and roosts and
hutches for my hens, so as to keep them
Wholesome l21S and happy, you know. rs4
"Wholesome and happy!' said her
mother.
"Why, yes, mamma" said Bessie. III
should think there was really sense in