The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-06-04
NEDDY,s CARELEssNEss.

good boy; that is, he was not a very
bad boy, only sometimes little care
less He did not tell naughty stories;
he seldom quarrelod with his little
sister; he was not selfish; and he only
got into the sugar-box and lam-pot once
in great while. Now, do not mean
that he got into the sugar-box and jam
pot, but his fingers sometimes found
their way to the sugar humps and jam.
Neddy was five years old, had brown,
curly hair, blue eyes, and wore q blue
gingham dress the day he not only
alarmed the neighborhood but aroused
the whole town into u corlmotion. 1t
was through carelessness; but, dear
me! if he had not been careless | should
not have this story to write.
Neddy's mamma had gone to pay
some calls, leaving him at home with
his sister Fanny, baby brother, and Jane,
the nurse. AZ first they all were in the
yard. Jane swung baby in the ham
mock while Neddy and Fanny shoyeled
sand into their little cart, and, pretend
ing it was full of coal, took it to Kena,
the cook, TO sell. Presently Fanny
baby in her arms and went with Fanny
into the dining-room to get the drink
for her. {BEIl ID Z.
They were only gone few minutes,
but when they went back into the yard,
Noddy was nowhere to be seen. M
Jane called him-"Neddy! o Ned
dyp' No answer. Then she went into
the house to look for him. She looked
in the parlors, library, upstairs in the
bedrooms, and down in the kitchen,
but he was not in any of them. Then
she called him again-"Ncddy! Neddy!
Where are you?" Still no answer BY
this time Jane began to be frightened,
and, giving the baby TO Kena, she ran
out into the yard, searching every
where. She looked into the coal and
wood bins; she peeped down The we'll;
and even looked under all the currant
and gooseberry bushes; but no Teddy.
Then she ran into the neighbor's $
houses on either side of them, and
gazed up and down the street every
where. Not vestige of o little boy OF
his description be seen anywhere. ,
Then poor Jane was at her wits endl
What should she do next? What had
become Of her darling Neddy! Certain
ly somo dreadful thing had happened
to him, for he had never been known
to go outside of the gate without per
mission. Perhaps he had fallen into
the well, and was now lying at the bot
tom OF It, white and cold Or, perhaps
dreadful thought!--he had been
stolen by some gypsies, and they were
beating him 10 stop his crying. She had
heard the day before that there was q
gypsy camp Just below town, and sure.
" they had stolen her Neddy away.
The more she thought Of it the moro
. positive she became about it.
Then she happened TO remember tht
telephone, and ran Immediately to IN,
form Neddy papa of what had oc
curred. "Neddy is lost" she said
talking through tho qucor little box. 81
can't find him anywhere, and I'm afraiC
the gypsies have stolen him. He had OF
blue gingham dress, and wore III
hat Then she ran out on the Sidewalk
again and found Kena rushing frantic
ally up and down with baby in hel
arms, crying wildly ard alarming al
The passers-by. Nearly everybody OF
the street stopped to inquire what wa
the matter, and in q few minutes nearly
q dozen peopl, he'd started on thl
search for los; Ncddy. Mrs. Brown rar
in one direction, Mr.. Smith in another
ard Mr.. Jones jumped into his buggy
and started towards the part OF TIL
town where the gypsy encanpmcnt wa
said TO be.
You can imagine how frightened anC
unhappy Neddy's papa was when h'
heard through the telephone that Neddl
was lost. He Dnt or bis hat and started
for homc rs fast as he could 90. Prett,
soon he met n policeman AMI stoppe'
otcll him about il SO Lat ne could as
sist in searching for Neddy. He toll
the policeman how Ncddy was dresse,
in blue gingha N frock and wore n,
hat. and the policeman telephonedl th'
description to his chief, so that lbefor,
long II was known all over Town, Eacl
police officer kept on the lookout for (;
httleboy with brown, curly hair, whit
WORD a,hlnss bingham frock and no hat
Ntppyi p IHtH-A. wac hli lulS Jlulc uul
rying hong -, fast rs possible. II,
finally got fiitfe, ali oat OF breath frop
walking so fast md Just as he opene,
the gate he happcfed TO look up, an,
there stood Neddg on the front porch
Jane and Kena and half a dozen neigh
bors were crying over HIM and kissfn:
him. Hi, mamma was there, too, AM
looked as il she felt like laughing; ant
as for Neddy hhnsef, he looked rathe
crostiallen. Where do you suppose h
had been all this time? j will tell you
When Jane took Fanny in to get
drink Neddy ran to the front gate an'
looked out just as he epopped his hea'
out of'the gate he saw his mamma go
ing into neighbor's house about half
block of. The lady whose house 1t we
lay quite III; and his mamma was goin,
to sit with her a little while. Noddy
seeing his mamma going in there, raj
after her, forgetting all the while tha
Jane would not Know where he ha,
gone. Hiscmamrna saw him come &
the neighbor's gate, but supposing tina
Jane had given him permission to come
thought no more about II, and sent hin
into the back yard to play With III
neighbor's little boy while she talked
the sick lady. Thus she was inawar
offthe commotion .inlthe street, 9TH