Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-09-26
TIE HISTORY OF A MELON.
ITS YOUTH, ITS AMBITION AND ITS
ROUNDED DESTINY.
How It Grew and Thrived in a Florida
Patch and Finally Fulfilled Its Mission.
A Shining Secret Society Light Makes
Glad Its Last Hours.

Patch and Finally Fulfilled Its Mission.
A Shining Secret Society Lish. Makes
Glad Its Last Hours.
In one Of the voluptuous fields of south
Florida a watermelon lay laughing in the
sun. 1t was a melon Of great size for the
length and thickness of it and the weight
thereof Its color was deep, dark, beauti-
full green-a green that made no compromise
with any other color, but held its own with
unwavering tenacity. For days and days it
had lain in gentle hollow stretching out
eagerly with the passage of each hour. It
drank in the grateful dews of night, smiled
meath the kiss of every anorous sunbeam,
and partook in silent rapture of the hoa. ded
sweetness of every passing bree1
Underneath its polished surface strange in
sects made their homes. The little ant, to
whom the sluggard has been 50 often advised
to 90, filed his underground storehouse with
ten times as much food as he needed, and
having no ice refrigerating facilities allowed
half of it to spoil
The cricket made harp of his left hind
leg and discoursed sweet airs from Norma"
and the other opera sharps.
The spider wove his thin, gray pail, and
into it many flies did fall.
The bumblebee sometimes Lit thereon, and
slipping down its smooth sides imagined it a
mortal enemy, and in foolish fit OF anger
left part Of its humble sticking therein.
Sometimes little birds with bright eyes and
fluffy feathers and pert, conceited strut,
would light upon the stem and eye the mon
ster curiously, and then, feeling in every
tissue Of their tender bodies the mellow wine
OF summer, sing low in soft, delicious song.
FROM FIELD TO BUSY MART.
All these things the melon greatly enjoyed
for it was a poetic melon, and found some
thread of pleasure in all the subtitle essences
of life.
1t was a cunning melon also, and when the
cracker farmer and his long, lank son would
halt before it, and the old man would say,
bill, low thish yer melum air ripe enough
to ship" the melon would stitfen itself and
grow hard and stern and repellent, and the
son would thump it with curiously distorted
thumb and finger and drawl out: Nav,
dad; that air meium amt ripe enough yit"
Then the melon would eXalt its horn and
chuclle softly as the hooking rooster chuck
leth from the ridge pole of the barn when
blaclzer faces illuminate the blackness of
night and the '.festerbule" is in rapid prog
resS near by.
But one day the melon was wrapped in
slumber after surfeit of sunshine and dew,
its muscles all relaxed, its cuticle yielding to
trfling pressure, and lol in the twinkling of
al eve, as it were, its stem was rudely
clipped and it awoke to find itself one of
hundred melons in jolting car bound for
jacksonville
Now, most melons would have lost ali hope
at this, and grown Respondent and melan-
choly, but this particular melon was a fellow
of infinite Jest, and held choice secret close
to its heart, and although it could see but
little of the country through which it was
riding, yet enjoyed the journey, for it knew
it would have some fun with the boys when
it arrived at tie great city by the St. Johns.
In twenty-four hours the journey was over,
and the melons were distributed among the
fruit dealers of the city. Our hero became
part and parcel of the stock of self expatri-
ated Greek on Bay street, and absorbed in
rapturous ecstasy the varied perfumes arising
from oranges, peaches, plums, Strawberries
and pair Of old socks thrown carelessly un-
der the counter. Two days and nights it lay
in silent enjoyment of these ambrosial de-
ished plan. The melons were placed on the
pave outside the store in order that they
might delude unwary passers by. Watching
its opportunity, our melon gradually edged
over to box near by and hid behind At 10
O'Clock the thrifty Greek moved his fruit in-
side and closed up for The night The melon
was not seen and not missed, and remained
in partial obscurity until II p NJ, when it
II,
half suppressed mirth.
''oHl DAT wATERMuYoNr'
At II 80 p. m. Calamity P. Muggins, Afri-
can, was going home from protracted meet
ing of Lodge No 4, Ancient and independent
Order of Hamstruug Sons of Copernicus, an
order both beneficial and social in its organi-
cation.
As Calamity drew near the store the melon
slightly raised its head and grunted auda-
ciouslv. The negro saw it, and his ewes stuck
out so that they could almost shake hands
with his nose Cautiously approaching, be
touched it with his foot. Yes it was real,
melon, forgotten by the careless
when he shut up shop for the night. /
Calamity put his hands in his pockets and
so..ly TO himself. Then he looked /
around and about him There was no one in .
sight. The electric lights began to flicker
and go cut with q few belated jewellers who /
went the other way than TO this store. Boldly .
picking up the melon he moved rapidly off
toward Hansontown.
The melon laughed all the way there. at
one time so violently that it nearly fell out
of his arms.
In due process of time Mr. Muggins ar
rived at his palatlal one story, two rOOmed
opened the door gently, went IN,
and placed his precious prize upon the table.
The wife of his bosom and the twins, who
especially resembled their father about the
feet, were wrapped in such 2 profound SUM
Der that ne decided it would be cruel 10
awaken them, and that he would be able to
conquer the melon single handed.
Taking out his knife, he cat the melon
engthwise. 1t yielded gracefully to the in
,ison, emitting a pleasant cracking sound.
A look of disappointment waited rapidly
over his expansive coue<enance as he saw it
vas nearly as green insade as it was on the
,ut
1t was the first melon of the season, how
'ver, and as he had obtained il under quasi
lrovldential circumstances be determined
o Use a classical expression-to set away
With it. He did so and went TO bed
The stars shcne benignantiy upon the shin
lie roof, the winds of heaven lisped about the
,ig pen and the hen coop, and all was quiet.
About a. m, near as she could calcu-
ate, Mrs. MugEins was aroused from sweet
.ream of peace by q series OF unearthly
creams, and hastily lighting candle, saw
Ter husband making prodigious efforts to tie
himself into hard knot. Some watermelon