The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-02-03
Exaggerating.

I'm almost dead! 1t is asrhot as
| fire, and I've been more than dozen
miles after that colt
Andrew threw himself at full length
on the lounge and wiped the persplra-
ton from his forehead.
f"Where did you goP" asked his
| father. .,.-.s ,...s...t
81 went over to Briggs corner. and
back by the br dye. 49, -
THAT is less than q mile and half.
1t is so very warm, Andy? 1t seems
quite cool here"
mo, not.so dreadful, I don't sup
pose, if d taken it,moderate, but | ran
Ike lightning and got heated up"
s. You started about five O o'clock. my
son, and now it lacks Quarter of SIX"
said his father, consulting his watch.
- Yes, sir, just three-quarters of an
hour" answered Andrew, innocently.
"Does it take lightning forty-five
minutes to go mile and halfP"
Il didn't mean exactly that. father,
but | ran all the way, because ] expect
ed the whole town would be here to-
night to see my new veloc 'pede," ex-
planned Andrew, reluctantly.
"Whom did you expect, Andy? L
wasn't aware s5ch a crowd was to be
here? What will. you do with them
allP' ''Hi7' -
slim, Eddy and Tim told me they'd
be round after school, and | wouldn't
wonder If Ike came, too; that all"
1.-THE population of the town is five
thousand, and you expect three of them;
well, as you are very sick, I'm glad no
more are coming. You couldn't play
with them at ALL"
t'Sickp cried Andrew, 'springing to
his feet; ''who says I'm sick?'
''Why, Andrew. you said you were
al most dead; doesn't that mean very
sickP' .s.t70 fij rsl
trtYou are so particular, father, about
my talking! dom exactly mean what
| say, OF course. | wasn't nearly dead,
to be sure, but did some tall running,
! youibet There was more than fifty
dogs after me, and 1 don't go much on
dogs
"Quite band of them Where did
thew all come fromP' H..
..There was Mr.. Wheeler's sheep dog,
and Rush's store dog, and two or three
more. and they made for me. and so
ran as fast as | could" n
Five at the most are not fifty, Andy"
''There looked to be, fifty, any way"
replied Andrew, somewhat impatiently,
Carriers ten-acre lot was full of dogs
just making for me, and L guess you'd
thought there were fifty if it had been
you" .. ..,g... .a t..., .....
"Ten acres of dogs would be a great
many thousand; have you any idea how
manyp e..,...
Andrew did not like to calculate, for
it occurred to him what small space
ten or fifteen thousand sheep would oc-
cupy when camping and ten acres of
dogs would be past calculation.
But" his father continued, 81
know no better way to break you of the
foolish habit of exaggeration than to
tellthe children the trouble you had in
going after the, colt. You ran like
lightning, encountered ten acres of dogs.
which would be hundreds of thousands,
travelled more than dozen miles to get
one and half miles in a straight line,
expected to find five thousand people
here to examine your new velocipede,
and when you reached home was near
ly dead s..-a,,.. .st
''Please don't, father, the boys and
girls will all laugh themselves to death.
and won't exaggerate again if l live
to be as old as Methusalah" ..
Laugh themselves to death at
simple story like this? l hope not. But
that it will rather set them to watching
their own manner of telling stories, so
to be sure they do not greatly overstate
things. Habit, my son, grows with
| wears and Incomes in time sO deanlv
rooted that it will be impossible for you,
when you become man, to relate plain,
unvarnished facts, unless. you check the
foolish habit you indulge in every day
of stretching simple incidents into the
most marvellous tales" - Christian
Neighb0r.