Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1891-09-24
aLITTLE EpNA,s STORY.

I'm going TO tell you story aDou
my gran'ma.
You'd think gran'mas would always
be good, but they amt. l mean they
are when you know them, but you
don't know them till they're grown-uI
ladies with gray hair and red cheeks
and spectacles. It's when they're not
gran'mas yet-when they're little like
me, / mean-and then | guess they're
better'n | am.
I'd like TO know real gran when
she was little.
Gran mas name was Orissa-only
now we call her Gran'ma Foster-and
she had 70 spin tow. She had to spin
twenty rolls every day, ten rolls in the
morning and ten in the afternoon.
She used to do it up over the kitchen
in the kitchen-chamber, and her
mother-that's my Great-gran'ma
Hooper-used to bring the rolls up TO
her and leave her there all alone TO
spin her ''stint" And orissa didn't
like TO spin very well.
Well--and there was a fireplace in
the kitchen-chamber. and no one ever
built fire there, and there was fire.
board that covered the fireplace all up
so you couldn't see it. And gran'ma--
Orissa--found that there was hole in
the fire-board just big enough SO she
could put her hand in.
And one day---it's sprising what
gran mas will do when they're little
one day Orissa just hated spinning, n
she'd spun six rolls, N she looked at
the other four. n she took one of them
n began TO chew il.
1t was so big that her mouth was
full at first, but she chewed n chewed
till at last il was only a wad. and then
she took and put it right through that
hole in the fireboard and dropped it in
the dark behind, where she knew that
no one would ever find it. So she
didn't have TO spin that roll.
Weli--and then she took another roll,
and she chewed that up n dropped il
through the hole And then she didn't
dare chew any more. so she spun the
other two rolls, but when she came to
the other ten that she had TO spin in
the afternoon she ehewed one of them
and dropped il through the hole.
And that was the way Orissa kept
doing every day. She didn't dare put
as many through the hole as she wanted
to, only one or two at time.
Her mother kept wondering why
what Orissa spun didn't come to more,
but Orissa never told her why. She
didn't dare
~. To- ,,,,,+l,..,. .bo,,eHt O,.;sSa xxas
good girl. Mothers most always do
think you're good just as long as they
can. you know; and Orissa's mother
would say what good girl she was to |
spin. and Orisssa would feel inst as
mean when She thought about the
rolls back of the fireboard.
Weil-after awhile Orissa's mother
thought she'd s'prise her with new
dress 1t was only calico. but calico
was real precious then.
Why, Gran'ma -0rissa-never
had had bought dress all her life.
They made all the cloth at home, and
4 calico that was bought was real pre-.
,ious.
So one day her mother said: ''Orissa.
you've been such good girl spinning,
I've bought you dress, and then she
showed her it. Grandma Fosters got
piece Of it now in an old quilt, and it
vas two blues-dark blue and light
,lue- and yellow and white.
1t was pretty. and 0rissa laughed and
Popped up and down, she was so glad.
Ind then-all of a suddenvshe remem-
,ered about the chewed-up rolls. There
we're a good many of them by that time
q behind the fire-board. 0rissa stopped
topping. But she didn't tell her mother.
And her mother made the dress with
-athers round the neck, and it had
houlder-straps and a full waist.
hink gran ma must have looked funny.
And she used to wear the calico to
hurch Sundays because it was so pre-
ious- Gran'sna says she always used to
o two miles TO church, and she used to
AIRY her shoes in her hand and go
arefoot till she was pretty near. and
hen she'd walk through brook and
ut her shoes on. That's the way lots
( the children did then to save their
hoes, because shoes were precious as
fell as calico.
And all the other little girls thought I
rissa's 'bought calico was so fine, and
hey looked at it and wished they had
ne, stead of dresses out of cloth their
lothers had made at home. But OrissA
asst hated that calico dress.
She hated it worse n worse every
me she wore it. know why. Don't
ou2
She thought the minister looked at
err every Sunday when she sat in
hurch with that calico dress on. and il
ist seemed as If he must know all
bout those chewed-up rolls, someway.
And Orissa felt worse n worse n
orse every time she heard her mother
II she gave her the dress because she