The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-02
ARCHIE'S PET CROW.
He Played Mean Trick on Grnndp

He Played n Mean Trick on Grandpa
There were few things that pleased
Archie better than to be taken to visit
his grandfather, who owned large
dairy farm in Orange county, New
York. The little fellow was his grand
fathers namesake, the old man was
fond of the boy, and never got out of
patience at the lads questions or his
playful humor.
One day when Archie was out in the
woods with one of his brandfather's
hired men, the man caught, and gave
to Archie for a pet, young crow A
crow, even in the wildesc state, is a
sort of a half-domesticat ted animal. 1t
is no trouble at all to tame them, and,
aside from their Unsuitable desire to
get into all sorts of mischief, they make
nice pets. Archie and his crow were
pretty good friends by the time they
got to the house, and this wag of the
feathered tribe opened up a rich run
of the funniest, drol!est things 1or his
young master during all that summers
vacation. The bird never lost an OPP
portunity to play a practical joke On
anybody and everybody; but he seemed
especially delighted when his victim
was the old man, Archle's grandfather;
all of which was accepted in good part
by the old gentleman,A until one day
the crow carried his jokes a little too
far, and came perilously near being
dead crow ever afterwards.
Although the old man was rich, be-
yond the necessity of labor, he believed
in plenty of outdoor exercise, and was
especially fond of working in his own
garden and orchard. III the kitchen
garden there was Il beautiful big pear
tree, in which the crow used to perch
himself and watch the old man sow
seeds, set out young tomato and .ab-
bage plants; while Archie enjoyed the
same sight, from his hammock on the
back porch.
One day grandpa stretched a line
some fifty feet long, by the aid of which
he intended to set out a straight row
of young cabbage plants. There are
few more back breaking jobs about a
farm than this setting out of young
cabbage or tomato plants. On this day
all the old gentlemans attention was
on the job in hand. He was not think
ing of Archie, or the crow, or any
thing else, except those cabbage plants,
which were in a pan by MS side, as he
worked slowly and patiently along to-
ward the inches he would punch hole
in the soft, rich loan with a sharp
stick, slip the root of a young cabbage
plant down in this hole, press the earth
compactly around it, and then rnake
another hole at the proper distance
off, into which he inserted the root of
another plant
The old man never took mis- eyes off
his work until he got to the end of his
line, by which time his back and legs
were so neary broken that he was in
sore need of the satisfaction of survey
ing a hard task, well done. Alas! alas!
When he did turn around to view with
pride his work, what was lis disgust
to see that Archies crow had followed
along behind him and quietly pulled up
every solitary cabbage plant. after
which the wicked imp of a bird had
flown into the pear tree, where he look
ed as innocent and solemn as if there
were not a cabbage plant within a
thousand miles. Archie was asleep in
his hammock-that's what the old man
said to himself. He was sure of il. 1t
was the wind and not the little ras-
calls laughing that shook the ham
mock so. Ruth Everett.