The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1882-04-19
Animals,

Jimmy Brown in Harper's Young Feople.l
should like to be an animal. Not an
insect, of course, not a snake, but a nice
kind of animal, like an elephant or dog
with good master.
Animals are awfully intelligent, but they
haven't any souls. There was once an ele-
plant in circus, and one day boy said
to him, want lump of sugar, old fellow2"
The elephant he nodded. and felt real CRATE
full for elephants are very fond of lump
sugar, which is what they live on in their
native forests. But the boy put cigar in
stead OF lump of sugar into his mouth.
The sagaciOus animal, instead of eating
up the cigar or trying to smoke it and max
ing himself dreadfully sick, took it and car
ried it across the circus to q man who kept
a candy and cigar stand, and made signs
that he'd sell the cigar for twelve Jumps of
sugar. The man gave the elephant the su-
gar and took the cigar, and then the INTEL
ligent animal sat down on his hind legs
and laughed at the boy who had tried to
play Joke On him, until the boy felt that
much ashamed that he went right home and
went to bed.
In the days when there were fairies-only
don't believe there ever were any fairies,
and Mr.. Trsvers says they were rubbish
boys were frequently changed into animals.
There was once boy who did something
that made a wicked fairy angry, and she
changed him into a cat, and thought she
had punished him dreadlully. But the boy
after he was a cat used to come and get on
her back fence and yowl as if he was ten or
twelve cats all night long, and she couldn't
get wink of sleep, and fell into fever,
and had to take lots Of castor oil and dread
full medicines.
So she sent for the boy who was cat, you
understand, and said she'd change him back
again. But he said, "Oh, no; I'd rather be
cat, for I'm so Tend of singing on the back
fence" And the end of it was that she had
to give him tremendous sum of money be-
fore he'd consent to be changed back again.
Boys can play being animals, and it's great
fun, only the other boys who don't play
they are animals get punished for it, and l
say it's unjust, especially as 1 never meant
any harm ut all, and was doing my very
best TO amuse the children.
This is the way it happened. Aunt
Sarah came to see us the other day, and
brought her three boys with her. l don't
think you ever heard of Aunt Saiah, and /
l.
sisters, and he thinks great deal more of
l don't think it's much credit to anybody
to be sister anyway. The boys are twins,
that is, two of them are, and they are all
about three or four years old.
Well, one day just before Christmas,
when it was almost as warm outdoors as II
is in summer, Aunt Sarah said:
al Il 20 4olr no do
children out and amuse them few hours.
L know you're so fond of your dear little
cousins, and what fine manly boy you
arel' So / took them out, though 1 didn't
want to waste my time with little children,
for we are responsible for wasting time, and
ought to use every minute to improve our
selves.
The boys wanted to see the pigs that be-
long to Mr.. Taylor, who lives next door,
so took them through hole in the fence,
and they looked at the pigs, and one of
them said;
"Oh my, how sweet they are and how 1
would like to BE little pig and never be
washed and have lots Of swiiip
So said, why don't yoI play you are
pigs, and crawl round and grunt2 It's just
as easy, and I'll look at you"
You see, l thought l ought to amuse
them, and that this would be nice way TO
teach them TO amuse themselves.
Well, they got down on all fours and ran
round and gruntsd, until they began to get
tired of it, and then wanted TO know what
else pigs could do, so l told them that pigs |
generally rolled in the mud, and the more
mud pig could get on himself the happier
he would be, and that there was mud pud- /
die in our back yard tina. would make pig |
cry like child with delight.
The boys went straight to that mud pud- |
die, and they rolled in the mud until there
wasn't an inch OF them that wasn't COW
cred with mud so thick that you would |
have to get crowbsr to pry it off.
Just then Aunt Sarah came to the door |
and called them, and when she saw them
she said, "Gcod graciousl what or earth have
you been doingH' and Tommy, that's the
oldest boy, said:
We've been playing we were pigs |
and it's real fun, and wasn't Jimmy good TO |
show us how7"
think they had to boil the boys in hot
water before they could get the mud of,
and their clothes have all got to be sent to
the poor people out West, whose things
were all lost in the great floods. If you'll
believe it, / never got the least bit of
thanks for showing the boys how to amuse
themselves, but Aunt Sarah said tina. I'd
get something when father came home, and
she wasn't mistaken. I'd rather not men
ton what il was that got, but got it