The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1895-09-30
both armed with long. hard horns and

both armed with long. hard horns an,
sharp boots
'All this time the father OF the children
wobbly as he was, sat at the gaming tabl
with the three robbers. The robbers wer,
waiting for the return of their comDani
! and at last they became so uneasy tina
they played loosely and the man began
to win his gold and silver back again Al
last the robbers concluded to go in search
oil their companions, and the man Went
home, carrying with hirl more gold and
silver than he had ever before brought
away from the tavern. The robbers fail
ed to find their companions until the next
day. and the story they told was so alarm
ing that the band concluded to leave that
part OF the country, at least for a while
"Iut reports and rumors of the srea,
wealth OF the poor farmer continued Ia
travel about, and finally they came to the
ears of a company of merchants vino were
! more cunning in their line of business
than the robbers were in theirs. So these
/ merchants joUrneyed to tho village and put
UP at the tavern. There they soon made
the acquaintance of the fortunate farmer
| who owned the wonderful coal-black sheep
and the wonderful snow-whitc goat.
+, They talked business with MIN from
! the word 60 They wanted HIM to put his
! money into all sorts of schemes that were
! warranted to double it in few months
! liut the man said he didn't want mis-
/ money doubled. lie already had as much
! as he wanted. He told them that if he
! were to 81. on the stEset and throw away
a million dollars minute for ten years.
| he'd be just as rich at the end of that
/ time as he was before he threw away tina
first million.
"Of course. the merchants didn't I'M
| derstand this Some said the man was
| crazy, but the shrcwder ones said that
! there must he some secret behind it all.
so they set to work to find it out. They
hattered him in every way. They made
hiIa rich presents for himself his wife and
children For the first time he began to
wear fine clothes and put on airs The
shreWd merchants asked his advice about
thelr own business. and went about telling
! everybody what a wise man he was They
pretended to tell him all their own business
secrets
ms. of course. pleased the man very
huch' and, at last. one dag when he
had more wine in his head than wit. he
told his merchant friends that he made
ali his gold and silver by shearing a black
shecp aud milking white goat.
Where do you keep these wonderful
creatures? one OF the merchants asked.
In my stable replied the man; IN
my stable night and day
The greedy merchants were not long in
ihhihS out that the man kept a coal-black
sheep and a snOw-white goat in his stable
sure enough, and, after a good deal of
persuading and flatterng. they got him
10 consent to bring lis coal-bIack sheep
and his snow-white goat to the tavern so
mat they might see Tor themselves how
rare and valuable the animals were.
wen, one night at.er mis- wife and chill
dren had gone to bed, the men carried the
Sheep and the goat to the tavern and show
cd them to the merchants They offered
nm Immense sums of money Tor the ami
y ais. but he refused them all. They then
invited HIM to remain to banquet which
they had prepared. lie wanted to carry
ms sheep and his goat back home, and
tIeh return to the banquet. but
the merchants said the table was
aifeauy spread. and he could tie
MS WONDERFUL animals in the
rear nail where nobody would bother them
Meantime. the merchants had sent out
INTO the country ana bought black sheep
ana a white goat, and while some of them
were pouring wine down the mans goozIe
others were untying the wonderful black
Sheep and white goat. ana putting in their
place the animals that had been bought
w men the time came for the man 10 20
nome, he was so wobbly in the legs and
so befEddled in the head that he couldn't
tell the difference between a sheep and a
aof'1e ltriffet s6etp afId goat were not
usec to being led about at night by a man
with wcLbly legs and a befuddled head,
and they cut up such queer capers that It
was as much the man could do to keep
on his feet at all. But, after SO long a
time. he managed to get them home and
tied IN the stable.
so far, soagood, but the next morning,
when the boy and the girl got up betimes
and went out to feed their pets as they
were in the habit Of doing. they saw at
once that something had happened. Their
precious pets had been made away with
and these rough. dirty and mean-loOking
animals put in their place. one glance was
enough to satisfy the children of this. and
they set up such a wall that the whole
neighbOrhood was aroused. Even their
father stuck his head out of the window ana
asked what was the matter. His head
was still befuddled by the nights banquet,
but his alarm sobered him instantly when
he heard what his children said. lie
wouldn't believe il at first, but when he
went into the stable and saw for himself,
he was nearly beside himself with grief.
He declared that il was all his fault and
told what he had done the night before.
lie was now as poor as he ever was.
and his wife said she wasn't sorry q bit,
because he would now have chance to
go TO work and an excuse for not hanging
around the tavern. But the children beg
ged him to 80 after their coal-blacll sheep
and their snow-white goat.
This he prOziised 10 do, and he made
haste to go TO the tavern. The merchants
were still there, but they only laughed at
him when he asked them Tor MS sheep
and his goat They called on the tavern
keeper to witness that the man had start
ed home with black sheep and a white
goat.
'' That is true said the man. and have
them there now. But they are not mine.
Some of you Tuftians stole mine and put
these in their place.
The merchants pretended to be very
angry at this, and made as if they would
fan on the man with their fists. But he
was a stout fellow ANA was armed with
stout hickory, and SO they merely threat
eued. But the man failed To get his coal
black sheep and his snow-whIte goat and
went home full of grief and rcmOrse."
Cherokee Baptists Celebrate.
Rome. Ga, September Especial THE
Middle Cherokee Baptist Association closed
one of the most Interesting association
: meetings today in all its history.
1t was the hftieth anniversary of the