The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-05-06
IT'S ONLY BLOCKS.
Pathetic Story of a Brave Little sohool Girl

Mrs. Lovel, Katie's mother was seam
stress, and there were many days when
she had but little work to do, and the
pay was always small--only few cents
Tor q garment that she must work at tho
whole day long. But she struggled hard
70 pay the rent and keep Tim and Katie
In school.
In school--that was the great thing.
"Plcnty of money may come one day,
little ones she would say, ''hut it will
not be worth much If you do not know
how 10 use it. This is the most wonder
full country in the world, my brides.
Tim may be president and Katie Mrs.
President, and You can't know too much
of school books. I'm sure that, when
you re grown up, YOU can never DO glad
and thankful enough that your mother
sent you regularly to school. So don't
mind the patched clothes, but keep at
the head of your class. II you haven'ta
hat for your head"'
But the winter Katie was II years DID,
the brave little mother had less money
than ever before, and as the spring-time
came on they grew so very poor that
there was not always enough Of bread left
after brea kfast to make school-luucheon
tor Tim and Katie.
Give II alto Tim. Katie would say;
II believe l don't want anything at
noon" Poor little Katie! How hard
she tried TO think that she was not
hungry! How empty her hands felt at
first as she trudgcd along without her
dinner! And how her heart beat, and
how the blood burnt In her cheeks, when
the incoming came, and she Vt all tie
girls had no luncheon to eat. Oh, II any.
body should notice II. she thought; and
she studied how she might behave that
nobody should know she was so poor.
The hunger IN her stomach was not half
20 hard to bear as the fear that some-
body would know that she had nothing
10 eat.
But after few days, poor Katie be-
gan 10 think that the girls noticed that
she brought no luncheon. Then she
thought that perhaps If she. brought
something that looked like one, they
would never think about her eating it,
How she thought it all out cannot tell.
but If any of you have ever beon In
trouble and tried to think your way out
of il, perhaps YOU may remember that
you thought of some very foolish and
queer things, and this was theiway with
Katie. She might tie up a few Goals In
. paper, she thought, but her mother
would need every coal to keep up the
fire. There were some blooFs In one
corner of the small room--Tim's blocks
that Santa Claus had brought him one
Christmas two or three winters before.
She could tic up some Of those in pa
per for nake-bcliove luncheon, and
nobody would know. So she tied up a
few blocks neatly, and when her mother
noticed ii rs she started for school. and
asked In surprise what she had in the
paper, the poor child hung her head, and
then burst into tears. Il ~ u ''"
ooh, mammal she sobbed, "Iwauted
to make believe that had some luncheon
its only Tins blocks" ij
For one moment tho little mother did
not understand. and then suddenly 1t all
came into her mnd--hOw the pride Of
her child was wounded because she
could not appear as tho other school,
children did, and that she had fixed up
OH that simple device To hide her want,
And how 1t made her heart ache more
than ever that her poor little girl must
90 hungry! But she would not deprive
katie Of the poor comfort Of trying t
keep up appearances, and her thrca,
WAS too full Of choking Jumps for her Il
4 trust herself to say much; sosbesmooth.
! Cd the little girls hair and wiped AVA,
! Tie tsars from her face. and said brave