The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-05-26

in pursuit.
Next to the orchard was wood: and
as Lively ran along the path he saw
Sambo scamper through the fence and
run on between the trees, and just ahead
of him, seeming like one of those wee
fairies that used to play such funny
tricks with people in the good old times,
was a white moth. Lively scrambled
through the fence and ran on after
Sambo, but the moth was in for race.
and Sambo was determined to win it;
and they kept ahead of Lively, whose
chubby legs did their best, however,
and were not far behind
Now, in the wood there was q brook,
not very deep one in the summer. un-
less there had been n rain; and there
had been heavy rain, so the brook
was full, and went singing and bubbling
over the stones. In some places, the
banks of the brook were about two feet
high; and III others, they were low and
sweet with wild-fowers. 1t can not be
said of Sambo that he was one of those
wise kittens who ''look before they
leap for, in trying to catch the moth,
he ran on until he came to one of the
steep places in the bank of the brook,
which were here quite wide. The moth
went flying across the brook, and. it be-
ing cool there, stopped toward the
water; and Sambo, seeing this, thought:
"Now l have it, and stopped to catch,
not the moth. but ducking. For
Lively, who was close behind saw
Sambo Jump, heard splash and
pitiful NEW, and running to the brook
saw a sadly wet kitten go rolling over
and over into the water-
Now, Polly had often said to Lively,
just as she kissed him goodbye at the
gate when starting for school, 'sBe care
full of Sambo, Lively, and don't let him
get lost or hurt" and as soon as he saw
the wet kitten in the brook, Lively
/ jumped into the water after it,
The water was quite deep herein
fact, it was quite deep all through the
woodland ran swiftly, for the ground
was sloping; and it tumbled Lively
/ down and rolled him over, as 1t had
done the kitten. But Lively did not
! think of himself; he scrambled to his
feet and hurried on, thinking only of
! Polly's "Don't let Sambo get hurt or
lost" and a pole standing up in the
water having stopped Sambo for mo-
ment, Lively caught him. But the
water ran too swiftly for him to get
back, and it was nearly up to his arms;
and he did not know how to keep on
with the current. and work gradually
toward the shore, 50 he was in q sad
plight. But he held on to the kitten;
and in little time he reached a place
which the children called the island. 1t
was two rocks close together, and the
earth had gathered about them and in
creased, so that there was place for two
or three bushes to grow. Lively put
the kitten ON this, and then climbed up
ON the rocks. The sun shone in be-
tween the trees; and Lively sat in the
sunshine and held the kitten, which
soon grew dry, and brushed its white
fur, and then began to play with the
leaves that swaYed back and forth IN
the wind
Then dinner time came, and Lively
heard the horns at the farm house call the
men home to their incoming. He had ever
been prompt to answer these, for he was
one of those healthy boys who are always
hungry; and so, when he did not come,
his mother grew alarmed, and, Just as
her husband opened the road gate, she
was starting out to look for her boy.
ale went to feed the chickens she
said So they went to the yard where
the chickens were kept, and there they
found the empty food-dish, but nc
Lively.
II will go to the woods,n said Jonas;
che may have gone there to play, and,
growing tired, lain down to sleep" Sc
he kept on, and soon discovered Lively
safely perched on the island. M
Wading in-for, though the water
} was up to Lively's arms, it did not react
to the tops of his fathers boots--,I0nas
, brought both Lively and Sambo home
| and when dinner had been eaten-fol
Lively was very hungry asked him
how he got on the rocks.
Then, Lively told of Sambo's chase
/ after the moth and of his chase aftes
Sambo; of Sambo's jump into the wa
ter, and how he jumped after himf o
5 their rolling over and over; of his capt
) uring Sambo and landing him ON thu
island; and of their drying themselves il
r the sun.
/ Then, Jonas laughingly said: - Tn
/ child was not born to be drowned, bu
: is regular young Neptune. We vii
, name him Neptune. ="
: And the family all agreed toit, thong
? Lively said he must keep his old name
1 too. So they called him Neptune Live
Y ~ Perriwinkle, which was the oddes
name of all. |
y Sambo never jumped into the brOo
7 again, though he still chased moths
5 but Neptune Lively proved that he wa
;, a veritable Perriwinkle, by tumbling in
d to the brook so often that his father de