Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-05-12
The Very. Young Roester.

/ am rather young. to be sure, but
expect to outgrow that, and ought nos
to be blamed for IL.
My mother seems to think I am too
young to know anything. She Is al
ways telling me what to do, and what
not to do, as If I, seven weeks old, were
not able to take care of myself
She is very excellent person, in
deed, but she is only hen. Hens, you
know, never can crow.
All the big ROSTERS in the yard crow:
I suppose it is because they eat corn.
told my mother was going 70 eat corn
so l could crow. But she said must
keep on eating curds and meal and wa
ter, Just like any hen chicken, and the
Growing would come all right IN time
thought she couldn't be expected 70
know anything about growing, so l
made up my mind I'd try the corn.
tried it-but didn't crow.
Ichoked. ".
turned over on my back with my
claws in the air, and didn't care for
awhile whether I ever crowed or not
But got over it.
Then l thought I'd try roosting with
the big roosters,, and see If that would
help me. My mother said I'd better
not, but of course she'd say that"
1t was very hard work to. climb up
beside them. it wasn't so nice there rs
thought it would be-, 1t was cold,
and L was all the time afraid of falling.
But showed up close to the rooster that
has the biggest red comb, and held ON
as well ash could. '.sggtd -ll-op D..
Very early in the morning they all
tapped their wings and crowed.
Then l tapped n'ywings-but didn't
crow. EI.H' al tttlff.
Itoppled over.
thought my neck was broken, but
at last L managed TO crawl under my
mothers wing and get warm. l begin
to think she knows something. il she Is
a hen. She can't help being one, and
never shall be SO mean as to throw 1t up
to her. atfIt.
But there is one thing Tn bound to
do. i shall not tell her, for she'd be
sure TO make fuss. They always make
fuss. @
am going to swim. My mother says
Ican't, but OF course that Is because she
can't. p 9ra
Look at those waggle-tail. waddling
lingsi II they can swim so well with
their fiabby feet, why can't Ip,
Look at my slender, nicely turned
claws. and my gepteel figure. Do You
see what a high-bred air have when
turn my head, and how well my wings
are hungp When walk through the
yard, they all turn to look Mt me, and
my cousin, young Brown Leghorn.
stiffens up his little snip of comb. and
says, "What . vain young popinjnyp
That's all envy, you see; my comb In
an eighth of an inch higher than his.
But just wait till show them all
what swimming is. i shall walk quiet
ly down to the water (not with scram-
BILE and sputter like the ducklings),
and glide out with a graceful sweep,
while they all stare Mt me and wish they
could do 1t SO. p p .sssf .rs ....'v
Well, have had dreadful time.
When got in the water, It was very
cold. but I wasn't going TO stop for
that. l began to swim, but somehow
it didn't work well. My legs didn't
seem to amount to anything, SO I tried
my wings, and they went flap. flap
splash, splash! and wished 1 was
somewhere else. -. e,,.-...,,.. $500,
The ducks cried. "wa-wa-wa--wa
-wack, wack, wack." and Mother
Goose said, "Garrr-arr," and / was
just going down, down, downtown
in the cold water, when Biddy came by
with a dish of curds. She fished mo
out with stick, and flung me ON the
bank to dry in the sunshine.
might have been drowned, and then
I never should have learned to crow.
suppose had better take my moth
er's advice yet, for awhile. She really
knows q great deal (for a hcn).h p"
What a pity she was not a rooster!-.
Sydney Dare, in Yo,sth's COMPUTATION.