St. Landry democrat., 1885-10-17

plChCtS were OH- Up JttLApSA Ivy A1ASt"'
as eager as ever, and trudg6d oil Tor
hammer and nails, and was soon pound
ing away at the piekets as if his life de-
pended on getting them in place. He
remembered now how many times
mother had run out yesterday to scare
Che hens away. People got worn out,
too, sometimes, and had to be mended,
he reflected.
ii Well. this would be one. more thing
mended. When he got the pickets on,
he meant to go 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.
It would be easier to mend the board
than the leg, and would not take SO
long either.
When the fence and the steps were
in good con dition again Boy Blue stood
still few minutes, not Immediately
seeing any more work to do. Presently
he caught sight of broken place in
one of the square, hollow pillars OF the
porch. Joe had STAYED it in one day
with the handle Of his rake, and Boy
Blue remembered that Grandpa had
said that it must be pretty rotten, or 1t
would not have broken so easily. de
looked at the hole, and poked his
fingers into it; then he pulled out his
knife and proceeded to investigate
further. Then he went and examined
/ the other pillar, and as the result OF
| that examination he lodged outside OF
! the porch, and shouted: ''Grandpap at
the top OF his lungs.
Grandpa, who had finished his talk
with Mr.. Peters. and was taking
quiet doze ON the sitting-room lounge,
sprang up and rushed out on the porch,
| expecting at least to see Boy Blue lying
on the ground under the big apple-tree
with his leg broken. But Boy Blues
l'Iegs appeared to be perfectly sound,
and he remarked, calmly: g | wouldn +
stand under that porch roof if l were
YOU, Grandpa cause the pillars are SO
rotten it might come down almost any
| time. =
'sPillars rotten!" said Grandpa.
ooh, nonsense! Is that all you re
screaming about9,
"Come out here and give me leave to
give 'em one good hitP'' asked Boy
/ Blue, eagerly, longing for bit OF fun
4 after all his hard work. But Grandpa
| thought it prudent to examine before
i giving his permission. and the result OF
| his examination was that he immediate
| " went to work to prop up the porch
roof with stout poles.
! ssMay noWP" asked Boy Blue II
Well, yes responded Grandpa
"if they'll come down with one hit,
they can't be of much use.
Boy Blue rushed off for club, and
aimed a valiant blow at one of the
| pillars. Crack! and with a splinter
ing and crumbling noise the decayed
wood fell into SO many pieces that there
/ was hardly one large enough to plck
up. The other pillar met with like
fate.
s.My patience!'' exclaimed Grandpa,
surveying the ruins, that thing might
have come down on our heads any even
ing when we're sitting out here, and
broke ali our skulls for us. How did
you come to find out twas SO rotten,
j sonny?''
s.Why, was looking for something
TO mend, and / thought I'd mend that
hole Joe punched in the pillar, and then
/ found it was so rotten / was afraid it
would come down on my head; SO ]
hol1ered at you
| What did you want something to
mend forP'' asked the man, in surprise.
Because / heard you and Mr.. Peters
saying the world needed mending, and
III thought I'd do my share; and ]
mended the hole in the road while you
stood there talking, and then | fixed the
fence and the doorstep
s.Mended the hole in the road!'' in
terrupted Grandpa, greatly astonished;
and down he went to the gate to see for
himself chat the dreaded hole was
actually filled up and smoothed over as
if it had never been.
.'And he did it while we stood groan-
| ing over the world needing mending,
muttered Grandpa, under his breath;
and it's been there for months, and
neither of us ever thought of touching
it. Such little hands, too! hope the
next generation will be like Boy Blue.
l-IdG III. Lane, ia Harper's Young
i Peopfe