Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-01-23
The Bad Boy.
(Peck's sun.l

Peck's SUM-
"IielloW said The groceryman Ia
the bad boy, as he came in looking
cross.
"Don't hello TO me-" said the boy,
as lie took up The store cat and Menl
to the sausage machine on the counter
and began to turn the handle. II am
no telephone"
"Well, you are a transmitter all the
same" said the groceryman, laughing
at his attempt at a joke, "but drop
that cat. What you want to hurt a
cat for, putting her in n sausage
grinderP
20, aint a going to hurt your cat,
but wish every cat was dead. Our
cat got me into nawful scrape last
night, and | was no more TO blame
than the man in the moon," said the
boy, as he sat down on a box. Eve
rylhing that goes wrong is lald TO
me, cause / used to be little tuif in
my youth. That shows that a boy
ought never to be tuti, cause it sticks
to him rs long as he lives"
"Give us the cat story" said the
groceryman as he sat down by the
boy and tried TO raise his dropping
spirits with glass OF rotten apple
cider.
30, | wish had never been born,
or that / had been born twins, or
triplets, SO there would have been
more OF US 10 stand the racket. Last
night went to bed at nine O'Clock,
aud left pa aud ma up playing you
cur. don't know how long had
been asleep when l heard a raitling
down In pa aud ma s room, and pa YELL
ed murder, aud ma yelled police, and a
window was smashed, aud | heard Il
cat squalling, and | opened my win
dow aud yelled fire, and then | grab
bed my pants and went down
stairs tU see what the row was, and
help put out the fire. / rushed into
the room, and there was the Onllest
smell OF burnt hair ever smelled.
Ma was up on chair III her night
clothes yelling, and pa was standing
looking out VI the broken window,
the top was off the coal stove, the
stove-door open, aud the coal scat
tered all around the carpet, and pa
was all mussed up, with blood on
the front Of his niglt-shirt, and u
scratch on his leg. When came in
pa grabbed me by the neck aud said
he would learn Ine TO fill the coal
hod with black cats, and l thought
pa was crazy. Ma grabbed pa and
told him | was not to blame, aad
about that time u policeman pounded
at the door and wanted TO know
what the riot was about, and pa
told him everything was all right,
and the policeman told the driver Of
the chemical fire cxtinguisher he
could 70 home, and then pa told ne
what was the row. II seems our old
black cat didn't have no more s;nse
than to ~ to sleep In the coal hod,
on top OF the coal, aud just before pa
got ready to get into bed he went to
iillup the stove, and he poured the cat
right into the fire. Well, 1 spose YOU
would have died to sec pa. AS quick
as the cat struck the fire she WOKE up,
or mayby she woke up going down
the reservoir, but anyway there was
nl-e-o-u-w in the stove, and then
the cat came right through one of
the mica doors, aud struck pa with
her toe nails, aud began 10 walk OH
him, and howl. Pa was 30 scared he
dropped the coal hod aud grabbed
the cat by one leg and threw her
through the window, and then he be-
gan 10 dance around. guess ut first
he didn't know whether II WAS for
sure cat, or only Imagination, cause
pa has got to taking little Tom aud
Jerry during the holidays, and his
nerves are little unstrung. l ex-
pressed my sorrow that the cat
should have been scorched, and hat
made pa mad, cause he said we all
thought more of the injuries the
cat received than we did ior his be-
ing scratched from Genesis to Reve-
lations, and said what ought IL
have done was 10 go round the last
thing before went to bed aud see
that there was no cat III the coal
scuttle. lie said lowed that, at least,
to my family. Pa is the unreason-
ablest man ever saw. Who. would
ever think of looking for cat In a
coal scuttle After pa had given me
fits about II, he began TO jaw ma, and
told her she ought to know better
than to yell So"
"Say," said the groceryman, stop
ping the boy, II want you to'tell me
ihe truth, Did you have anything to dc
with putting the cat in the coal scut-
tie? For II you did, that settles il
with me-"
mo sir, l hope to die If 1 did,
| said the boy. Did l lever do anything
| to cause you to think l was u cold
blooded, heaftless villain Have ]
ever harmed dumb animal? | have
saved lots of dumb animals. from
harm, but have never injured one
in the least. No, it was just an acci-
dent, such as might occur in any
family, but l bet you pa never emp
ties coal scuttle again without an
alyzlng it for traces of cat" and Oh,
bad boy went out feeling hurt tina,
not only his pa but his old friend the
groceryman should take him to be
a boy who would scorch cat.
uuauu----.u-uuuu.Enuun.n.