Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-03-19
A MODERN FAIRY TALE.
The Talented Young Man and the
Beautiful Maiden.

Once there lived a young Man who
started cut to seek his fortune. His
| people were poor and had nothing more
tangible to give him than their love
and blessing, so he set out with only a
| pen, a blotter and bottle of ink.
The pen was coarse thing-steel-
| with a clumsy wooden handle which
he himself had whitfield when a lad.
| But there was really something won
dcrful about this ordinary-looking pen;
the Fairies had tipped the steel point
with a magic diamond, so that all words
that it wrote were pure, and bright, and
sparkling.
1t so happened that the young Man
was so lucky as to find the road to his
/ fortune at once, and soon he was max
ing fine lot of money, so that he was
both comfortable and happy.
Now, there also lived a beautiful
young Maiden, very sweet and good,
but poor-so poor, indeed, that she was
obliged to work all day at a queer ma
chino, upon the keys of which her
white fingers went plunkety-plunk, and
10! there appeared arrayed in all neat
ness and order the words which the
magic pen had written
And as the Maiden sat at her work
she comprehended the thoughts which
were behind the words, which, alas!
many of those who work upon like ma
chimes fail to discover; and, moreover,
when the pen had hurried over a word
to the dire confusion of the letters
therein she did not substitute in its
place word from her own vocabulary
or one of her own coming, but went
straightwGy to the young Man and
asked him if it should be thus and thus.
Everybody knows that a mans Chi
Biography becomes more and more be-
wildering as his fame or his success in
life increases. Now it may have been
from that reason or it may have been
but why speculate-thc fact was that
the illegible words became more and
more frequent and the Mans dark locks
often brushed the blonde braids of the
Maiden as they puzzled long over some
word which seemed hopelessly in
volved.
And since she was sweet and good,
and true, and he was young and hand
some, and romantic, they fell deeply in
love with one another, and they plight
ed their faith over the plunkety-plunk
machine; and he was very, very happy,
and the magic pen wrote more wonder
fully than ever before.
Soon his name was in every ones
mouth, and his verses and stories
brought him more of money and fame
than he had ever dared dream of. And
now that he had reached what is vul-
carly known as the top notch" that
something which is called Society
reached out its many arms to welcome
him, and it embraced him and petted
him until he was dazzled by its fattery
and intoxicated by its praise.
And he grew half ashamed of his love
for the Maiden and dissatisfied because
she, poor thing, had neither position
nor wealth to bring him-nothing but
her pure, beautiful self.
And so he told her one day that he
feared that they had been too hasty in
becoming betrothed, and that he felt
that he was doing her an injustice in
Use, when she might meet some one far
more worthy of her love than he, and
he said that perhaps it had been all a
mistake-their little castle in the air
and he hoped she would always con-
slider him her best friend, etc, etc.
And the Maiden looked into his face,
at first with startled, hurt expression
in her beautiful gray eyes; then as he
went on, her glance turn to scorn and
when he had done speaking she said
quite calmly that he was right, and
that it had been only mistake which
they need think no more about, and
then she shut her machine and went
home
Now the Fairies have a way of find
ing out things that happen among
mortals which is a great deal quicker
than our telephone or telegraph or
even our messenger-boy system, and 1t
was not many moments after the
Maiden left her work before a Fairy
stole unseen into the Mans desk and
took the magic point from his pen,
leaving only the blunt and rusty tip; so
that when the Man took it up to write
his daily task the words which he
wrote were no longer bright, but were
very dull and stupid
All the sparkle was gone from his
verses, and all the wit and life from his
paragraphs. So poor were they, in
fact, that the Man swore roundly to
himself as he read them and tore them
up.
Now, the maiden did not return to
her work the next day because she was
nl-so i'll that the people In the house
went about softly and spoke In whis-
pers as they asked each other II she
were still unconscious and If the doc
tors said that there was any hope.
And 1t so happened that upon the
night of this very day the Man attended
quite the SWEETEST function that had
been given in society that season But
somehow the honeyed words and the
hattery which he heard were Like
Apples of Sodom as he mentally con-
trasted them with the frank, sweet
words of the Maiden; and he went
home sick at heart and swore that So
- .-..1I l.. lI.-.I-oI g. al - Kim