The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1889-05-11
J. W. DORRINGTON, Proprietor.
NUMBER "A.

other young family. Presently bright
/ idea came to her, and she went round
to all the nests to see what she could
find in the way of eggs to accOmmo-
date the old creature. In the hens
nest she found three eggs; in the duck
house there were seven; in the turkey
house four, and in the goose-pen one
big white egg lay all by itself, just
waiting for her.
She gathered all these different eggs
into her basket, and went to the tur-
key-house determined to crafty Mrs.
Turkey, even if she gave her nestful
of odds and ends to sit on; if she
Matched them, well and good; if not, it
was no loss. Now you know, that is
some of you do expect, that the eggs
of different kinds of fowls take a diff
ferent length of time to hatch. For
instance, a hen matches in three weeks;
a duck takes four; turkey will have
five, and a goose does not bring off her
brood for six; so all the eggs could not
be put i'll the nest at once, and Mrs.
Turkey went to work gravely on one
goose egg.
When she had set a week, three fine
turkey eggs were added to her stock:
the next week in went the duck eggs;
the third week brought her reinforce
ment of hens eggs, and presently the
whole six weeks had slipped by; and
one morning when Miss Lizzie went to
unlock the door, there was madam,
very thin and meager-looking from her
long sitting, but the proud possessor
of q motley family. Every egg had
hatched; three little downy chickens,
seven fuzzy little yellow ducklings,
four pretty little striped turkeys and
one web-fOOted yellow gosling.
1t was funny, funny family, but the
old mother got on very well with them
for time, and took equally good care
of them all. Soon, however, her uD-
grateful chick-a-biddies BEGAN to spend
the most of their time with the hens,
and finally they deserted her alto
gether.
Then the little duck kept her in a
state of constant anxiety. because they
would go into the water, which she
knew well enough was a0t a natural
act with turkeys; she scolded them
roundly, but the result was that they
did as they pleased, ana finally desert
ed her altogether and took up their
quarters with the ducks So the good
old foster-mother had only one of the
turkeys left in her family. and that was
the goose.
But goosie-gosling made up to her
for all the ingratitude of her thankless'
nurslings; he was perfectly devoted to
her, and followed right at her heels al
the time. After awhile he ate so
much, and trotted about so much, that
he grew to be big goose; and then
Miss Lizzie thought he ought to learn
to live with his own sort Of people; so
one evening, after she had fed the
fowls, she decided to make the change.
And just here 1 must tell you how
funny that feeding was. She never
called to feed; she used to ring a bell,
and up they all would come, no mat
ter where they were.
Three times day that bell called
all the folks in feathers together. In
the evening, after they had eaten their
supper, they would all go without one
bit of trouble into their different houses
for the night; and as l began to say,
Miss Lizzie tried to teach the turkeys
goose-child to go and sleep with the
geese. He didn't like it at all, he
would try to 90 into the turkey-hOuse
whether or no; and what a time he
gave poor Miss Lizzie. In trying to
have his own way! Final she had a,
high fence built all round the turkey
house which they could fly over well
enough, but poor-goOsie was so fat and
heavy that he could not, and then
what,a taking he was in. He tried
and he tried. he quacked and he cried,
but all the same he couldn't climb thar
fence any way.
At last, when he foHnd he ceEld not
get into the turkey-hOuse and make
believe he was turkey, he would
drop his wings, turn round, and make
straight for the goOse-Peu. crying at
every step he took. He had very
funny voice, and it sounded exactly az
if he said, .'Oh, la! oh, lar as he went
along. Once in the pen, he was quiet
enough, but the moment the fowls
were turned out in the morning he
would run as fast as his fiat feet would
carry him to old Mother Turkey and
cackle and gobble like the hapD 81 Of
geese.
They were comical folS, these owls
of Miss Lizzie's! One day she loOk
some visitors into the latching-hcuse.
There sat the hens, sober as judges,
turning their bright eyes from side to
side, but not taking any other notice
of the ladies. The ducks, too, al kept
their seats; they had come on purpose
But those ridiculous turkeys They
seemed to think the ladies were an in
vestigating committee Of some sort, so
every one of them got up Off OF her
nest and turned gravely round, as much
as to say: 'Only a few eggs we are
sitting on, ladies; you can see for your
selves!'' and then just as gravely sat
down again. - Rebecca Cameron, In
Youths Companion.