Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-12-04
THE AGOUTPS FATE,
A Result of Disobedience and Too Mucl
Curiosity.

Mrs. Agouti and her small family
lived i'll hole under a great rock on a
hillside. Hill and rock and hole all be-
longed to lovely island i'll the Carib-
bean sea, near the north coast of South
America. So far as the hill and the rock
and the hole were concerned they
might have been i'll an island i'll the
temperate Zone but their surroundings
proclaimed them all to be i'll the tropics.
There We're beautiful palms and tree
ferns on the hillsides, and the weather
was always warm - always, even in
Northumberland snow and ice were new
er known in this island, except that the
latter was sometimes brought i'll vessels.
And as for Mrs. Agouti herself, she,
too, was different from any animal we
have i'll our country-in shape some
thing like a rabbit but with only the
least bit of tail, and something like
muskrat in color, but as afraid of the
water as the muskrat is devoted to it.
In fact, she was a curious compound of
rabbit, muskrat and woodchuck. An
agouti, i'll fact-called gouti for short
by the people of that islands, just the
funniest little animal you ever saw.
Her family consisted of her husband,
Mr.. Gouti, who was generally roaming
about looking for something to eat, not
only for himself, but for his little fam
lily of youngsters, Miss and Master Gou-
ii, and two wee babies as yet without
their eyes open to this world.
On the morning in which we are sup
posed to make their acquaintance, Mas
ter Gouti, Icing of venturesome dispo-
sition, wanted to roam abroad, like his
father. and find out something about
the things at the bottom of the hill. 1t
was u sweet, delicious morning, with
dew on the grass blades and perfume i'll
the air. Master GOuti stuck his nose
out from beneath the overhanging shelf
of rock and shifted with his sensitive
nostrils, which We're always in motion,
like those of a hare. And then he went
back and told his mother, who was i'll
the inner chamber attending to the
wants Of the babies, what perfectly
beautiful morning it was and couldn t
he just take a little run down to the
banks of the stream at the foot of the
HILL where the air was so cool and where
there were so many roots and vegetables
that he could find to eat?
Mrs. Gouti thought for moment
and then said: 'Well, if you will
promise not to go near that great clump
of bamboos there by the spring you
can run out for half an hour or so, but
be sure to come back before the sun gets
hot"
Master Gouti promised readily
enough, being like some little boys and
girls i'll that respect, and skipped off
down the hill perfectly delighted. If
You had seen him hopping off so hap
PLY, looking as sweet as a little brown
angel, you couldn't help but love him !;
he was so good and cunning. He hadn t
any suspicion of harm coming to him,
because he was so innocent himself and
didn't believe he had an enemy in all
the world.
When he reached the foot of the hill
and saw the bright stream ripping over
the rocks and pebbles and the broad
leaved plants growing lush and rank on
its borders, he was delighted. He darted
i'll under one of the great plants and
stopped a minute to consider which
way he ought to go. Peering out, he
saw the bamboo clump with its I'M
mense shafts. like great spears, deco
rated with bright green leaves and he
scanned it curiously, wondering why
he should not venture near it.
Now, Mrs Gouti had not told him
why, for she was a woman with theories
as to the bringing up of children, and
one of her theories was to keep child
as innocent of the evil all about him as
long as you can. And so she never told
the little weakling that the reason why
she didn't want him to go near the
bamboos was because it was the lair of
anaconda, who would gobble him up i'll
a minute. She wished she had after
ward when the day went by and tho
night came again without any signs Of
her small son returning
But here I am anticipating events
again when 1 meant merely to have
told the story just as it happened.
Well, Master Gouti wondered why his
mother had forbidden him to go into
the bamboo clump or near it, and he
also wondered what she meant by
''near, whether a rod, or foot, or less
He might go IL little nearer, he thought,
anyway, without disobeying, and so he
hoped out from the shelter of the big
leaf and then stopped and viewed the
bunch Of bamboos. There was nothing
forbidding in their appearance, so he
hoped just a little nearer, until he
was within yard or so of the rafting
spears and falling leaves. Then he was
suddenly transtixed by a bright round
eye like glittering diamond set i'll the
head of what we know was the anacon-
da. But he didn't know it, he was so
innocent, and he was drawn nearer and
nearer, until all at once he saw long
and loathsome body behind the head,
twined about the bamboo shafts for
ever so many feet of their length.
Then the glittering eye fixed him,
cold and shivering. A huge red mouth
opened like great red oven, big enough
to take him i'll without an effort, and
not only him, but all his family.
He may then have realized the peril
he was in and have tried to back out,
but it was too late. There was such IL
fascination about that big red cavern,
with its rows of pointed teeth, and,
above all, the glittering diamond eye,
that he couldn't move for the life of
him.
Then the anactonda eemed to say,
"JumD in. NV lille frisend hmm right