Casco Bay breeze. [volume] (South Harpswell, Me.) 1901-1917, 1906-08-02

WHICH, Iuduo usIu 30 uuCOmIOrtapIe.
Croaker carried around a number
Of small water sacs-to keep him
cool. you know. He kept them under
his skin.
Fred's mother quite approved Of
his pet. He never made her any
trouble. and then, he kept the insects
and bugs from the flowers which she
raised in that bit Of yard.
Don't you know who Croaker was?
Why, he was a dear little toad.-Phila-
delphia Record.
chirpy.
I'll never be rid OF this limp" said
the boy, but never mind I can walk
up stairs pretty straight. but I'm all
on the fritz coming down. but don't
you care. You wouldn't II you bad
known Chi.py.
"Chirpy was the boy in the hospital
In the next cot to mine. He hadn't
any legs. I had water on the knee.
That was what gave me the limp, but
Chtrpy hadn't any knees Still you
never saw such a kid In your life for
laughing as Chirpy was. That was
why We gave him the name.
Say, you never had water on the
knee? You never want to. Look
here. IL anybody walked across the
room in that ward it shook my knee
and 1 screamed out with pain. If
they touched my bedford!
III it hadn't been that Chirp's bed
was next to mine I would have died
In that hospital. I would faint deao
away with pain, but when 1 came to
there was Chirpy.
Never mind. old fellow he
would say, pretty soon you and /
will be out playing baseball
1t nearly made you cry, hearing
him talk like that. knowing he hadn't
any legs. that they had been cut or
nearly to the hips by a street car, but
II couldn't help reminding you-at
least 1t did me-that hadn't any,
thing the matter with mine but waite.
on the knee, and that was enough to
comfort you
There was another boy next to
Chirpy with one leg and one arm. Oh,
yes, We were a mangled bunch In that
hospital. That boy used to cry half
the time, he said the arm and leg
that were gone hurt him so.
Then Chirpy would talk to him
and laugh him out of 1t and tease him
Till he forgot his lost arm and leg.
Then he would end by telling him
what they were going to do when
they got out Of the hospital; how
they would play baseball and foot
ball and tennis and golf. Chirpy had
all these games he never would play
again at his finger ends to talk about.
1T wasn't so very long before he
got SO he could go about in a roller
chair. The nurses brought him one.
First he rolled about the ward-that
was before he got we'll enough to 20
outside. He would push his chair up
to our beds and talk to us.
It's getting to be springtime.' he
would say. 1t won't be long now be-
fore We are rolling on the grass and
enjoying ourselves. Well be picking
flowers and throwing our hats in the
air straight up to the sky, we'll be SO
glad we're living
After a while the nurses let him
go out in the yard. tell you we miss
ed Chirpy when they did that, We
Kept listening and listening for the
sound of his chair coming humping
against the outside door to be let in.
III We could have walked we'd have
gone and let him in, we were so fond
Of Chirpy.
Then he went home to his mother.
Blue! The boy without the arm
and leg nearly died OF the blues and
well, I'm not ashamed to say that I
cried. We used to lie in our beds and
think OF Chirpy and talk about hin,
and wish We could hear his little old
chair come humping against the out
side door again TO be let in.
I'D get up and walk to the door
to let him in said the one legged boy,
IL i could hear that chair
The sky was gray all over that day
and We were in tears, the boy and /,
/ with the pain in my knee that SEEM
ed like IL would never in the world get
well. and the boy with the pain in the
arm and the leg that he didn't have
when all of a sudden we lifted our
heads and listened.
"A chair coming humping against
the outside door,
'Chirpy!' we both cried. 'Cbirpy,'
"Chirpy IL was. He came bumpinr
his chair at the door to be let in.
chirpy. half laughing, half crying. so
glad TO be with us again be could
hardly wait to get in.
The reason he had had TO come
back would have made anybody in the
world cry but Chirpy. You could
hardly believe IL.
His mother didn't want him at
nome,
she had to work so hard. There
was so little money. She couIdnt
axe care Of him, she worked so hard
She hadn't the time. There were other
children and other mouths 10 feed
chirpy was only another mouth and
mother expense. He couldn't do any,
hing. He couldn't dress himself even.
lie never would be able to do anv-
hing. He hadn't any legs.
c. - q a