The Penn's Grove record., 1882-01-07
Our Young Folks.


STRETCH 1T A LITTLE "A little sirl
and her brother were on their way to a
ragged school on a cold W inter- morn
ing@ The roofs of Che houses and the
grass on the common were white with
frost, TIE wind very sharp. They
were both poorly dressed, but the little
J girl had a sort of a coat over her,
which she seemed to have outgrown.
As they walked briskly along, she
drew her little companion up to her,
saying:
Cone under my coat, Johnny"
1T isn't big enough for BOTH he
replied.
"Ob, but | can stretch it d i%ittle,'
she said and they were soon as close
together and as warn al two birds in
the same nest. How many shivering
todies and heavy hearts and weeping
eyes there are in the world, just be
cause people do not stretch t,eir c3m-
forts a little beyond themsl es.
TRUE AND FAITHFUL Charlie,
Charlie !" Clear and sw eet as a note
| struck from a silver hell the voice
rippled over the com,non. THAT'S
mother" cried one of 4 boys, and he
instantly threst Icy his bat and
picked up hisjackti rher4 ?.
Don't go yeti cart ! out!"
Finish this GAM iii al it again."
cried the players nal. 70 ilsF chorus.
81 must gc-rigff off--this minute.
[ told her I'd CINE whenever she
called"
MAKE believe you didn't hear"
they exc'aimed.s
"But I did bear.p
"She won't lroR you did"
But 1 know j., and"
"Let him co. said a b~ystander,
"you can't do Anything with Him
he's tied to hii mothers apron
strings
THAT'S So" san Charles, "and it's
t what every boy ought to be tied,
and in a hard knoll, too"
~ wouldn't be such a baby rs to
run the minute she called"
II don't call it babyish TO keep ones
word to his mother," answered the
obedient boy, a beautiful light glowing
in his blue eyes 81 call that manly /;
and the boy who don't keep his word
to her, will never keep it to any n
else-you see if he does y and he hur-
ried away to his cottage nonne.
Thirty years hJb passed since those
boys played on tlfs common. Charlie
Gray is a prospect jus business IMAM in
a great city, aad his mercantile
friends say of him lshat " his word is a
bond" We asked i'm how he acquir-
ed such a reput.. a. II never broke
my word when a Toy, no matter how
great a temptatioln aud the habits
thus formed then, have chung to me
through life.n
THE Pro AND The Hollow Loa.-
My story is abouta hqtato field in old
/ Virginia" 1t had around it " stake
and rider fence" The potatoes grew
and grew, in sunshine, dew and rain.
The owner of the fieldsaw that there
was something wrong with his potato
patch. The vines weFetorn up and
the potatoes were gone. But who was
the thief? By wat thing, may be, the
robber may be found.
The farmer hid himself among some
bushes. But he saw nothing, except
n of his own little pigs. Piggy was
coming slowly, slowly along the big
road. He was roofing all the way, and
granting at every step. Did the pig
know here he was going?
One corner Of the rail fence rested on
"a large hollow log. That log was Just
like the elbow of a stove-pipe. One OF
its ends was outside and one was in
side of the potato field.
The sly pig went straightto the log /!
With a grunt, he crawled in at one
end of it, and with another grunt, he
crawled u atahe other end into the
field. There he began at once.t to root
up the nice potatoes and eat them.
The farmer jumped over the fence.
In a trice the bars were put down
There was a loud call: "Here Rover,
Rover, seek him seek him, sir!n
And the dog chased the thieying ras-
Jcal squealing from the field.
The farmer said to himself: an
fix things all right, Then he turned
the log so that the elbow was in tn,
field, and both of its ends were on th,
outside.
Then the farmer hid and watched
again. Mr.. Pig came along q second
time. He thought everything wa
right. He crawled into the log one,
more. He crawled through it but h,
was still on the outside of the fence.
The pig grunted. He lifted up hi
he'd. He looked all around in grea
surprise. He wondered what wa.
wrong. Then he grunted louder, ans
tried once more. Again he failed
And he failed as often as he gruntes
and tried.
The merry farmer laughed loudly a
the wicked and astonished pig.
Thieves are sometimes caught IL
J their slyest tricks!-0w Little Ones.