Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1893-05-25
BILLToPs's GRAssHoPPER.
The Hopper Jumped-Freddie's
ooh" Startled the Audience.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
"Pop," said little Frankly Bill.
tops, @tell me a story"
"Well, Frankly" said Mr.. Bill.
tops, "once there was a little boy
whose name was Freddy. His real
full name was Frederick Timby
but everybody always called him
just Freddy.
Freddy lived in the city, but
every summer he used to go to see
his aunt, who lived in the country
in little old village. There was
an old church, in this village, and
every Sunday morning Freddy
used to go there. Generally his
father and mother and some of
the other folks from the house
used to 60 too; but one Sunday.
just Freddy and his aunt went
alone.
"It was a warm day, and the
windows Of the church were pull
ed down all around at the top to
let in the air. Freddy looked out
through the open windows, and
saw the. sunshine and saw the
branches Of the trees swayipg, and
heard the leaves rustling, and
somehow it all made him feel very
sleepy, and the first thing, you
know, he was fast asleep. But
Freddy's aunt knew that children
60 to sleep in church sometimes,
and she was looking out for him
all the time, and when she saw
him nod and nod and nod, she fix
ed it so that when he finally nod
ded clean over, his head fell
against her, where he was all safe.
'After while Freddy woke up
suddenly, as folks do sometimes
without knowing just what wakes
them, and he looked along the va
cant part Of the pew in which he
was sitting. You know there were
only Freddy and his aunt in the
pew, and they sat at one end of
it, so there was a long vacant
space between them and the other
end. Rightsquare in the centre
of this space, Freddy saw big
grasshopper;;g he was sitting there
pointed toward the pulpit. Freddy
didn't know whether the grasshop-
per was asleep, or what, but he
kept on looking at him, and pretty
soon he knew that the grasshopper
wasn't asleep, for he saw him rub
his right leg up and down against
his side, and then he saw him rub
his left leg up and down against
that side; then the grasshopper
stood perfectly still again. Then
he turned half around right where
he stood and faced toward Freddy,
and just stood there, very still.
But all of sudden the grasshop-
por made a tremendous jump and
landed right on Freddy's shoulder.
Freddy said, 'Ohp
"It was only o very small word
with only two letters in it, but it
startled the whole congregation
and made the minister stop preach
ing. Everybody looked around
toward Freddy and his aunt. But
Freddy's aunt is one of those peo-
pie who always seem to know just
what to do when anything happens
The first thing she did was to put
her arm around Freddy and draw
him up nearer to her and sort ot
turn his face in toward her, for she
knew that if Freddy should see al.
the people looking at him in thai
way it would make him feel bad
and when she mad done this she
just looked straight ahead as
though nothing had happened, af
though she had never heard o1
anything happening, and as though
she didn't expect anything wa!
going to happen for the next 7o(
years.
"The minister had seen righ
away that nothing very wonderful
had happened, and he had gone
right on preaching again. Wher
the people saw Freddy's aunt look
ing ahead in that way they turned
around again and faced toward tht
pulpit once more, and then every
thing went on just as it was be
FORE"
"What became of the grasshop
per, pop?" asked FraLky.
But that was something tha
Mr.. Billtops could not answer.