Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-05-18
POOR KATIE.

do, and the pay was always small
only a few cents for a garment that
she must work at the whole day long.
But she struggled hard to pay the
rent and keep Tim and Katie in
school.
In school-that was the great
thing. "Plenty of money may come
one day. little ones" she would say,
''but 1t will not be worth much if you
do not know how to use it. This is
the most wonderful country in the
world, my brides. Tim may be
President and Katie Mrs. President
and you can't know to much of
school-book. I'm sure that, when
you're grown up, you can never be
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 the class, if
YOU haven't hat for your head!"
But the winter Katie was eleven
wears old, 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 al
ways enough of bread left after
breakfast to make a school-luncheon
fol Tim and Katie.
"Give it all to Tim," Katie would
say; Il believe 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 trudged along with
out her dinner! And how her heart
beat, and how the blood burnt in
her cheeks, when the incoming came.
and she of all the girls had no lunch
con to eat! Oh, if anybody should
notice it, she thought, and she
studied how she might behave that
nobody should know she was verv
Door. The hunger in her stomach
was not half so hard to bear as the
fear that somebody would know that
she had nothing to eat.
But, after few days, poor Katie
began to 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, I cannos tell; but if any OF
you have ever been in trouble and
tried to think your way out of it, per.
haps you may remember that you
thought of some very foolish and
queer things, and this was the way
with Katie. She might tie up few
Goals in a paper, she thought, but
her mother would need every coal to
keep up the fire. There we're some
blocks in one corner of the small
room-Tim's blocks, that Santa
Claus had brought him one Christ
mas, two or three winters before
She could tie up some of these in g
paper for a make-believe luncheon
and nobody would know. So she
tied up few blocks neatly, and when
her mother noticed it as 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.
"Oh, Mammal she sobbed, 81
wanted to make believe that I had
some luncheon-it's only Tins
blocksp'
For one moment the little mother
did not understand, and then sud-
denly it all came into her mind
how the pride of her child was
wounded because she could not ap-
pear as the other school children did,
and that she had fixed upon that
simple device to hide her want. And
how it made her heart ache more
than ever that her poor little girl
must 60 hungry! But she would
not deprive Katie of the poor COM
fort of trying to keep up appear
ances," and her throat was too full of
choking Jumps for her to trust her
self to say much; so she smoothed
the little girls hair and wiped away
the tears from her face, and said
bravely: "Never mind, Katie! Bet
ter days will come! Mother feels
sure of itr' And then Katie slipped
away with her little bundle, and the
bundle, and the poor little mother sat
down and sadly wept at the hard
ships that had befallen her little
ones.
When the incoming came, Katie sat
at her desk with her make believe
dinner before her. Her teacher no
ticed that she kept her seat, and see
ing her luncheon, went to her and
said: why do you not go into the
lunch-room and eat your luncheon
with the other girls?" at the same
time reaching out for Katie's bundle.
"Oh. teacher" cried Katie, burst
ing into tears, ''don't.touch it! and
oh. teacher, don't tell, please! It's
only blocks!"
''Only blocks" softly repeated the
teacher, and tears filled her eyes.
Never mind, Katie, I'll not tell the
girls. You are brave and a dear
little girl, and one of the best in the
SCHOOL,"
Poor. poor child! The kind words
were like mama to her heart; but,
longing as the teacher was to give
the child portion of her own lunch
con, she would not hurt her pride by
the offer before others. But during
short session of the teachers when
school was over, she related the in
cident. and spoke in such high terms
of praise of the little girl, that each
one resolved to do all possible to
bring "better days. at once to the
poor mother; and early next morn
ing the better days began. No one
touched the brave little mothers self
respect by offering her charity, but
plenty of work, with good pay, was
carried to her, and enough of bread
and milk, and new shoes, and coal,
and oil okhox noodf,,l &h;noo Gear