Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-07-27
the BAD BOY.
He Fools the Old Man with Bogus
Serenade.

cch = ouHst
"There, you drop that, said
the groceryman to the bad boy, as
ne came limping into the store
and began to tumble around a
box of strawberries. Il have
never kicked at your eating my
Goldfish and crackers aud cheese
and herring and apples, but there
has got to be dividing line some
where, and / make it al straw
berries at six shillings a box and
only two layers in box. I only
bought one box, hoping some
plumber or gas man would come
along and buy it, and, by gum,
every body who has been in this
store has sampled a strawberry
out of that box, shivered as though
it we're sour, and gone off without
asking the price," and the gro.
ceryman looked mad, took the
Ratchet and knocked in the head
OF barrel of apples, and said,
"There, help yourself to dried
apples.
"Oh, l don want your straw
berries or dried app les" said the
boy, as lie leaned against the
showcase and looked at bar of
red transparent soap. 81 was
only trying to fool you. Say, that
bar of soap is old enough to vote.
remember seeing it in the show
case when l was about q year old,
and pa came here with me and
and held me up to the showcase
to see the tin tobacco box and
that round zinc looking glass, and
the yellow wooden pocket comb
and the soap looks just the same,
only a little faded. If you would
wash yourself once in awhile
your soap wouldn't dry up on
your hands," and the boy sat
down in the chair without any
back, feeling that he was even with
the groceryman.
"You never mind the soap 1t
is paid for, and that is more than
your father can say of the soap
that has been used in your house
for the last month";" said the
groceryman, as he split up q box
to kindle the fire, "But we Won't
quarrel. What is it / heard
about band serenading your
father and his inviting them in to
lunch?"
Don't let that get out or he
will kill me dead. 1t was q Joke
Que of those Bohemian bands
that go about town playing tunes
for pennies was over on the next
street, and | told my pa / guessed
some of his friends who had heard
that we had baby in the house
had hired n band and was coming
in few minutes to serenade him,
and he'd letter prepare to make a
speech. Pa is proud of being a
father at his age, and he thought
it was no more than right that the
neighbors should serenade him,
and he went to loading himself
for speech, in the library, and
me and my chum went out and
told the leader of the band that
there was family np there that
wanted to have some music, and
they didn't care for expense, so
they quit blowing where they was
and came right along None of
them could understand English
except the leader, aud he only
enough to go and take a drink
when he is invited. My chum
steered the band up to our house
and got them to play Babies on
our block, and Baby Mine, and
stopped all the men that were
going home and told them to wait
q minute and they would see some
fun, so when the band got through
the second tune, and the Prussi.
ans were emptying the beer out
OF the horns, and pa stepped out
on the porch, there was more
than a hundred people in front of
the house. You'd'a died to see
pa when he put bis hand in the
breast of his coat, and struck an