Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-12-11
THANKSGIVING STORY.
How Joy Trod Upon the Very Heels
OF Sorrow.

How quickly Joy treads upon the very
heels of sorrow. OF rioe rersu.'
Never was this truism more fully il
Illustrated than on 9 certain T~hanksgiv-
ing Day at Grandpa Ashton's.
All of the young and most OF the mid
dlc-aged people of their church and
nei%; yhborhood called MI. and Mrs. Ash
ton by the eMdearing title of ~''Grandpa''
aud "Grandma.' so l am taking no
liberty whatever.
The day before the one appointed by
the Governor is a national holiday was
bright and cold. and with just SNOW
enough on the ground to make fair
sleighing; and merrily indeed the sleigh
bells iingled as the good people Of
Nashville went hUrrying about on
thoughts of business or pleasure.
Grandpa and Grandma Ashton were
old and poor and sad. 1t is surely bad
enough TO be old and poor without hay
ing business worries besides: but Grand
pr Ashton had been dreadfully worried
about a certain debt that he owed, until
everything looked blue enough to the
dear old man. and Grandma. suspect
ing something wrong. was beginning to
sigh very frequently. and watch Grand
pa with tender. sorroW1ul eyes: so the
business trouble was really taking all
the quiet peace from their old age, and
if no actually unhappy, they were like
~ 10 soon become SO.
When Grandpa came in from milking
COWS on the morning before Thanks
giving Day he brought a BIG rooster
under his arm. and opening the kitchen
door said rs cheerfully as could be to
Grandma:
see here, mother! Is this fellow to
he eaten tomorrow? 'spect we'd
ought TO make a little preparation,
hadn't we. now? Nothin great, OF
course. fur list us two. but suthin' a lit
tie out of the ordinary run-and with
y OF your ecfTU nice cream pies, and q
few other little films, | guess We'll
do
YES" sighed Grandma. Il don't
car much any way; but as YOU say, we'd
ought to take some kind of notice of the
day. seem the Governors been and APP
pointed it. | hadn't made no ~calcula-
tons about the dinner, father. cause !
felt so certain some n OF other of the
children would insist on us comm to
cat dinner with them. You're sure
there wasn't no letter in the postotlice
lastnight. ain you. father?:n
Yes, sure; but l reckon I'd better
chop this young feller's head off, now
I've cot him safe and sound. 'Tain'tso
easy catchin' 'cm when you're stiff with
rheumatism and hard on to seventy, as
twas forty years ago. | kin tell ye.'
taste good to Grandpa: he nibbled at
onc thing and another. and slipped his
tea. and finally he said:
I've got some bad news for YOU.
mother. and l dunno when I've hated
to tell anything as | do this
Grandma raised her head so suddenly
tina, her snowy cap border stood straight
out. framing a pale face. and she raised
one hand as if to ward off a blow.
.Nhich one is it father" she asked,
her thoughts. mother-like. flying to hcl
children. II thought something was
wrong somewhere. | Jest felt it some
way"
The children all well and happy,
FUR rs ! know" replied Grandpa. hap
pier by a long sight than their old father
who's got to be turned out of house anu
home. Pretty hard. mother, amt it,
after all the savin' and pinchin' we've
done for the last fifteen year OF more?'
Grandma began to sob in Il weak sort
of way. She asked no questions, know
in" well enough VIVA. he referred Il