The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-12-07
CHLLDREN'O CORNER.
RENNY'S HORSE.


care OF Flulilla. her help. That
d.v made a very miscellaneous and
nj hi v-sea. oued chapter IN Benny
history. II began with a fine little
confiagration. produced without
much trouble by Benny himself.
who took A box uf matches into the
wood shed, while the worldly mind
ed FlorllIa had gone az stairs min
ute to do up her hair and other
wise re-arrange her toilet, with a
view Of presenting creditable APP
pearance when 'BIJah should come
in with the milk and vegetables
which he brought over every day
from Grandpa Pottcr's farm.
tlorila, smelling smoke, rushed
down the dark. C ouked back stair
case, aud fell INTO the kitchen with
sprained wrist and painfully
bruised head. 'BIjah, happily ar
arriving at that extreme moment.
Benny. pick up FIorilla, or put out
the fire. He began with the fire.
however; and tine Brecsc house was
saved. excepting the wood-shed.-
Fl0rilla was consOled, and Benny
was put to bed, as the place most
conductive to repentance, whence
he made Florilla's aching head ring
again with his roariug eXpostula-
tons. 1t Will hardly be believed
that one day could hold so many
disasters; but it is perfectly true
that the same afternoon Il furious
thunderstorm came up, during
which FlorilIa and Benny endured
agonies Of fear, the horse broke
through the barn floor and Mrs.
Breese came home to find FloriIla
patiently aud submissively expect
ing the end of the world to happen
next.
MY land." said FloriIla, as she
finished telling the story of the day
20 Mrs. Breese, there hasn't been
such time since the days Of Pharo.
Whatever could IA made it come all
At once?"
Il guess" said Benny, Goods
gone to the city,
Mrs. Breese, with mothers mem
Dry, laid up this little saying OF
Benny's, and was reminded Of it at
many veXatious time as life went
on.
One day, a year afterward, she
left especially inclineed to think
God must have gone to the city, for
everything had gone wrong since
the dawu, from her curent-jelly's
determination not to ''jell,' and
Florilla's having utterly demolished
the alabaster Temple of Fame which
glOritied the parlor comfortable, to
Mr.. Breese's coming home violently
| i'll with malarial intermittent fever.
1t was also an hour past dinner
time and Benny hadn't come. What
could be the matter? She wondered,
as she stepped out on the piazza for
the twentieth time, and gazed up the
street in the hope Of seeing her boy
bounding along home. What she
did really see was a boy shuf1iing
and creeping along, with his head
down, leading an animal of the
horse species, whose head was still
further down, and who looked very
much inclined to go down altogether
universally right in his tracks, >
as she said to herself, As 1t pros
pectlve skeleton or a curiosity there
was no fault to be found with him,
but as horse he had the faults of
being lame and lean to painful de-
gree-of appearing, in short, to bt
entirely past his usefulness as a pro.
pelling power. What he seemed tc
want was to borrow some of that
power, to get on with, and the boy
who led him lent him that very free
ly, if frequent witches at the halter
We're anything to the purpose.
Hi! Git up. Come along there
you old thing" shouted the boy
with plenty OF witches; and Mrs
Breese thought there was something
familiar in those vociferous tones
Could it be her boy? Could it be
, Yes, it was-Benny. Yet it didn'
look like that blessed, ever beamins
boy. He had a sipgularly dubious
and subdued expression; he NANTES
ted no delight whatever at the sigh
: of his own mother, but, leading hi
remnant of horse, he shufed alons
, INTO the yard, mutely protesting
= against association with the animal
and looking as if SOMEBODY was t,
blame for something.
, why, whose old horse is tina
5 Benny" asked Mrs. Breese. viii
wonder and a desire for knowledg
in every tone.
Hes mine,' said Benny. not a
: all boastfully.
"Y0urs9"