The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-12-26
MENDING THE WORLD.

Example.
Boy Blue was listening while Grand
pa and another old gentleman talked.
l don't know why they called him Boy
Blue, unless it was because he had
such blue eyes, tor he would have been
the very last boy to go fast asleep
under hay-stack while the cows werc
getting into the corn. Not he, indeed
those bright eyes of his would have
spied them before they got within
smelling distance of the corn. and he
would have been on hand with his big
dog to make them scamper the other
way in hurry.
If you asked that dogs name. Boy
Blue would answer: Guess; and
then after guessed Rover and
Dash and Fido and Carlo. and all the
other dogs names you ever heard of,
and got tired of it and asked: "Well,
what is his name, then?" Boy Blue
would still answer: Guess" with his
eyes just brimful and running over with
fun. And then if you began again.
and guessed all the dogs names that
you never did hear of, and got quite out
of patience this time, and declared you
would not guess any more, and he
must tell you, Boy Blue would laugh
so hard that he would tumble down
and roll around the ground shouting
Guess! Guessr' For that was the
dogs name.
Well, as said, Boy Blue and Guess
were listening to Grandpa and another
old gentleman talking Boy Blue was
very much interested in listening, for
they were telling about something
which he thought needed to be attend
ed to right away. They were saying
that the world needed mending, that It
was in a very bad way, and getting
worse all the time; that things were not
at all as they used to be, and nobody
could tell where it would all end.
Grandpa" said Boy Blue, sis it
ing?"
Eyes. indeed, child, badly enough"
sighed the old man, shaking his head,
but never looking down at Boy Blues
earnest face.
''But where, Grandpa?-where does
it need mendingP"
Everywhere, child. You can't take
q step, right or left without seeing it.
Boy Blue looked around Sure
enough, there was a big hole in the
middle of the road. 1t had been there
ever so long, and horses had stumbled
into it, and wagons had jounced of
part of their loads by running wheel
into it, and the drivers had scolded and
grumbled, but nobody had ever tried to
mend it. Boy Blue stood still and
thought about it. The world was get
ting worn out. it was plain.
''1t'll have to be mended, that's all
about it." said he to himself. 81
should think Grandpa and Mr. Peters
would 60 right to work at it now.
know can mend that hole in the road,
anyhow, and that'll be 30 much done.
Come along, Guess"
Guess came along, and did not hang
back even when he saw the little cart
pulled out, which he was not at all fond
of drawing. He had learned by mel
ancholy experience that if Boy Blue
made up his mind to have a thing done,
il had to be done sooner or later, and
he might as well be good-natured about
it. So back and forth he trotted. dog
fully doing his part to mend the world.
1t took good deal of hard work to get
big stones and little stones and gravel
enough to fill that hole, but Boy Blue
and Guess kept at it, and when the last
cartful of gravel was finally stamped
down hard, you would hardly have
known that there had ever been a hole
there.
All that time Grandpa and Mr.. Peters
stood and talked and shook their heads;
but Boy Blue did not mind them any
more. He had found out what needed
to be done, and he meant to do his part
of it anyway. When the hole was filled
up he looked around for something else
to mend. and saw a hen hopping
through gap in the fence, where two
pickets were off Up jumped Boy Blue,
as eager as ever, and trudged off for
hammer and nails, and was soon pound
ing away at the pickets as if his life de-
pended on getting them in place. He
remembered now how many times
mother had run out yesterday to scare
the hens away. People got worn out,
too, sometimes, and had 70 be mended,
he reflected.
Well, this would be one more thing
mended. When he got the pickets on,
he meant to 60 and nail down the loose
board on the back door-steps- Mother
had said that morning that she believed
she should break her leg on that board.
1t would be easier to mend the board
than the leg, and would not take so
long either.