Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-04-09
A Nonsense Story.

are interested, and then suddenl,
stops at an exciting point, and th,
one sitting next must take il up anC
go On. 1t is capital game for lon.
evenings. Here is one that grew uy
in our sittirg-room the other night
/ We were sitting around the fire
between daylight and candlelight
young folks and kittens, when some
body said:
Let us tell nonsense story"
"Ali right" said papa, land
mamma shall begin"
30 mamma began.
"Once there was cobbler who
had his shop in the market place ol
Bagdad. 1t was a very small shop,
and over the door was this sign
Old shoes made as good MS new.
A great many old shoes went in the
shop door, and if they did not come
out quite as good as new the owners
never made any complaints, for the
cobbler always did his best, and
never refused to undertake job, no
matter how bad it was. One day q
stranger came into the market place
and walked slowly about, looking in
at all the shop windows. He was O
very small man, with little
shriveled face, and keen black eyes
like weasel. His hair was long
and gray, and he had hands like
claws. He was wrapped from tip to
toe in long black cloak, and his
shoes had high heels, and narrow,
pointed toes, like no other shoes
that had ever been seen in Bagdad.
When the cobbler saw him looking
in at his window be felt the very
flesh creeping on his bones, and
when the stranger walked in at the
shop door the cobbler was so startled
that he swallowed all the pegs he
had in his mouth. The stranger
only nodded, and drew from under
his cloak very ragged shoe. In
fact, you could.:hardly call it shoe,
but lot of holes held together by
strings of leather"
II have read your sign" said the
stranger, "and l want you to mend
this shoe"
"The cobbler looked at it, and
his teeth chattered.
"It is very DID," he said.
Mend it," said the stranger.
81 will wait for it," And he sat
right between the cobbler and the
door.
"The poor man went to work,
and wonderful to tell, the patches
grew into place as fast as he fitted
them on, so that in hat an hour
there was as fine a shoe as ever came
from the last"
"Here is the money" said the
stranger. offering him curious sill
yer coin.
"You are quite welcome" said
the cobbler, putting his hand under
his leather apron, for he said to him.
self, IN not take the fend's mon
ey." But while his hands were still
under his apron he felt the money
slip into his pocket.
"Good day" said the stranger.
$50 long as you spend the shilling
wisely it will always come back into
your pocket, but when you put it to
bad use you will never see it
again"
"He stepped out of the doorway,
and though the cobbier ran to tue
window he was Nowhere in sight.
1t seemed as if he must have sunk
right down through the pavement.
The cobbler said"
Mamma stopped suddenly, and
papa, who sat next, was obliged to
finish the sentence and go on with
the story.
Beiabbers, but the ould chap
must have had pressin' business to
he after laying in such haste.
Wherever he would he gone dom,
know" and he shut up his shop and
started to find the stranger. He
sailed five times around the world
and, at last, he was wrecked on {
desert island mile and half cas-
of the north pole. The people wer,
very glad to see him, because thu
last shoemaker had just frozen t'
death. and they made him king
One day be went to Sunday Schoo
picnic on the top OF one of the high
est mountains, and while he wa
looking for a good place to max
chowder, be saw a small door in
ledge Of rock with a sign over IT
which read"
"No admittanee except on busl
ness" began Harry, instantly takini
up the story. a" So the man went IN
and found himself at the entrance Q
|, O long vaul.ed chamber. The wall
were covered With strange inscrir
tions, and on a table at one end wa
u feas. OF all manner OF daintie
spread for one person. He %