St. Landry democrat., 1882-06-17
Rats and Mice.

afraid of them, and / shoUldn' mind If
there were morenamillion mice in my
bedroom every night.
Mr.. Travers told Sue and me a ter
cible story one day about woman that
was walking through a lonely field,
when she suddenly saw tield-mouse
right in front of her. She was a brave
woman; so after she had said: "Oh,
my! save me, somebodyn' she determ-
ined to save herself if she could, for
there was nobody within miles of her:
There was q tree not very tar OFT, and
she had just time to climb up the tree
and seat herself in the branches when
the mouse reached its foot. There that
animal stayed for six days and nights,
squeaking in way that made the
woman's blood run cold, and waiting
for her to come down. On the seventh
day, when she was nearly exhausted, a
man with gun came along and shot
the mouse and saved her life. don't t
believe this story, and l told MI. Trav,
ers so; for q woman couldn't climb {
tree, and even if she could. what would
hinder the mouse from climbing after
her?
Sue has new young man, who comes
every Tuesday and Thursday night.
One day he said: Jimmy, if you'll get
me a lock of your sisters hair I'll give
you nice dog" | told him he was
awfully kind but l didn't think it
would be honest for me to take Sues
best hair, but that I'd try to get him
some of her everyday hair. And he
said: "What on earth do you mean,
Jimmy?'' And I said that Sue had got
some new back hair little while ago,
for was with her when she bought it,
and 1 knew she wouldn't like me to
take any of that. So he said it was no
matter, and he'd give me the dog any
way.
told Sue afterward all about it, just
to show her how honest | was, and in
stead of telling me was a good boy,
she said: "Oh you little torment
g'way and never let me see you again"
and threw herself down on the sofa and
howled dreadfully, and mother came and
said: " Jimmy, if you want to kill your
dear sister, you can just keep on doing
as you do" Such is the gratitude OF
grown-up folks.
Mr.. Withers-that's the new young
man-brought the dog, as he said he
would He's q beautiful Scotch terrier,
and he said he would kill rats like any
thing, and was two years old, and had
had the distemper; that is, Mr.. Withers
said the dog would kill rats, and of
course Mr.. Withers himself never had
the distemper.
OF course, l wanted to see the dog
kill rats, SO I took him to rat-hole in
the kitchen, but he barked at it so loud
that no rat would think of coming out.
If you want to catch rats, you mustn't
begin by barking and scratching at rat
holes, but YOU must sit down and kind
of wink with one eye and lay for them,
just as cats do. told Mr.. Withers that
the dog couldn't catch any rats, and he
said he would bring me some in a box,
and [ could let them out. and the dog
would kill every single one OF them.
The next evening Sue sent me down
to the milliner's to bring her new bon
net home, and don't you be long about
it either you idle, worthless boy. Well,
l went to the milliner's shop, but the
bonnet wasn't done yet; and as passed
Mr. Withers' office, he said: g 'sCome
here, Jimmy; I've got those rats for
YOU" He gave me a wooden box like
tea-chest, and told me there were a
dozen rats in it, and I'd better have the
dog kill them at once, or else they'd
gnaw out before morning. ~. .
When got home, Sue met me at the
door, and said: g Give me that bandbox
this instant, you've been mornanour
about it. l tried to tell her that it
wasn't her box; but she wouldn' listen,
and just snatched it and went into the
parlor, where there were three other
young ladies who had come to see her,
and slammed the door; but the dog
slipped in with her.
In about minute [ heard the most
awful yells that anybody ever heard 1t
sounded as if all the furniture in the par
lor was being smashed into kindling
wood. and the dog kept barking like
mad. The next minute a girl came fly
ING out of the front window, and anoth-
er girl jumped right on her before she
had time to get out of the way, and they
hever stopped crying: "Help murder
let me out oh my!''
[ knew, of course, that Sue had
opened the box and let the rats out, and
though [ wanted ever so much to know
if the dog had killed them all, thought
she would like it better if l went back to
the milliner's and waited a few hours
for the bonnet.
l brought it home about nine o clock;
but Sue had gone to bed, and the serv-
ant had just swept up the parlor, and
piled the pieces of furniture on the piaz-
"a. Father won't be home till next
week, and perhaps by that time Sue will
get over it. | wish | did know if the
dog killed all those rats, and how long
it took him Jimmy Brovn," IN
Harper's Young People. ~
AT Magnolia, Miss, bear went to
th a bouea of I'll Ora Tyford and wa1lyinr