The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-09-15
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The Kiss of the Innocent.
hear the patter of her feet,
l hear her anxious little cry:
She runs to meet me down the street,
My heart at sight Of her leaps high.
All, here is love-true love-for me!
No guilt in her baby breast!
I run to clasp her hungrily,
My lips to hers fondly pressed!
+ y y
She wrigges free-a hand of ice
Falls on my heart! hear her say
You said you'd bring me something nice,
This morning when you went away!'
$. Il. Kiscr in Chicago Times Herald.
Joan was very beautiful and though
only year and half old she must
have know how pretty she was, or else
she would not have q wen that proud
little toss of her head whenever anyone
spoke, of her great beauty.
And she was as smart as she was
beautiful. When much less than year
old she could say many things-as many
different sentences as there are in the
spoke them very plainly, too, without
| could speak them. She could whistle,
too, and sing.
No doubt, you are thinking to your
self: II do not believe one bit of that,
for it can't be true"
And yet every word is just as true as
can he. Maybe you imagine Joan to be
a very beautiful little girl with large,
handsome eyes, and the prettiest of gold,
en- curls. But you are wrong again, for
she has no golden curls; in fact, no hair
at all! And her eyes are no larger
around than a lead pencil, for Joan is a
bird. A parrot that came all the way
from Brazil, South America.
prettiest blue, just the color of a tur-
quoise. In the middle Of this blue is a
bright yellow spot, as yellow as gold
She has very pretty golden necktle,
too, with little sprinkling of red. The
feathers on her back are green, edged
with tiny bit of black. But her wings
are the most beautiful Of all They. are
green, yellow, black, blue and the bright
est red, and when Joan spreads them out
ored rainbows you see in the sky when
the sun shines during a shower.
Perhaps you think this beautiful bird
was named after Joan of Arc? But you
are wrong again. In the mouth OF that
king of rivers the Amazon, lies an island
called Joannes, and it was on this island
that Joan was captured. She was taken
away on cruiser and brought to TINS
country when still very young.
\ good home was found for her, and
she was called Joan after her native
home.
Joan was very fond of destroying
everything she could get hold of, and hel
sharp beak was as good as any hash
machine for reducing all sorts of things
to small pieces.
Sometimes she would climb to places
where she was not wanted, on stands. tc
look at the books, or smell of the vase OF
flowers.
She was not kept in a cage except at
stand all by itself She was generally
pretty good about staying at home Oh
her own stand, but sometimes grew
tired and then she would either fly OF
climb down and take a survey of the
room. And woe to everything she
touched if there, was no one i'll the room
to watch her! It would look as if an in
vading army had marched through it.
spreading destruction as it went.
When Joan started on these tours she
often heard voice call out: go back
Go back!' or, ''You rascal!' or, "Drol
that, Quickv' She heard these words
so often that she soon learned to say
them herself, and she knew what they
meant, too.
One day little George came into the
room, and, making sure that no one
would see him, reached up to table tC
help himself to some fruit. He knew he
should not take any, for mamma had TOLD
him she was afraid he would make him
self sick if he ate any more.
Joan saw him reach up slyly to take
the fruit. and she called out in loud
voice, "You rascal!'' George dropped
that fruit as if it had been red-hot
coal, but when he saw that it was only
Polly he laughed outright, and Joan
laughed, too, as if she considered it a
good joke. But George did not try
again to take the fruit; he felt ashamed
to do so.
One evening Georges mamma said tc
his papa, Il can't understand what be.
comes of all the meat we buy. Nora
says she cooks it all, but when it comes
to the table there is scarcely enough te
go around"
And have you ordered as much as
usual lately?'
Eyes. and last week even more than
usual. Yesterday ordered enough steak
for breakfast to do for two meals. and
this morning we hadn't enough left fol
the cat"
DO you suppose Nora takes it?'
else does it go?'
1T certainly dose look suspicious"
After this things grew worse instead OF
better-the meat continued to disappear
while the butchers bill kept growing
larger, until it seemed as if family of
giants was being supplied with meat.
| Georges mamma and papa talked il
over again, and decided that it must be
that Nora was. taking it to her home
when she LETT in the evenings. And it
seemed as if there was nothing to dc
but to discharge her. Mamma put of
telling Nora, for she hated to discharge
so faithful servant.
One morning as Joan sat on her porch
by the window she saw the big dog
Fritz, slowly walking toward the house
Joan had often heard George and his
papa cal! the dog, SO she did 50 now:
b Fritz! Fritz! Here, Fritz and Fritz
9prii'ek,ed up his great ears and wagged his
tail, looking all about for familiar form
ready to run for it, but there was nc
one near: Then Joan laughed, '*Ha! ha
ha! and Fritz saw that he had been
fooled, so he gave a loud bark Of disgust
and went into the house. 49, >.
. Presently he came out again, and he
carried in his mouth great, big piece OF
meat. There was no one near to sec
him. But Joan's sharp eyes saw him
and she screamed out at the top of hel
voice, Drop that, you rascal! Go back
Go back! -, = ., ! ~
/ And Fritz did drop it, and sneaked
away, his great, bushy tail hanging down
very humbly. = -..s-.s- q -. =. : :
Nora heard Joan's screaming, and
came ont just in time to see Fritz sneak
into the barn, and, seeing the meat where
he had dropped it, near the door, she un,
sderstood now what had become Of all the
smeat that had 40 strangely disappeared,