The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-12-01
STATE DECEMBER l.
but she only licked her lips and smiled

| knowingly.
The DAYS went on and the Mikado
only grew fatter and more domineering
every hour, and the other fowls became
more and more cast down.
On Thanksgiving morning his doors
were opened and he was invited to come
forth This was the day on which he
was to receive greater honors than ever,
and he waddled out, numbered by his |
excessive flesh, with more arrogance
than usual. lie was little surprised |
when the hired man grabbed him by
the legs and suddenly inverted him. 1t
was an undigni6ed attitude for bird
of his plumage, to say the least; but he
reflected moment and concluded il
was but fitting, after all, for a creature
of his distinction to be carried, and of
course this awkward fellow didn't know
how to carry him gracefully or even
comfortably.
He had no time to frame other
thoughts, for in moment more the
hired man had assassinated him, and
his head was lying on one side of the
chopping~block and his body on the
other.
His late envious associates ran in all
directions, chilled with horror, nor
were they seen again that day. He
graced the feast, to be sure; he was
, the great feature of it, but not in the
, capacity he had so conceitedly antici
+ pated. Instead of the fine suit of fash
: ionable garments he had expected to
be arrayed in, he appeared shorn of his
= feathers, with his skin cruelty Drowned
and his legs cut off at the knees-a sorry
| and humbled Mikado, surely.
t The day after Thanksgiving there
was a little talk over his head and his
{ bones, which were found in ditch by
S his despsed comrades. His fate was a
lesson to them.
: " After ALL said one, " we might
t have known that such sudden rise
$ into aflluence could bode no good. Up
a like rocket and down like a stick, you
G know"
= &" Do you remember my words?" said
n the cat, who came strolling along, bulg-
e ing in body more than usual from hav-
c ing enjoyed extraordinary Thanksgiv-
e ing blessings. - | told you to envy no
t one: that it was dangerous thing to
: reach such eminence as the Mikado en-
4 joyed. Poor fool, he did enjoy it while
o it lasted"
"Coud it be, said the young turkey
= with the eyeglasses and taste for meta
V physics, "could it be that my doctrines
e led him astray? Still, he was good il
d lustration of the truth of what | have
e been preaching-that if you persist
e emily desire the best you will get it,
But the best, in his case, didn't seem
d to be really good for him, after all, and
d now the question arises Is it good
e for any of us?' must admit that | am
It somewhat confused on this point, and,
d in spite of the Mikado's grave faults of
1t character, | lament the tragedy in
e which he was the victim. For some
i reason his death was the occasion of
+, general rejoicing in the house, and |
l. have even picked up word here and
e there which goes to show that the peo-
+ pie who were the cause of his death
n gave thanks over his body. They ac-
r tually called the day Thanksgiving, ;
so grateful were they that he was gone.
d Perhaps they feared that in his excess
e sive love of power he would rise some
y day, seize the reins of government,
o and trample them all under his feet. If
# so, half excuse the murder, though am
l.: too much of Buddhist to sympathize
e with festival which sanctions the de-
e struction of living creatures. and the
J. eating of them, too. In the round of
: existence depend upon it, my friends,
h all such things are evened up. They
:, who kill shall be killed in turn; if not
: in this life, in some embodiment in the
: far future"
If The hen who was in favor of equal
It suffrage said that after all there were
G cOmpensations in life. She still held
e her old views; but she had learned a
a lesson in patience. Her dream of po-
la ii ~
d she must wait, and while she waited
= work as well as talk. A very aged old
u bird of no particular lineage cleared his
:. throat Just then. AS he was generally
e silent, he commanded great attention
| when he did speak. He said: " You
re are getting on to the true philosophy OF
W life at last Agitation doesn't accom-
At plish half as much as people think il
,e does. The influences which really
e move the world are subtle. Your talk
At ers think they revolutionize the world
}. but the real power comes from higher
e much higher and he subsidized into
D silence.
II The noted anarchist rooster hat
)r nothing at all to say until his views
were called for. Even then he evaded
lie it until cornered and compelled to talk
y Then he Strengthened up and put on his
Old-time important manner. sit il
the beginning of the end, my friends,
he said. Monsters like the MikadC
rs die of their own greed. They are their
III own eXecutioners. Had he divided his
n abundance with us we would all have
ar had layer or so of the fat which en-
I'd numbered him and brought him to grief
n and he might have been alive to-day
IN But, no--he must have the earth
at Nothing was too much for him. We
~ had to starve that he might live. Al
;e of you can testify that he lived upol
e. the proceeds of your labor, for You
H. scratched and he came along just a.
your bite was ready for your mouth anC
snatched it from you, and you dareo
not say your souls were your own"
L" But what of the lady with The
IN purest blood of Asia in her veins?'
OF asked dapper young cock. 81 haven
p seen her to-day"
. Nor have | )" said a dozen voices
n, Here the cat spoke again. s. an
"a sorry to say that our fair friend has
ln l,a 20 oh ;o-