The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-07-15
Oorothy's Lost Temper,


There" said Dorothy. humping angri-
" down In the cushioned window seat.
I've done il again. I'm always doing II.
believe I'm the wickedest person in the
whole world"
Dorothy sat perfectly still for several
minutes with her elbows on her knees and
her face In her hands.
Other people don't lose their temper
so easily" she said 10 herself. Some
thing has got 70 be done about mine. It's
gone again-thats plain enough-and I've
either got TO get the old one back or
a new one in its place. The washwoman' s
children never seem 10 lose their tenn perS.
They are always smiling. and they DON :
| have very much 70 smile about. eItherl
I heard mama say the other day that
Kittie O'Brieu has { lovely disposition.
Oh. dear, why wasn't l born with such
! a disposition"
Then she concluded that perhaps she
| could think about it better out Of doors,
so she went cut. and wandered alone.
! and at last came TO some woods that were
near her house. Two or three squirrels
came out and looked at her curiously But
| she was too disheartened 10 notice any
| thing. She was just about 10 cry again
when something got in her way and Al
most tripped her up. She stopped to see
! what it was. AS she did so the object
Well said small voice, sharply, you
are not very polite
Dorothy looked closer and discovered
little old man standing on the ground
| at her feet. He had a tiny, wizened-up
| face and scowled al her hercely.
You wouldn't expect me TO be-" re-
| torted Dorothy. GROSSLY, ''if you knew all
I've been through"
'All you've been through, indeedp" cried
= II
! like that. I know you. I've had my eyes
on you ever since you were baby. You
are forever losing your temper"
II can't help it," snapped Dorothy, 81
| was born that way"
"Ho, ho' said the little old man. Born
that way, indeed guess not. You vera
born all right, and you have everything
on earth to make person happy. Ev-
erybody tries to please you. and yet you
are as cross as two sticks"'
Dear me! l suppose two sticks are the
very crossest things in the world" sighed
Dorothy.
''Of course, they are" answered the lit
tie man. Particularly when one is laid
right across the other"
4 don't see what that's got to do
with it" put in Dorothy, with a contrary
toss of her head.
"Of course you don't" said the small
NOlCe- mat exactly ule trouble. on
lay yourself right across everything, and
that's the reason you're so cross-grained.
You've got to go parallel with things in
this life if you want TO have a good dis
position. Now, with a temper like
yours"
81 haven't any temper" confessed Do
rothy shame-facedly. That's what I'm
so miserable about. I lost it again this
morning.
Il know it. I've got 1t over at my
place"
Then, you'll please give It right back
to me-" exclaimed Dorothy, Indignantly.
you've no business walking off with peo-
pies temper like that It's stealing"
'Stealing-fudge! You had no business
to lose it in the first place"
who are you, anyway"
I'm the keeper of the temper pound
answered the little old man proudly
The temper pound? What's that?"
1.-The place where lost tempers are kept.
Of course. Don't you remember when
Skeesicks, your pug puppy, was lost that
your father found him at the dog pound?"
20, yes; I remember about that. But
l didn't know there was a pound for lost
tempers"
Certainly there is-why not Come over
and I'll show it to you"
Dorothy followed rather unwillingly He
led her to a rocky grotto, sort of cave
only that It was shallow enough TO be
quite light.
well shifted Dorothy, 'T don't see any,
thing that surprises me-"
Il wonder what you've got eyes for"
returned the little keeper of the temper
Just then Dorothy saw rows of queer,
heart-shaped things hanging on the sides
of the cave. The walls were entirely COW
cred with them. Some were twisted and
knotted almost out of their original shape;
others appeared warped and withered, |
while not few were big and prosperous
looking. But they were all unsightly, on !
account of the ugly, black spots which |
disfgured them.
Dorothy blushed holly as she discov- |
cred one which would have been very |
nice little heart if it hadn't ben for the |
great number of discolored patches. They |
were almost as close as the freckles on |
kittie O'Brien's nose. And in big letters
1t was labeled, Dorothy"
THE black spots show the number of |
times people have been cross" explained |
the old man. Then, when they lose their |
tempers altogether, I just take them and /
keep them here until the owners do what |
is necessary to get them back"
Give il back to me at once" she de- |
manded, angrily. "The idea of you TAX
ing what doesn't belong to you, like that"
You lose tt find it. That's fair |
enough" said the old man. with a shrug
of his shoulders. Probably you don't |
know how often it hangs there"
IN Sc this is the last time answered |
Dorothy.
She stood first on one foot, then on the !
other, trying to devise some means of get |
ting her temper back. Presently the old I
man turned his back Quick as a fash /
Dorothy made a spring and snatched at /
II. But she only cut her hand on a sharp /
rock. The temper was beyond her reach.
The little man burst into loud laugh
Look out!' and ne pointed a warning /
fore-finger toward the wall.
Dorothy loked UP, and sure enough, /
there was a new black spot appearing on |
her temper. She gave little sob.
"Oh, dear, I'm SO sorry" she said, bro !
kenly.
Now, that's something like" sputtered |
the old man, approvingly.
m awfully ashamed" went on Doro-
thy. meeisly. and III try not to let any /
more come on it,
"Ha!" shouted the little old man. clam !
bering UP the rocky wall Ike a monkey
I guess It's going TO be all right. Here's /
your temper, my dear You said you were /
sorry and going to do better, and that /
entities you 10 have * back"
Dorothy took it joyfully and immediate
y began to scrub industriously at the
vexatious spots.
He watched her a minute or so in ST.
lence. Then he pushed up closer TO her and I
said:
Now. see here; I'll tell you a secret All /
the scrubbing in the world won't take
those spots on But every time you feel /
angry just control yourself and don't al /
low single cross word TO slip out. Each /