The Opelousas courier., 1900-12-15
The Joke on Ellen Ann.

Cicely's voice was 20 %Gsconished and
Mortified that 1t made mamma laugh.
"a nice, shiny tin PAIL" she amend
ed. Come and see your face in it. And
that isn't all there is in it, either!"
There were crinkled tarts and deli
cate sandwiches, and a little golden
cup-custard, with one Of Cicely's little
silver spoons to eat it with. There
was a twisty d%oughnut that looked like
a man, and a little, round pie with G
pricked into the crust.
1.-THE inside's NICE" admitted Cicely,
admiringly. But must I take it in a
tin pail, mamma? I'd rather come way
home-yes, | would-every single step!
Nobody else but Ellen Ann Tibbetts
carries a tin pail, and the boys all
laugh at Ellen Ann. And, oh, dear, that
pail is 'zactly like Ellen AIMS, mann
ma! Hers is shiny, too"
Mamma was fitting Oh the cover. She
looked rather sober now.
"a little girl who loses her pretty
lunch-basket must carry her dinner in
a tin pail, or-go without" she said
grayely. And maybe 1t Will be good
for her to learn how little Ellen I'M
feels to be laughed at"
Il never laughed at her-honest,
mamma!-'cept up my sleeve"
well, maybe now you won't laugh
even there, dear. Now kiss me, and off
with you!!"
It was a beautiful morning, with sun
shine enough in it to make two days.
The pail cover jingled a jolly little tune
as Cicely walked; and the sun caught
the shiny surface of it, and made it
look like a silver cover.
Half through the morning somebody
came for Ellen Ann Tibbetts to go
right home, as her mother was sick.
So there was only one tin pail in the
dressing-room at noo recess. That
comforted Cicely a good deal; for it
would have been dreadful to see Ellen
Ann eating out of a tin pail just like
hers!
She took her shiny pail, and went out
into the sunshine with it, thinking
how ''deluscious'' mammals custard
would taste, and how
why"
Cicely almost dropped the pail, but
it wouldn't have spilled much if she
had. 1t was nearly empty! There
wasn't any custard or any silver spoon
to eat it with! There wasn't any little
round pie, with &c" on the cover!
There wasn't any-anything, except
just two lonesome biscuits sliding
round In the bottom!
"Why!!" Cicely cried owe again.
Then she knew what it meant. This
was Ellen AIMS shiny pail. Ellen
Ann had carried hers home.
well, she's mean" cried Cicely,
holly, 81 hope my custard an my initial
pie'll choke her-'most! Yes, / do! I'm
most starved to pieces, and she didn't
even leave any butter on her old bis
cuits!!'
She went on All by herself. to be cross
and hungry. 1t was ever so long be
fore she would be sensible and stop
trying to believe Ellen Ann had done
it just to play a mean joke on her. 1t
was ever SO long before she took out
the poor little butterless biscuits, and
looked at them pityingly.
Was that what Ellen Ann ate for
lunches? And not any butter on 'em
at all? Didn't she ever have any. Gus
tards or tarts or twisty doughnutst
And never any little thin slices of pink
ham in between?
1t made Cicelys SO hungry to think
| about little thin slices Of pink ham that
she took a nibble of Ellen AIMS bis
cult. Then she slowly dropped it back
into the tin pail. Cicely would rather
go without any dinner than eat bread
without a speck of butter on it.
Poor Ellen Ann! Cicely hoped she
would like the custard and the crinkly
tarts-yes, and even the initial pie! She
| suddenly remembered that Ellen AIMS
father was an invalid, and Ellen AIMS
mother took in" housekeeping and
things. And the patched places in Ell
len AIMS clothes-Cicely remembered
those, too.
On the way home from school, what
should peep out at Cicely from the
bushes beside the "Half-way SPRING
but a dainty little red and white lunch
basket! Just where she'd left it to
hunt for water crosses!
She carried it home to mamma.
"But I want the tin pail, too, to-
morrow, mamma-this tin pail. I'm
going to play a joke on Ellen Ann lib
betts,'' she said. And then she Whis-
pered to mamma, and mamma nodded
to her. And the next day two dainty
lunches went to school with Cicely,
and one of them was in Ellen AIMS
shiny tin ~paiI.-Young Peoples Week
".
Anbulaaee Cars for Civilians
81. uvagf5- IL rrr