Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-07-25
MICKEY FINN'S CANARIES.

MICKEY FINN'S CANARIES,
There were striking indications in
the landscape of Cooney Island that
Spring had come. The fields were
beginning to blush with a greenish
tinge of color, and the brooks were
swollen with melted snow. Mickey
Firms goat was glad. Mrs. Finnegan's
goslins showed signs of qualification,
and the humble human jewellers in
the locality stood in their back doors
and looked off toward the south, as if
waiting for the advent of smiling May.
A gentle rain was falling upon the di-
lapidated roof of Michael Finn's cabin,
and his wife placed wooden pail in
position in the kitchen to catch the
drip, drip which had been making its
way through the roof for the past two
hours. Then she proceeded to put
the ''praties" in the skillet. ready to
place on the fire. The cabbage had
to be cut up. too, and as Mrs. Finn
busted herself with the task she re-
marked:
"Oh, my; oh, my; isn't it awful rainP
hickey'll be drowned through an
through, an sorra dhry stitch have It
put an him when he comes home from
sch0oln
1t occurred to the good woman that
she might find something dry for her
boy to wear in the old trunk which her
husband had brought from Ireland and
which lay in the only other room
which the cabin afforded, and thither
Mrs. Finn made her way. Mickey's
old grey goat, finding the good wo-
man absent from the kitchen, quietly
entered and RECALLED himself on the
head of cabbage which Mrs. Finn had
cut up a short time before to put in
the pot along with the bacon for sup
per. Breaking upon the goats repast
with stove litter in her hand, Mrs.
Finn exclaimed:
"Oh, We thafe's breed, We! Ye dirty,
greedy diyvle. / declare t me good
mess ye'd stale tn holes out iv flute.
Bad sess t tn bit will we get this
noIght for the thrick.n
The goat retired very slowly, but
when his horns had been turned away
from her Mrs. Finn materially assisted
his progress with ashoye. As she was
about to close the door Mrs. Finn saw
Mickey coming through the rain.
With uplifted hands and with an eX-
preston of horror on her face, Mrs.
Finn said:
Och, Mickey, Mickey, why did ye
sthay out in that wet rain? Shure
we're soaked to tn skim, an yell catch
ye're death O cowld!
While being relieved of his wet
clothing and robed in his fathers
trousers and vest, which gave him the
baggy appearance of scarecrow, little
Mike told his mother that on his way
home from school he had gone to
Peter Dolan's house to see the canar-
les
But in the name of Finn McCool,
why didn't we wait till some sunshiny
dayP' asked Mrs. Finn.
'tMother, dear, oh, mother, if We only
seen thin wanst ye'd 60 t. see thin
again, rain or shine, so We would;
they're that purity. Two o the pretti-
est little yalla birds that iYer ate grass
seed! Pether has thin in big cage
on tn wall, SO he has, an We has t get
on laddher t see thin, An mother
dear, shure they has four weeny weeshy
little burds, all covered wild soft, yalia
wool, an they cheep an cherrup at tn
ould father an mother for all tn WORLD
just like little babies. An tn oulC
mother bird does be feedin' Thin little
bits o. what she do be atm herself.
An tn oul father looked at me as much
as t say that | darnt 90 near thin
Faix, mother, I'd like t have wan o
thin little burds, but can't earn any
more money wild my scroll saw because
It's bruk. Pether put me up on tn
laddher t. look at thin, an when
was up tn divvle says t me: Mickey
ply don't you sthale wan O. thin little
yalla burdsp An dye know, mother
that me fingers was itchin' t git holC
o. wan o. thin. But says me littl,
prayer an tn divvle went AVA, so he
did. Mother, dear, would We buy m,
wan o. thin little birds?n
'sArrah, darlint, ashore, can't bu,
We wan now, but wait till we sen til
chickens, an I'll thry thin"
When little Mike drew near to tn
stove and huddled down close to tn
CRATE trying to get warm, and after
ward he could eat no supper, his moth
er knew that something was wrong
Placing her hand upon the boys shout
der, she said:
''Asthore, macree, what ais yep"
Mother, DEAR" little Mike answer
ed, I'm very cowld, an me head
akin'-but the little yalla burds, moth
er! If We only seen thin! Dear, dear
but me back has the tooth ache, it
akin me that hard They feeds 'er
whate an oats an bread crumbs. Oh
dear! me head is Dustin, so ties. rr
sheverin' an l can't get warrum
Shure, if | had wan o thin valla-"
''Niver moind the burds, Mickey
you're sick. Ye got yer fate wet al
We hev' yer back load o. cowld now
But niver moind, acushla, I'll soon fl
ye. I'll soak yer fate in hot wathe