Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-12-07

| VI hhhAs n Nuibb Nhlltus btut Bbuul
Hornish !"
"werl well!" cried Mrs. Hornish, "if
there ant Hiram and Jessy Thing"
why amt you on the way to the picnic,
Deb Z" cried the young girl in the buggy
"Oh you know wool. pickin is such fun, "
said Deb, with droll look, ~ couldn't resist
comm over and lendiu' a hand"
well you girls are crazy, said Mr. Thing,
/ jumping out Of the buggy 'heres Jessy,
nothn' would do but she must come to the
woolpickin."
THAT'S natural enough, brother. never
did want to go to the picnic much What
could I do on my crutches amongst lot O.
| lively young folks. 1 should Just a. been
drag on you. But | can pick wool with any
body, so here l am. It's different however,
with Deb"
Eyes, indeed" cried Mr. Thing, eagerly,
''and now, Miss Deb, do let me persuade you
to change your mind You see I haven't any
company now that sis has deserted me- I'll
be proud If you'll let me drive you to the pic
mic, and keep company with you today"
/ Poor Deb how handsome he looked az he
stood there twisting his fingers in the horses
name. Tall and slim, his eyes as blue as his
calico shirt, and dancing with fun under his
| wide straw bat. How nice this warm day,
| TO drive along the waving wheat fields meet.
ing the breeze ss it rufiled the young corn
| TO fish under the shade of a cotton wood tree
Much, much better than TO sit in a stufy
room, picking brambles out Of wool.
"Do 60" urged Jessy you know I'm as
| good as two at wool pickin'."
Whether young Mr.. Things smile was too
| confident, or Deb's own heart reproached
her, know not but at any rate she said
resolutely -
''I'll run a race with you in wool pickin',
Jessy Thing an that's all there is of that"
In the widow Manly's house there were
two rooms. One the kitchen, dining and
i COMPANY room with two beds in the cor
ner; the other sleeping-room for the wid.
ON aud her children. 1t was here, too, that
she retired to weep over her miseries a sol.
ace necessary only too often.
BY the time they had fairly got to work,
four more were added to the party, grand.
mothers all too old to care for picnics.
| Grandma Bixby" took the lead she was as
spry as a girl. and said she was 100 years
/ old Mrs. Higgins, noted for having survived
three congestlve chils Mrs. Harts, doubled
up with the rheumatism and funny little
old woman who had - children, and was
nicknamed Dame Thumb" by her boys,
made up the party A great heap of wool
was piled up in the middle of the floor. They
sat round it, and peeped at each other over
the top Of the pile as people do at dinner.
parties over the epergne.
"Tm afraid, ladies, that my wool is dread
ful dry said the Widow Manly, with a de-
pressed air
why Mrs Manly" cried Jessy Thing,
gaily, what would you do if your sheep
were ike some l read of the other day out
in Colorado Why, in the time of drouth
their feeces get full Of dust then the wind
blows the grass-seeds into the wool, and
when the rain comes, the seeds sprout, and
Of onrHf III. Nha ghaa afr h.
green grass growing on their backs!'
All heads turned to look at Jessy. No one
spoke. But after a long silence Dame Thumb
said,
''Jessy Thing, you're iokin', amt you z"
Il declare read it, said Jessy, twinkliug
her eyes at Deb.
"She always was master hand to joke,
said Grandma Bixby II saw her born and
her mother and her grandmother"
The wool-picking went on SO vigorously
that by dinner-time it was more than half
done. After dinner Deb insisted that the
widow Join the cheerful company, and leave
her to do the clearing up. While Jessy, de-
claring herself so tired that she must take a
incoming" went down to the spring to rest
under the shade of the trees, Deb hustled
around rafting the dishes, and listening to
the old ladies chTp in the next room.
Them Things Is such nice folks" said
Dame Thumb.
"Well, when alrs said an done they've got
the curiousest name in the world" sighed
the Widow Manly.
Don't you know how that came about 2"
asked Grandma Bixby.
II did know, but it's kind of slipped my
mind, OWN to SO much trouble"
why, the great. grandfather O. these young
Things he was named Blizzard. And he had
q sight O. trouble all on account of his name.
Do what he would, the boys would call him
Buzzurd an flap their arms like wings when
he came around an vex him real tough. So
he went to the Legislature prayin' for his
name to be changed. All right, says the
Legislature, what name'll you hAve? Oh!
anything, says he, anything 'Thatll do,
says the Judge. Write that name down, he
says to the lerk-'Anything.
Old Blizzard, he was so struck of a heap
that he couldn't say a word. And so, in the
snsppin' of birds eye, he was written down
bv the name of Anything. The neG ginera-
lion they dropped the Any, but Things they
are to this day"
IAN Things they will remain" solemnly
said the old lady with the rheumatism, "till
the last day, when they'll be called up by
their proper name o. Blizzard"
"Well, Thing is good name" said Dame
Thumb It's so handy like; an forget il
you can't"
There's good many girls in the country
would be glad enough to take it, said the
widow.
Debby in the next room felt her cheeks
burn. The stove was so hot
"Tll go down to the spring and wash the
rolling pin, " she called and catching heI
sunbonnet, she walked of tanning herself
with her apron.
The spring was shaded by willows, and un
der one of them Jessy lay asleep. Her crutch
had fallen by her side, one arm was rounded
under her head, the other. half bare, wai
flung out on the grass.
II will not wake her, thought Deb, ''pool
child how tired and warm she looks !"
But at this instant Deb's eyes grew wide
with horror. Within a foot of Jessy's bare
arm was young adder. Its head, spreading
out little, was reared to strike white foam
was at its mouth. How Deb did it she neve
knew, but the next second she had strucl
wildly at that evil head with the rolling pin
and was crying
wake! Jessy Wake!"
Jessy did wake and to scene that sht
, never forgot. Deb had not dared to raise thi
rolling. pin TO strike again but pressed upoI
it with the energy of despair, fastening th'
reptile to the earth, though it squirmed. anC
r hissed, and twisted itself round the brav
! girls wrist,
, Get to the house, Jessy, as fast as yol
can, and bring a knife"
She hobbled off, and in time TO be count
: ed by seconds, was back again with the Who'll
! party. The four old ladies and Deb's mothe
> were unnerved. But the Widow Manly, 70
3 once in her life rising 10 the occasion, cut OF
5 the adder's head in a mastery manner, jus
: below where Deb held it down with the roll
i ing-pin.
They are. used to snakes in this broad
beautiful West of ours, so no one tainted
Not great deal was said. But Dame Thum
patted Jessy on the head, with, You ha
= an escape, honey. That was apowerful pize
) snake"
Il know it" said the girl, with quiC
:, shudder.
! The wool.picking went on but Jessy clun
9 to Deb and did not do much more. As th
sun went down and the party broke up, sh
9 said, eff it hadn't been for you, Debb!
u Dame Thumb and the rest would have dres
= ed me for the grave by this time and so H
4 ram would a. found mo when he got home" "
9 "Tm glad happened to have the rollin
" pin, " said Deb, practically.
% Through the winter that followed, il wi
, observed that young Mr.. Things horse stol
ped with tolerabe regularity al the Hornit
~ gate and there is rumor that Deb vi