The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-03-20
A DOG STORY.

Father. what is poetic justicee" ask
ed Fred Stanley'at the table.
| Bless the boyl What put that into his
hs.ds said mother.
| f'Nhy there was something about IL IN
OR resding lesson today, and when /
askeJrAiiss Thompson what II meant she
| said Ne. should see how many OF us could
md eug for ourselves, aud give her an ~
lustratfon of IL tomorrow: but Il don't
know how TO find out unless YOU tell me,
| father"
Mr.. Stanley looked thoughtful for a
moment. and then smiled as II struck by
some amusing recollection.
Poetic Justice he said "s a kind OF
Justice that reaches us through the un-
foreseen consequences OF our unjust acts
j will tell you a little story. Fred, that l
think will furnish the illustration you are
after.
II recall summer afternoon a good
many years ago. when | was not so large
as l am now, Two other boys and my
self went backberrying in a Biz meadow
several miles from home. on our way
to the meadow, and we padded along the
dusty highway, We met a stray dog lie
was frieDdless, forlorn-looking crea-
ture, and seemed delighted to make up
With us; and when we gave him some
scraps of bread and meat from our lunch
basket, he capered for JOY and trotted
along at our side, as ii TO say Now,
Rover, and boy-like tried to Ind out
how much he knew and what he could
do I'm the way OF tricks: and we soon
discovered that he would fetch and carry
beautifully. No matter how big the stick
or stone. nor how far away we threw IL,
he would reach IT, and draw II back TO us.
Fences, bitches and brambes he seemed
TO regard only as so many obstacles
thrown i'm his way to try his pluck and
endurance. and he overcame them all.
'At length we reached the meadow, and
scattered ont In quest OF blackberries.
I'm my wandering discovered a hornets
nest the largest | ever saw, and | have
seen good many. IL was built In clus-
ter of blackberry vines, and hung low,
touching the ground. Moreover IL was
at the foot OF little hill; and, as l
scampered up the latter. l was met at
the summit by Rover, frisking about with
a stick I'm his mouth | don't see why the
dog and hornets nest should have con-
nected themselves in my mind; but they
did. and a wicked thought was born of
the union.
+" Rob! viii. called to the boys,
come here. Well have some fun
They came promptly. and 1 explained
my viilanous project | pointed out the
hornets and proposed that we roll q
stone down upon H.. and send Rover af-
ter the stone. And, oh. won't IL be fun
to see how astonished he'll be when the
hornets come out?' cried I'm conclusion.
They agreed that II would be funny We
selected good-sized round stone, called
Rover's special attention 10 H. and start
ed IL down the hill. When II had "a fair
start, we turned the dog loose; and the
poor fellow. never suspecting our treach-
cry, darted after the stone with a joy
Gus bark We had taken good aim; and
as the ground was smooth. the stone
went true to its mark, and crashed into
hsN h.,-. tof f,.of
upon It, In less than minute the furi-
out insects had swarmed out. and settled
upon the poor animal. His surprise and
dsmay flied our anticipation ard we had
just begun TO double ourselves up in par
oxysms of laughter when with frenzied
yelps of agony he came tearing UP the
Hill toward us, followed closely by all
the hornets.
Run l shouted. and we did run: but
the maddened dog ran faster and dashed
into our midst with piteous appeals for
help. The hornets settled like "A black
avenging cloud all over us, and the scene
that followed battles my power OF de-
scription. We ran. we scattered. we
rolled on the ground. and we howled
with agony.
81 have never known just how long the
torture lasted: but I remember Il was
poor Rover who rose TO the emergency,
and with superior instinct showed us a
way to rid ourselves of our vindctive |
assailants. As soon as he realized that
we, too were In distress. and could give |
no assistance, he ran blindly 10 a stream |
that flowed through the meadow not far !
away, and plunging i'm, dived clear be- 1
meath the surface. We followed him. and |
only ventured to crawl out from the |
friendly element when we were assured /
the enemy had withdrawn. Then we sat |
on the bank OF the stream and looked at 1
each other dolefully through our swollen |
purple eyelids, while the water dripped l
from our clothing. and hundred sting /
ing wounds reminded us what excessively l
funny fun We had been having with /
Rover.
''The poor dog, innocent and free from
guile himself. judged us accordingly, and
creeping up 10 me, licked my hand In ST. \
lent sympathy. Then some dormant sense I
of Justice asserted itself within me-
" Boys I said. we've had an awful
time; but, l tell you what, 1t served us
right.
Neither of them contradicted me: and,
rising stiffiy. went slowly homeward, I
with Rover at our heels.
That, my boy" said Mr.. Stanley in
conclusion. lis a good instance OF poetic
justice. Our Dumb Animals.