St. Landry democrat., 1885-10-17
NEEDS MENDlNG.
Boy Blue Sets His Grandpa an Excellent
Example.


Example.
Boy Blue was listening while Grand
pa and another old gentleman talked.
/ 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 60 fast asleep
under hay-stack while the cows were
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.
Ii You asked that dogs name, Boy
Blue would answer: Guess; and
then after You had 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?n Boy Blue
would still answer: Guess with his
eyes Just bri1nful and running over with
fun. And then II 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
50 hard that he would tumble down
and roll around the ground shouting
'@Guess! Guess!'' 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 q 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, is it
really true that the world needs mend
ing?S :.
Eyes,, indeed, child, badly enough, 7
sighed the old man, shaking his head,
but never looking down at Boy Blue 5
earnest face.
"But where, Grandpa?- where does
it need mendingp'
Everywhere, child. You can't take
q step, right or left, without seeing it. Z
Boy Blue looked around Sure
enough, there was big hole in the
middle of the road 1t had been there
ever so long, and horses had stumbled
into it, and wagons had iounced off
part of their loads by running q 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.
ssIt'll have to be mended, that's all
about it, said he to himself. Il
should think Grandpa and Mr. Peters
would 90 right to work at it now.
know can mend that hole in the road,
ANYHOW, and that'll be SO much done.
Come along, Guess. z
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
il. So back and forth he trotted, dog
fully doing his part to mend the world.
1t took good deal of hard work to get
bio stones and little stones and grave
enough to fill that hole, but Boy Blue
and Guess kept at it, and when the last
cartfuI 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.. Peter;
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 par
of it anyway. When the hole was filIee
up he looked around for something else
to mend. and saw a hen hopping
through a gap in the fence, where tWt