The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1897-05-15

met. the look OF the OLD woman VINO SAL
SO quietly. But suddenly the old hands
stretched out appealingly and the old
She did not smile. but her lips fiuttered
wildly, and she cri5d up into the young
girls face, Can l have a rose; my Rose
is dead; my Rose is dead" The girl
shrank back and the light died down in
the old woman's eyes. Her head drop
ped listlessly forward and the people
passed on out.
She carries with intense dependency
the eight small years of her life. She
goes to school; she has pretty clothes;
she has plenty of dolls: she has no trou-
bic with long division, and yet she is
pessimistic. She moons at the piano
playing the most discordant minor
tunes that she can harrow up out of her
mind She reads gloomy things. prefera-
bly, witch storf-s or Sunday school books
i'm which all the characters die, good or
L
she says, and adds with sombre salts
faction that they don't like her either.
Tonight as she sat dejectedly by the
fire and watched the rest Of us study
and read, she seemed to think she had
reached the last point of endurance.
Evidently nobody cared for her in the
least So she announced in a heart
broken tone:
Il believe I'll try the home for the
friendless."
Three little kittens and one old cat
were too much for one house. One old
cat was just enough. So the three lit
tie kitters were killed and thrown out
in the back alley.
Nobody cared particularly except the
old cat and Ethel Ethel knew that
the little kittens were lying out in the
alley. She didn't go out there at all;
she couldn't bear TO. The old cat did
not know; she wandered around and
hunted for the kftt-ns. They were not
in their basket i'm the cellar nor under
the boards around the potato bin: where
were they She mewed loudly, but
they did not answer. If she had known
why thsy did not hear!
But Ethel heard sitting in the dark
on the cellar steps and her heart bied.
.ahA IA al a-iv
around switching her tail and crying.
1t was crying. Ethel thought, and felt
very much like crying herself H=r
eyes We're wide open and she had her
hands clasped tight around her ankles
on the steps.
kitty" she said softly, you can't
find EN-. can you? I'll find 'em for you,
Kitty. kitty
Thu cat came slowly and anxiously
and submitted to being Fitted awkward
ly to the little girls shoulder. Ethel
carried her UP the steps out into the
cool wind and the hot sun, down past |
the barn. out into that terrible alley.
She knew just where the kittens were |
over on the pile of straw. She shut her |
eyes and walked over to the place Then |
with a little gasp she threw the cat |
down and waited. There was not a |
sound. Ethel opened her eyes. The cat |
was licking the face of one of the kit |
tens. the little white one. Ethel drop |
ped down on the straw and put out her |
hand to touch the kitten. Then the |
cat did a strange thing. She caught up
the little white kitten away from Eth
els hand and carried it to place where |
the ground was soft and bare. She laid |
ii gently down ard CAM back for the /
other two. When she had the three in /
a nice little row she dug a hole in the |
ground and dropped them in. After
wards she brushed the dust back over