St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-10-06
JASPER AND THE FIRE.

JASPER AND THE FIRE.
Jasper wished and wished and soishe9
he hadn't done it. But you can't undo
things that way, you know; the best
way to do is not to do them.
Perhaps that was about the way JAS
per himself thought, now that it was
too late, as, tired and anxious, ragged
and grimy, he skulked along in the
shadow toward home.
He was not very big nor very old,
this boy Jasper, and twas getting pref
ty dark, and Jasper himself was get
ting uncommonly hungry. But, some
way or other, he did not hurry home as
fast as YOU might think he would, I'M
der these circumstances.
But then he had good reason for
not hurrying.
Ordinarily, he would have rushed
home and into the house pell-mell, and
yociferously announced to his mother
that he was s'nungry as bear, and
wanted something to eat But You
don't like to run in the lannon's mouth
to get the ball.
And when Jasper got home tonight,
he was pretty sure of getting something
else besides something to eat: The
truth is, he expected to .'catch it" when
he got home.
Perhaps YOU don't know what 'scatch-
ing it is. Jasper did, perfectly well.
He had had considerable experience in
g catching it, !" but had never enjoyedit.
This was the reason why he felt SO
solemn this evening, and why he walked
SO slow, and why his feet felt so heavy
as he walked.
But must hurry and tell you what it
was that Jasper had done, and now
wished that he had not.
He had been to the fire, fatty dis
obeyed his mother, and scampered off
right before her very eyes.
1t was dreadful in Jasper; for, besides
the disobedience of the thing, his mother
was a nervous woman, and he should
not have helped to make her more so.
She had just been telling Mrs. Cole
man that it would drive her to the verge
of distraction to have her son running
around between fire-engines, and under
horses hoofs, and beneath blazing en-
bers the way those Warren boys did.
And Jasper had heard her tell Mrs:
Coleman this, too-or, at least. he could
have heard if he had listened.
I am not sure, though, that he did
listen, for, at the time. Mrs. Coleman
and Jasper's mother and Jasper himself
where ali standing on the sidewalk. try
ing to make out where the fire was
The fire-bells were ringing and the
fire-engines were rushing by, and q
crowd of men and boys were tearing
along the road after the engine. So you
| can see there was considerable to take
Jasper's attention away from what his
mother was saying to Mrs. Coleman.
Another thing that may have attracted
Jasper was his overwhelming desire to
become part of that moving mass of
men and boys.
"Can't | 60, mother ?'' he demand
ed, vehementlv, clutching at his moth
er's dress. s.I'll be sure and not get
killed. >
.No!" sad his mother, with empha-
sis. .sLet me catch you going, sir!
But the excitement of the scene be-
| fore him was too much for Jasper. 1t
was perfectly maddening to have to
| stand there stock still, as though he
hadn't any legs to run with, when eve
| rybody else-all the other boys, anyway
were running as fast as their legs
would carry them.
| just here, squad of little boys, about
4 Jasper's own age, came screeching and
Yelling down the road in the rear of a
tardy engine, and them really do not
think Jasper could have been personal
/ " responsible for what he did-he took
| to his heels, joined the crowd OF boys,
and was lost to sight, oil in Just about
one second.
/ And his mother was screaming after
him:
Come back here! oh, you'll catcl
ar'
/ If it hadn't been that she had the bah;
in her arms, / believe she would have
run along with the crowd herself il
! pursuit of this rebellious son OF hers
But all this had happened several hours
ago.
Jasper was not excited now, and hi
PERSONAL responsibility had all come
back to him It weighed him down
there was SO much OF it