American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1881-09-03
FRETFUL ELLEN.

one nau very DrlSnG eyes, rosy
cheeks, a sweet, laughing mouth. and
her name was Ellen; but am sorry to
add, she was sometimes called '.fretful
Ellen"
She had great many trials. l sup
pose that was the reason she had be-
come fretful SO early in life. If she
went 20 walk, it was too warm, or the
wind was too cold. She found the
potatoes too hot for breakfast, and
mamma would not allow her to drink
coffee. If she waz left alone with her
little brother Archie, he was certain to
pull her hair or to tear her book. At
school she complained very often to
the teacher that some one was pinch
ing her; but the worst trial of all was
brother Tom. He had hateful red
book, and every time she cried or
whined he would take it out and write
down something like this;
''s a. m. Ellen cried because her boots but
$50 Ellen cried because there were no
sponge cakes for lunch"
One day there were twenty-seven
such entries, every one OF which
Tom read aloud at tea You can see
she had a very trying life. and things
seemed to get worse as she grew older.
One warm day in early summer,
after an unusual number of trials, the
CLIMAX was reached when she saw there
were no Strawberries for tea. She
made everyone SO uncomfortable that
she was sent away to stay in her room.
Ellen sat down by the window where she
could losk into the pleasant little yard
and see the tulips and syringas. She
saw some robins flying about the maple
tree, and q cat crawling under the
bushes looking as contented as possible.
She wondered why every thing looked
SO happy when she was SO miserable.
Suddenly everything in the yard
seemed to change i'll n most astonish-
ing manner. and the queerest looking
old man, with his face puckcred up into
a scowl. came walking on the piazza
roof toward her.
When he spoke his voice was crosser
than the crossest child's you ever
heard.
"How do you like my country?'' he
said.
II don't know" replied Ellen.
"Where am II"
"In the Fretful Land" said the
scowling man. Here you will see all
the cross and discontinued people and
things. Those tulips over there in the
corner, with their heads bent down and
covered with dust, did not like to bloom
so early in the season, SO we brought
them here where nothing blooms. That
rough-looking robin with HIS head
under his wing, would not sing because
his song was not as sweet as a canary's.
Nothing sings here"
but what is the matter with that
tree?" interrupted Ellen.
THAT" said the man, "that is a
maple tree that was discontinued be-
cause it could not bear acorns like an
oak"
What does all that cat?" said Ellen,
forgetting her fright in her curiosity.
- 1t does nothing but stand there and
growl, looking as if its fur had been
rubbed the wrong way"
''All cats look SO in the Fretful
Land" said the queer man. "Would
you like to see how little girls lookP"
Quick as wink he drew little mirror
out of his pocket and held it before her.
She saw her own face SO twisted up in
an ugly frown that it looked like the
queer mans 8. and try as hard as she
could, she could not make it straight.
'.Ohr' she cried, Twill it always
look sop
'.Of course; you are in the Fretful
Land now.
but 1 don't want to stay here"
cried Ellen.
THAT makes no difference" said
the cross voice, "it's the only place
for YOU"
Ellen started up in horror. thinking
she would run away from the dreadful
country. AS she did so there was a
great crash which made her open her
eyes, to find that the cross man was
gone, and she was in her own room
with her chair tipped over at her feet.
1t was dark and the moonbeams were
stealing across the carpet. Before she
could realize what had happened, her
mother came in exclaiming. "What n
noise! You must have fallen out of
your chair. You have been sleeping
SO soundly that l did not like to dis
turb YOU"
II tried to get away from Fretful
Land, and my chair tipped over" said
Ellen. still rubbing her eyes.
"You have been dreaming" said her
mammal; 'nOw you must get into bed
for a nice, long sleep"
Goodnight. mamma" said Ellen.
wondering if her face looked as cross
as it did in the quee mans mirror.
The next day Ellen was very quiet
and subdued, and Tom had only three
cries in his book, and gradually there
was decided improvement in her
the Fretful Land; but l fancy she
thought the -C0ngregdtionaiist
n