The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-03-15

OTIS of stories have been written about elves
and the changelings which they leave IN
stead of babies in cradles, but nobody has
ever told why they ceased this unpleasant
practice. i didn't know the reason myself until l
heard the story Of Harry Mannheim and his baby
sister Dorothy.
Harry was a blind boy blind from birth, and,
like all who are born without sight, he was accus-
toned TO going about alone, and could ind his way
easily as to astOnish all who saw HIM. his
mother was a poor woman, who was obliged to do
sewing 20 support her two children, and so Harry
was left TO take care of his sister all day. He had
a dog named Tatters, a very intelligent skye ter
rler, who perhaps watched more closely over the
infant than her brother for he rarely LETT her side
for more than a minute when he went TO lnvestl-
gate any strange noise. Harry, although he was
boy of good disposition, had many sad and gloomy
moments, and was often sad and disheartened, and
at these times he used 10 visit an old hermit who
lived IN a cave in the forest near his home. The
hermit cheered him with tales of the past and
many were the wonderful things the blind boy
learned from the ancient man, who rarely spoke to
any one else. He told the lad all about the elves,
the fairies, dragons and wood nymphs that fire.
quented the forest shades, and Harry was as well
posted regarding such matters as 1 am myself
When he was minding Dorothy he would ponder
upon what he had learned from the hermit and
wonder If he would ever see any of the things he
knew all about, but this far beyond his hopes,
as the doctors had said that he would never be
able to see. The old hermit however, denied this.
and, as he took pinch of snuff, would shake his
head and say:
"Wait, my boy, wait. III discover something
yet that viii enable you to see as we'll as any of
them" But as time passed on and nothing came
of his prediction Harry had long forgotten it. and
never expected to be aught but a sightess man
when he grew up.
One summer day he was sitting in the shade near
the house, and Dorothy was playing with Tatters
on the grass when the thing happened that changed
everything He had been bordering, and was sud
denly aroused by hearing Tatters bark in a pecu-
liar manner, bark that said plain as words that
something was wrong. Harry sprang up, calling
Dorothy. but when she did not reply he began to
move about IN the garden IN search of the baby,
Tatters wildly rushing here and there with excited
barks. The search was vain, for Dorothy had dis
appeared.
Harry was almost overcome with grief, but when
he went into the house and heard q strange gurg-
ling sound in lAorothys cradle he was relieved, for
he thought that she had crept into it. A moment
later when he heard Tatters growl, he ran his fin
gers over the face Of the infant, as the blind do
when they wish to identify anybody, and discovered
that the child in the cradle was not his own sister
but a cold, clammy thing like doll made of putty
and he shuddered. for he remembered all that the
old hermit had related about the elves and change
hngs. he knew instantly what had happened, and
so, ! suppose, did Iatters.