The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-07-22
"Snlart" Children.

Donald and Marguerite came home
from kindergarten, swinging hands
and singing shrilly the song of 1.-THE
squirrel in the hollow tree" At the
back porch they stopped short. Right
in front of them was big pan filled
with great green shiny pods.
LOOK at their thick stems and what
are they anyhow ?" Donald asked.
".Peppers," said mamma "moun.
tam bell peppers" and with a sharp
knlfe she cut out little circle around
tne stem, and then proceeded to dig
away the small, yelIowish-white seeds.
an going to stuff them with chopped
ES.aooage, and then sew on these iittle
vinegar" J"i VI e''ons
u think they're real nrettv u, ex.
claimed Marguerite, putting her wea
lnquisitive nose a LITTLE 5oorer n A.
pan. par See there's one with a bright
M . nnaps IL psa riRer than the Others" said
mamma. They're fre-red when
Are e, they! Oh, give us ope-eacb
OF us" chimed the children. while
marguerite added, "We'll keen them
till they get red, then, with the lid On
tnem, they'll be the cunninpest. tawn.
y Jars, and we can keep our STRINGS of
tnorn-apple beads in them p'
My! N.Y." laughed mamma. ct
guess not ! You children mustn't even
touch these peppers ~
"Why" Donald asked, dolefdlly.
"Oh, they'll make yon smart and
|-"but just then Peggy came to tell
mamma that the minister had come
for an afternoon call. se-,t
When the children were alone sthey
looked at the pan of peppers and then
at each other.
What did mamma mean by making
US smart" said Donald,
Il guess she meant learning things
easy" said Marguerite, wisely. II
heard Ethel Green say that Jimmy
was real smart at riffentick.n I :.
"ened think mama'd want us to be
smart" said Donald, in injured tones.
"Welp'-and Marguerite's little
brown face, with its black eyes and red
cheeks, glowed with a sudden adven-
turous spirit-"well, anyhow, I'm go
ing to see what those peppers taste
IKE! Let's each take one OF the seeds
-sucn teenty-tawnty things can't do
Two pairs of fat little hands rum
maged among the peppers until they
found one with the lid off, and seed
was selected.
But the seed got no farther than the
two red mouths-and then, oh, then,
how they bit and stung and burned
like nre! Then the peppery hands
ruooed lips and chin. and that made
matters worse!
"'Oh oh oh ! it's hotp howled Dom
aid, dismally.
boo hoo hoo its burny !" sobbed
Marguerite.
At the sound of the walls mamma
came running out-and Peggy, and
even the minister and his wife: and
everybody talked, and one person ad-
Vised one thing, and another said
something else, and Rover got up from
his rug and barked loudly 80 you can
imagine the confusion. Presently
Peggy brought a big piece of ice from
the refrigerator, and Donald sucked
one end of 1t and Marguerite the other,
and that cooled the pain somewhat,
though the tears still rolled down their
cheeks, and their lips were red aud
swollen. -.
And after little, when vaseline and
cold cream had made them still more
comfortable, Marguerite said, in 9
quivering little voice, "You-you said
1t would make us smart"
swell, it did, didn't it" said
mamma, and then everybody, even the
two little pepper Victims, laughed.