The Washington weekly post., 1900-04-10
TALES Of YANKEE
ENCHANI.JHENT.
CONTENTED ADRIAN.

A perfectly contented boy Is the last one
that fairy should bestow gifts upon.
Adrian Narcotic. son OF Alphonse Mar
cote, was perfectly eontented. He lived
with his father and mother and one pretty
! little sister on the shore OF a river In New
England which is so small that il Of.en
cannot find its way to the sea without
| help from the clouds
Adrian was as happy as he could posi-
bly, be. IL it rsined he was delighted that
| he and Eloise could play in the barn. II
| II Eas bitter cold il seemed 10 send his
! blood circulating at greater speed. and he
would race through the keen air with
| little Eloise on his back both OF them
| shouting for sheer delight in life. II II
| showed he could scarcely contain himself
! he would be out al break Of day. building
forts and snow men or coasting with
| Eloise on the big. clumsy but strong sled
| that he had made
| Eioise was a contented child herself
and they both inherited their comfortable
dispositions from their parents. French
| Canadians. who had come 10 New Eng
land from Quebec in their youth.
The Narcotics were happy alone; they
were happier when little Adrian Joined
them and began to smile at the world
and they were happiest when Eioise ar
rived and crowned their glee at being
alive
Mr.. Narcotic had horse and COW and
| few acres Of land. There was always
enough 10 eat, and no poor wayfarer was
ever sent away hungry.
| One day Adrian and Eloise went out TO
climb the mountain that In the evening
casts such a long shadow over their house
and from the top of which you can see
! the whole world. according TO Elolse.
| They were famous little climbers. and as
| they walked Adrian fashioned grotesgue
dolls out of the daisies I'm a way that
| seemed the perfection OF art to sfx-year-
old Eloise. Adrian was contented to play
| in this way with her, although he was
capable of enjoying himself as other boys
Of eleven do. He could shoot with the best
of the boys of the village, and many a
| rabbit pie and squirrel stew could have
been traced to his steady hand and accu-
rate eve.
At noon they rested under the shadow
of a great oak, and Eloise put her head in
Adrian's lap and went TO sleep.
Then it was tha. Adrian heard faint
rustling in the grass, and a tinkling voice
| said:
Adrian, you are loved by all the fairies
| because you are SO contented. We want
| to show our love for you in way that
you will remember and we will give you
the privilege of three wishes"
Adrian peered under a clump of violets
and saw one of the smallest fairies that
ever lived in New England. She was not
any taller than a baby cricket, and she
was dressed in a crimson gown that seem
| ed 10 shoot light from all sides. She real
| ly looked like Ii red searchlght. and the
| ground and grass and leaves around
where she stood were tinged with Grim
| son. Small as she was, with a face no
bigger than a pin head, Adrian thought
| her the prettiest being he had ever seen,
! and her voice was like that of tiny bob
olink.
He listened to what she had to say. and
! If he had been nnety-nine boys out of a
/ hundred he wcu.d have jumped TO his feet,
! forgetting thai Sloise was asleep in his
| lap. and would have wished for all the
| candy he could eat, all the money he
| could spend. and all the books of adven-
| ture he could read. But being only one
/ boy, and that one Adrian Narcotic. he
/ was perfectly contented and wished for
! nothing. So he said: "Why it's awfully
/ nice OF you TO offer me such gift, but,
really, / have everything that l need.
| Mother and father and Eloise are we'll
/ and happy. and we have enough of every
| thing and pleasant neighbors, and we live
/ in the very best part of the world. What
more could 1 have?'
Don't you want to become rich?" asked
| the fairy, in surprised tones
were rich, | suppose we COULD buy an
other house just like our own. and father
/ could buy another horse and COW. But
we don't need them Our house is COM
Portable. father does not need another
horse, and We can't use all the milk that
Daisy gives, so another COW would be an
extra care"
But think of the fine dresses Won
could buy for Eloise and your mother"
There was just touch of scorn in
Adrtdn's voice as he said: why. EIoise
is the prettiest girl in the whole village
as It is. and don't suppose that shed
be any prettier if she had the finest
| clothes in the world, and she certainly
wouldn't feel half as comfortable. As
Tor my mother, she dresses as well as
any one around here. and she Is con-
sidered the neatest woman in the coun-
ty. AND father would laugh at any one
who asked him to buy new clothes.''
sou're a queer boy" said the fairy.
with shade OF displeasure Think OF
/ the toys You could buy and the candy and
! cake, too"'
Il can make candy myself, and that's
n ore fun than buying it, and as for cake.
you ought to eat what mother makes
And my Grandfather Narcotic was a toy
| maker by trade and father SAYS that tai
en- mas descended TO me. / made a wind
! mill for Eloise that win run by either
sand or water"
why not BY wind?" said the fairy. with
what l am afraid was a malicious chuc-
kle.
Wei, l guess it's a little heavy for
It's size, but ElOise likes IL Just as well.
and sne can make IT go on days when
there isn't breath of wind stirring"
Wei, you're hopeless" And the fairy
laughed, but this time it was a sweet
! little laugh. "But 1 tell you that the
/ fairies know all that gees on up here In
the world. and I'm sure that they will no,
IKE IL when / say that you refused their
well-meant offer"
Why. it's awfully kind In them. I'm
sure. Say. why don't you 20 TO Tommy
Saunders? Ills father is the miller. and
he owns the feed mill. and he's always
wishing he was rich, although mother
says that Mr.. Saunders is the richest
man In Branchville. He's never satisfied
lie told me So"
Wen. he's the last one that the fairIes
would ever care TO make gift 20. ! tell
you we are determined 70 make you ham
| pier because you are such nice boy and
such a comfort to your parents, aud be-
cause we have heard Eloise call Won
Dear little brudsie, and that shows You
are kind TO her"
ADRIAN b!ushed at hearing the pet name
and just then Eloise stirred in her sleep
and smiled ana Adrian said: '.Do yYhat
l you think best"
And with that the red light faded away
aao the fairy was gone. The vioiets that
were growing In that clump looked pale
enough after the unnatural fairy light
[ that had Illuminated them
, Eioise opened her eyes. yawned. an
| then sat up and said: "Oh. little brudsie
I We had such a nice nan and I drearnod