Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1881-08-27
pOlpn~rs.

lonely Girl.
To he sure her father and mother lived
with her, and they were all very well in
their way.
When it was bedtime or nap time.
nothing could be nicer than TO cuddIe
into mammals arms III the big rocking
chair. Or. if she fell down and bruised
herself, surely mammals was tile most
comforting hand in the world.
But 1t wasn't always bedtime or nap,
time, and she wasn't always bruised
and there were lots of times when papa
was away breaking" or "sceding " or
harvesting" on the farm, and mamma
flying about setting the house to rights,
and making everything bright and tidy;
and then Lottie was lonely and longed
for little playmates.
1t wasn't really so far to other houses,
where there wclo children, but the
wheat was So high between-so far, far
above the heads of little people-that
they might have wandered about for
hours and never found the way out.
One morning even Bruno, the old dog,
refused TO he company, and would not
let Lottie hang daisy-chains around his
neck. SO then Lottie sat on the piazza
and locked all over the sky for flock OF
wild geese, and all over the prairie for
drove Of cattle.
There was nothing to be seen any
where, so she went to her mother. who
was making soup for dinner, and said,
dolefully, Mamma, there is nothing
amoozing happening. The sky and the
prairie are all empty"
"Well, that seems to be sad case"
said mamma, smiling, "but 1 think the
trouble is i'll my little daughters eyes,"
"No, deed, it isn't, mamma Lottie
replied, eagerly. 1--WE looked and
looked, clear, clear of, and there is
nothing at ALL"
"Ah," said her mother, "that is just
the trouble. You have looked too far
away. Now you so and sit on that
stone," pointing at large stone down
by the side of the corn patch, "and keep
perfectly quiet, and look on the ground
all around you, and I'm quite sure you
will soon find something amusing"
Away ran Lottie, very much sur
prised and curious, and seated herself
on the stone.
AT first she didn't see anything but
corn-stalks, and had just discovered that
a corn-stalk was very pretty thing, so
tail and slender, with so many smooth
little joints and the fine yellow silk hang
ing down, when a kind of "chir-a-wirr"
sound made her look around, and there
she saw six or eight small mounds Of
earth, shaped just like an ant-hill, only
there was round hole in the side OF
each one, and out of one of these peeped
apair of bright eyes, and directly the
whole head peeped out, and then the
little creature came right out and sat up
on its hind legs. He had smooth,
glossy coat, with black stripe down the
back and red one on each side, and
tail that was neither so pretty rs squir-
rel's nor so ugly as a rats.
As Lottie didn't move anything but
her eyes, which opened wider and wider.
he concluded not to be afraid, but said
another "chir-a-wirr." and out came
another little creature, popping out Of
the same hole like jack-in-a-box.
That one also sat up, and the two
nodded and blinked their bright eyes at
one another, and did wonderful amount
Of "chir-a- WIRING" and finally off they
scampered to the high grass, and there
they found some weeds with seeds on
the top, but they were ever 80 high,
and how do you suppose they reached
them?
Why, the knowing creatures just
chewed at the base of the stalks till the
weeds fell down, and then in o twinklinR
they nibbled off tho seeds and packed
them away in the side of their cheeks,
made regular pockets of their cheeks,
and filled them so full that they stuck
out As if they had the mumps.
Then both darted back and into the
hole, and Lottie began to fear she
shouldn't see any more. when the biggest
one came skipping out again, and this
time stopped in the grass quite close tC
Lottie. and began to dig with his from,
paws like dog, and directly he pulled
out two. little things that looked like
onions, only smaller, but these he die
not take home, but, just peeling the
outer skin of with his sharp teeth, sal
mp and ate them.
Lottie thought this SO very funny thai
she ran away to tell mamma all about it.
"And what are they, these pity little
stped .things?" she ended breathlessly,
They are own cousins to the SOUR
rels that live in the walnut trees in New
England" said mamma, "only they
have different name. They are called