Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1890-08-28
FOR LITTLE PEOPLE.
MY eRANDPA's STORY.

= wonder if grandpas can always tell
stories that boys like, and girls as wellf
Nine tells always the incest kind,
Bus grandpa like mine is hard 10 find.
Tbs last one he TOLD was SO very good
1pugh he made the lesson well under.
stood
49at ] want to tell it just as be did,
kept the moral so nicely hid.
Baid Grandpa: The first year ! went down
nc the old academy out of town.
Ihere was one boy there among the rest
smart one, but just the queerest dressedi
His name was observation-disclosures JOY
HIS name was no queerer than was the boy.
His folks had lately moved, they said
His mother and sister-his father was dead.
he was only thirteen, and small at that,
But there's little we fellows could beat him
at.
He took all the care of the schooihouse,
too
And colder winter I never knew.
lie must have suffered, his clothes were so
thin,
But matters like that boys don't take in.
And homely he was, this little boy
never saw palmer than Jonathan Joy.
But the very queerest thing OF all
Was his boots he was so very small,
And his boots were a mans boots, stout and
strong,
Thick, and heavy. and wide, and long;
How such boy could tug 'em about
don't know, but the toes were all stuffed
out
Now to our shame it must be told
That we scorned this boy whose clothes
were old.
Often and often, each hour of the day,
We sneered at his boots, and would call and
say:
Boots, where are you going with that little
boyy'
II must have been awful TO Jonathan Joy.
AT last the leader of all our band
He's been dead for years, poor Charley
Rand
Proposed TO do something so bad aud bold
Almost too ugly to ever be told,
Tie knew that every night, he ; lid,
This Jonathan kept his boots in a she'd
"He knew the house-such a poor little
home
And he said Now, boys. if youn all keep
mum
I'll tell you something frst-rate to be done.
Let's go to night and have some fun;
Let's all of us go still as a mouse,
And steal those boots from that old wood
house,
I'VE all agreed, to our shame, be it said,
And at night, when we should have been in
bed,
We stole to the home of Jonathan joy
feel so ashamed of every boy
We went TO the window to listen first,
And that for our plan was just the worst
"He and his mother were there alone;
1t was cold that night, but fire they had
none;
We saw his mother as well as he;
His head in her lap. we all could see;
Her hand was caressing the brow of the boy,
q q ed M
"Then we heard her voice and the words.
she said,
TIL we wished we had been at home in bed
Johnnie she said, so soft and low
IT'S "a terrible trial, that know,
But it's wear the boots or stay away
Not go to school another day.
1--WE can't buy boots as wen as bread,
And keep this poor roof over our heads,
And you hope to be able, you always say,
Through your learning to build a home
some day.
Those boots were your fathers; tits hard,
know
The boys must be ugly to treat you So"
"The soft voice faltered, and then there
came
The sound OF sobbing. 0, twas a shamei
But Charley turned TO the rest of his crew
And whispered I've thought of thing
to do;
Come ont of this-here, follow my lead;
feel as small as mustard seed.
Boys he said softly, let's buy him a
pair
Just such as the rest of us fellows wear
Then he took away and told his plan,
And each of us felt rather more like man.
We put our mites together. and then
Next night we went to the woodshed again,
"And still and sly as we went before
We left the boots and shut the door
Such bes oies they were, and brand new
or :,
Red-p sped, with letters which shone like
Guns,
An1 the rest of the winter, L IN glad to tell,
We treated that fellow extremely well.
Years have passed; his place is higher by
far,
And he's richer than all the rest of us are
His mother died long, long years ago,
But she lived to be proud of him, know:
And know he was pure gold without alley,
For married the 81 ster Of Jonathan JOY"
Emily Baker smalle, in Pansy.