St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-12-25

"Howiver II be film these silver
mouths all the could and dreary win
Their ?" walled Mrs. Malone.
At which the youngest pair of twins
who always spoke at once and said the
same thing, piped up i'll repetition OF The
oft-tod story:
Owe belong to the Road, mither. The
Road'll niver see us starve."
Mrs. Malone caught her darlngs to her
bosom.
"Blcssins on We, me childcr!" she eX-
claimed "That | should be afther for.
gettin' that, me that's got everythin' to
be thankful for An, shure, twas the
Road STINT us this peeg, an it can sind us
another IL loikes."
Nevertheless, Mrs. Malone's heart was
heavy within her as she went about her
days washing. Dinny forgot to whistle
as he went to his work, and the little
children sat about sadly, as if oppressed
by the family trouble. 1t was a long and
lonely day. Small Terry's soap.box cart
stood idle, and the children went to bed
at night missing sadly Jokkie's dozy
grunting in his bed under the car, which
had been their bedtime lullaby.
Early next morning Dinny was Weakened
by a familiar sound. He put his head out
the car window, and there hungrily root
ing in Jokkie's trough, was nice fat pig,
larger by half than the lamented Jokkie.
"Git up, mither! The Road has sint us
a pig" he cried.
Mrs. Malone started up and put oat
her head.
THE saints be praisedl" she said, de-
voutly. "Dinny, me by, make haste wild
ye an'loight the fire an pit the kittle on.
Well pit him in the barrel atore that
Jerry O'Toole has chanst at him.
Immediately there was hustle and ex-
element III the Malone household. Mrs.
Malone and Dinny rushed about prepar-
ing for the slaughter, and the little chill
dren hung around admiring the pig.
Scarcely was the mother able to persuade
them TO come in to breakfast, and indeed
they had hardly begun when the young
est pair of twins, moved by one impulse,
slipped out again to look at the pig. On
4 CT tl1a,-
come quick The Road has sent us an
other pig
Mrs. Malone rushed out. Sure enough,
there, roofing among the weeds under
the car, was another pig, larger and fat
ter than the first; and behold, while they
stood staring, around the corner Of the
car sauntered the third pig, which, in
lieu of breakfast, began famiarly to de-
YOUR the apron of one of the smallest
twins.
Mrs. Malone held up her hands and
gazed at the sky.
"Howly mither! doit be rainin peegs?"
she cried
Just then a man came hurrying by, and
as he passed he called:
"Pit 'em in the barrel, wildly, as (asht
as We can. The town III be full of em
soon. There's hog-thrain wrecked jist
down beyant the crossin'."
At the word the whole Malone family
sprang to action. The fire burned the
water boiled, and Mrs Malone, her
sleeves rolled up and glory on her brow,
slaughtered and scalded and scraped
throughout the liveloug day.
Weary but blissiul they sought their
beds when the work was DONE Three
empty pork barrels stood in a row at one
end OF the car, waiting to be filled on the
morrow, Three stark carcasses hung,
head downward, on the outside of the
car in the later stages of their transition
from pig to pork.
"Me chlder,' said Mrs. Malone, rails
ing her nightcapped head and gazing
around at the seven heads variously dis
tributed about the car, "niver forgit, the
longest day ye live, that ye're the childer
of the Road. Always reminder to ack
so as to be an honor to the Road. Bless
ye, me childer!"
And the Malone family fell asleep
Alice Henderson in The Outlook.