Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-02-12
TEASING.
" Serious Results of the Practice of a
Very Dangerous Habit.

Very Dangerous Habit.
John Willis was born a tease. Some
boys are. He had no distinct intention
OF being cruel, but he did take a vicious
sort of pleasure in hearing the girls
scream and say "Don't!' Ii they cried
a little it rather added to his enjoy
ment.
His cousin Kate was astrong, merry,
rcmping girl, who was a good comrade
for him in most Of his expeditions. She
usually met his chatting with good ma
ture, and did not care for his little
practical jokes. But Kate had one
weakness; she was afraid of snakes.
John could never understand how an
innocent little striped snake, which
she knew was perfectly harmless, could
put such a sensible girl into an agony
Of terror. Kate had been argued with
by her father, and reproved by her
mother, and coaxed by her grand
mother, but it was all in vain; the
moment she saw one of the 1.-THE, shin
ing things glide across her path she
grew fairly pale from fright.
Now John had no sympathy for a
fear which was so wholly unreasonable,
and his love Of teasing tempted him to
lead Kate into the very spot in the
woods which he thought most :snaky,"
and to laugh and run from her when
she began to be afraid. otis all put
on" he used to say to himself, when
his conscience gave him a little warm
ing prick. sShe knows that snake
won't bite her; she needn't be such a
goose; She ought to get used to it rs
boys do" So by way of making her
accustomed to it. he would bring home
now and then a little snake and put it
on her tlower-bed, Or under the porch.
He had a plan for c%oncealing one in
her ~workbasket, but he knew his father
would have 4 word to say to such an
experiment, if it came to his kaowl-
edge; besides, Kate was not so devoted
to sewing as to insure her discovering
anything which lay hidden among her
spools and needles.
One day, however, he had what he
considered a very bright idea. He
made q secret pilgrimage to Rates
room, and came down to await the
scream which he momently expected.
Kate had not yet returned from school,
but she presently came in, flushed and
nervous from an exciting and busy
day. She a directly up to her own
room, and slammed the door behind
her. When she glanced back she saw
a little green snake tied in a loose
knot around her d%oor-knob, wriggling
to get free. There was no other en-
trance to the room, and the door was
shut fast. Kate had but one agoniz-
ing thought, that the snake would be
on the tlocr in q moment, and, in a
paroxysln of fear, she rushed to the
window. Her senses seemed to for
sake her, and, in her frantic terror, she
would have jumped to the yard
twenty feet below; but, fortunately,
the window was closed and her
trembling hands could not open it
quickly. One moment more and she
would have been lying MANNED or life
less on the 1%ag-stones below; but, Just
as the terrified child succeeded in
pushing up the sash, her uncle, who
had leard her first shrek of horror,
opened the door. Kate was not one of
the fainting kind, but she was white
and trembling when her uncle drew
her from the room. That night she
was restlessly tossing from side to