Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-11-21
THE RATS CAREER.
4 story For Children.

mean that they were 24years Old. mean
that one was 6, the next one ; and the
other 10. At last the aunt asked Il
they did not want to hear a story and, OF
course. they were eager to listen. 81
after some pushing and sparring, crowdlng
! and elbOwing TO see who should sit nearest
to her. they finally quoted down, and a
the old lady knitted away as fast as heI
fingers could fly, she commenced after the
usual way OF story tellers:
Once upon 4 time, long before the flood,
an honest, nice, fat Sprightly young rat
came from a neighbOring country into the
land of Cornrye. He tried to get a situa'
| ton so rs TO make an honest living. lie
went from house to house and from dool
to door but nobody wanted to hire him and
he was almost in despair. His clothes were
becoming shabby and his money was al
most gone and he feared he would have tC
leave the fair land OF Cornrye and 60 some
| place else. You see he was an honest Rat,
as / said in the beginning, and he had nc
idea of running up a board bill which he
had no means of paying. As he was
walking along with a heavy heart one day
after trying and trying to get work, a
great bluff old fellow accosted him and IN
a cross tone said: 80 you
want a situation, do you?'
Our Mr. Rat answered very politely yet
| firmly, II certainly do want n situation.
"WelI, why don't you get work? Answer
HE that"
"Why, what do yOu mean? | have tried
" - ... u-H.r, .o, work
l am willing to do anything that can al
ford me an honest living replied MIR. Rat.
Are you exclaimed Mr.. Loudvoice.
"Well, we'll see. omedown to my ware
house and pack bags of corn for me. I'll
give you corn enough to keep you from
starving-Tn see whether You really want
work | don't believe you do. think
you will be shouting for cheese and bread
and ham," And Mr.. LOudvoice thumped
his cane down on the sidewalk and strut
ted on. Now, did Mr.. Rat get angry and
shake his fist at the irate old individual:
No, he smiled and said to HIM
self, Il believe you are trying
to hide a good, kind heart under that
rough manner" SO the next morning Mr..
Rat presented himself at the door OF the
warehouse and was set to work carrying
in bags of corn: and it was hard work
tell you, and he only received a pint OF
corn at the end Of the day tor his pay.
But he took it home with him and he told
his landlady that che could not afford to
board with her any longer rs he could not
pay her, and he must get a little room
and board himself. So he hired 4 room
and he boiled some of his corn and ate it
laid the rest by, and ut the end Ofthc week
he took the corn he had saved and sold 1t,
and what do you think he did with the
money?
Bought candy shouted master Dick.
'No, a horse that could haul the bags
of corn; said Charles.
'Pshaw, no, he boughta nice necktic
and cane" exclaimed Hubert.
''NO, he did nothing OF the kind re-
sumcd the .Auntic. He saved his money
and put it in the bank And the old lady
looked at her nephews over her spcctaclcS,
and they took the hint that she thought
they did not Use their pocket money aH
they ought, and they all looked very
shccpiSh, | can tell you. "Well,' re-
Sumcd The Aunt, "NIr. Rat packed corn
bags and huardud himself, and wore his
old clothes and avoided the Saloons-they
would say in these DAYS '%hoycottcd' the
the S~linOuS; and the race courses and the
gambling houses; stayed away from them
ali, and day after day and week after
week he worked Us well a. he could, and
by and by MIR. L0udvoice raised his wages
n little because he saw that Mr.. Rat was
worth more than some of his Otncr work
men. In the first place, he was always at
his post when the time came for him to he
there: he WAS cheerful and pleasant, lie
WIS pOlite and careful; hc did not pitch
the hag of corn off his shoulder us if he
were mad. and WAS glad whenever a bag
burst and spilled the corn; he would pick
the bag up and set it down with care, and
if by accident ne spilled any corn, gath
cred il up Now, when his wages were
increased. he did not spend amy more
money than formerly, except to be a little
more benevolent and kind to the sick
and the asrd puur. Months IasSoG into
years. "autumn flashed into autumn, Us
the poet SAYS and it did not seem very
long until one fine morning Mr.. Rat asked
his employer 'if he might have Il few
moments private talk with him." and the
old fellow said in his very loudeSt voice
''What do YOU want? Out with it,"
And in Il few words Mr.. Eat told him
that "hc had saved money enough 10 sci
UP Il liitlc business of his own and rs SO0n
as his boss could get some one in his place
he would like to leave" You see he WAS
not very smart as they say nowadays, or
else he would have waited until his boss
had got into n tight place and then he
would have walked off and set up an OPP
position business and let the corn spoil on
his hosS' hands. Hut as | said, he did
nothing OF the kind, he walked up to his
boss rs Unc man ought to walk up TO an
other and gave him due notice Ofhis inten-
ton to quit. So very SoOn he had 4 little
business of his own and he had Others en-
piOyed under him and he saved his money
and built himself q nice little house ana
married a wife and had a family Of chill
drCn and tried to give them every advan-
tagc in the way OF travel and education.
Pretty o his workmen said
Ia one another. '~IIere, let us consider.
we are doing all the work and Mr.. Rat is
getting I'll the llblltN. We ilt ~ Spb'l us
he is and Il wives want silk dresses and
tine bOnnets and we want to ride in car
riagcs and have fine houses, and 80 they
demanded that Mr.. Rat divide with them.
Now he received their demands with sur
prise, and he said: 'BOYs, you are young
YOU ought 70 work and save rs ! did when
| was of your age" But they laughed
him to Scorn and left his employ-left
everythin. to 90 to rack and ruin and
stood before his door and dubbed every
body who wanted to come in and work
and when they saw that he would not
Weld to their demands they said now he
SHALL share with us, 50 they entered his
warehouse and took whatever they wanted
and they Swarmed into his house and
seized his comfortable things and he and
his wife and children had 10 fly. | tell you.
and when they stopped running they found
themselves away outside OF the country
called uornrye, sad and poor and desc
late
Poor Mr.. Rat" said Dick.
And what became of the folks who
took all his things" asked Hubert.
''Oh. they had a grand time for A few
weeks. They had nartieS and nicn;rs