Democratic messenger., 1888-03-24
MICKEY'S NEW SLED.

|
The iciclc which hung from tho corner Of
the Finn shnnty was neither so long nor 50
symmetrical rs the iciclc which legend says
once adorned tho corner Of Diana's temple.
But Il was as cold. It's presence on tho Finn
shanty provci that the shanty stood In a cold
and cxpos.,i place. and that much fuel would
bc necessary to keep the inmates warm. Dur
Ing the days meridian, when tho sun shone
warm upon the icicle, glistcning beads Of
water ran down its sides and dropped from
its slender lSo!nt, making hole in tho snow
beneath. hut when the sun went down be-
hind W"'ls'y's commons and the trees lin
Lindsleys wosls wcro beginning 70 cast
black, fun.r.al shadows OH the snow, the
water bca.ls hardened as they stole down tho
icy spear, until by those slow accrctions the
iciclc grew To he long and thick. When tho
twilight had faded and the moon came out
upon the night, attended by winking host
OF stars, the icicle glstened but refused to
melt as it had done when tho sun kissed It.
While the iciclc was glinting In tho moon.
light Mrs. Finn sat before the fro In tho
shanty. Her face was buried in her hands.
Her hoy Mickey had gonc to bed, with tho
assurance from his mother that ON the NOR
slide down the southerly slope Of Stumpy
field
Mrs Finn arose from her chair and Opened
the bedroom door to look at her boy. lie lny
with his arms thrown over his head. His
cheeks were flushed. He moved uncasily in
his sleep, and turned his freckle,l face 20 the
light. The frecklcs were not blemishcs in
the eyes Of his mother. They were beauty
spots. Mrs. Finn was moved TO compassior
as she stood there watching tho parted liIs
anu the gently heaving bosom Of her only
son. "Shurc, God is good q tho poor whin
he gives them b'ys like that" she muttered
to herself
She hal been cross to Mickey during the
day because he had traded Off fourteen mar.
vels for u wccny little mud turkle no bigger
than u silver dollar" and had said;
"Sow fwhat usc IS that mud turklc, Mickcyi
Yc cant kill him an make soup iv him like
ye can wild u Siiappin' turklr. Ye might ate
tn inu'l turElr NV We were little Chnce b'y.
| do la ncarin' Mrs. Maloney sayin' that til
hayta.a ul ate In ears iv a jackass IL they
were fric'i in grasr, SO do, glory 10 to Col.
Ba; M.ci:cy, mind now, IL any one tells me
ye were atm mud turkle mate. stew.d or
bilc'i or raw. be the holy poker III bate yer
head asin tn WALL so will, an small fear
9 me, jist fur divarshcn."
| Here Irs. Fian had devoutly crossed her.
SELF and Mickey slyly stole the wash basin
and placed IL near the stove with some wnt.r
and the mud turtle in it. But Mrs Finn re-
penir,l of her harshness, and her anxiety was
now how to get the sled. Mike, her husband,
had no work and there was little money in
the house.
At last she hit upon plan. Sho would
pawn her shawl To DO deprived of this gar
mcnt meant great deal Of self f-tlenial 10
Mrs. Finn. Without IL she could not go 90
mass In the morning. Il was Paisley shawl,
covered with figures which looked like gour,,s,
The colors of tho shawl were warm. and
seemed Of themselves to add warmth 10 tho
garment. But the boy must not bo disap.
pointc'i, and 80 s!e carefully folded the
precious shawl in piece Of paper, and lock.
ing the door bcLind her stepped out into the
m"onlisht. Shs shivcrcd as she went along
the Old Point roa'i, for her clothing was thin.
But even rs The shivers ran down her back
she smiled at tho thought Of her boys happi.
ness In the morning.
| Micke:s mud turtle, with natural desire
for more freedom, crawlcd out Of the basin
Just after Mrs Finn had gone. and went
waidliLs over the kitchen floor ON an ex
pejitiea Of discovery. Il made very little
noise ia its passage, yet that little was
enough I" attract the attention Of tho crow
which sat on the mantle. The crow looked
at the ht:le black object padding over the
hoor. Ti.cn hc 1ew down with a soft cav
70 exaiail4e Il. Tho turtle crawled and tho
crow followed IL up closely, putting his head
ON one side aiid apparently wondering what
It cou,i be. 1hcn tho crow put his b,ak un-
der the turtle and turned IL over on its hnck.
The turtie pulled its head and legs into its
shell and lay quiot. Tho crow retired 10 a
little di-tancc and stood watching the turtle.
After about i've minutes had elaIsscd tho
turtle lN.san TO show signs Of life again. Its
legs, heal and tail canic slowly out Of the
shell and Logan 10 wave In the air Ia a vague.
uncertain way. The crow stepped gravcly
forward, picked tho turtle up by tho tail and
new with l: up on tho mantle Again the
shutting up process was gone through with.
The crow, liowcver. began to mol before tho
turtle decided 20 move again, and n short
time afterwari the crow awokc with n start
as he heard this turtle drop OH tho mantle
and into its laSin where IL was content 10
remain for the rest u tho night
| II happrn,l that Jack Brown, n youu.
man who hal spent all his money in riotous
living, was ~ the pawnbrokcr's shop when
Mrs' Finn arrived, lie had just concluded u
I.tie transaction ny which he was relieved
OF ms alainond I'm ana 70 had been placed
IN ms pocket he was attracted by Mrs.
rmns appearance ana stopped To hear her
story'
how mn'h would 1 oe gettin' fur tn
sna%H Si'd she anxiousiy 10 the pawn
Dsokcr ,s'',,nu ,., Tue csunter' ITS only lit
NC l"h,'s u pe 'avin ~ via yc anyways,