Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-06-12
A STORY OF ADVENTURE.

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A STORY OF ADVENTURE.
The children sat around the fire
listening to the Friday evening story
that Ralph was telling.
Glad it's not my turn" said Harold,
from his seat on the rug. 81 don't
know any stories of adventure"
Let me tell! Let me tell" shout
ed Robby, who was just seven.
"Oh, you are too little" they all cried.
mo, I'm not; Pm bigger every day,
and can tell Precious story of ad-
venture"
N So he told it, and somebody thought
it was the best story of them all. The
Story Robby Told.:-Once there was
patient woman who lived away off
in the woods. She had seven children,
and their names were Annie and Ben
ME and Charlie and Dora and Ethel
and Frank and George, and they ask
ed their mother, why? Why? Why?
Why? Why? Why?" all the time.
Every minute somebody said why"
and at last she wasn't patient any
longer, and she said: Boys, go out
in the woods and play" and they
said "Why?" and ran away very fast
Then she said, Girls run out in the
woodc and play" and the girls said
"Why?' and ran away as fast as the
boys.
When they got to the edge of the
woods where they always played, they
found shat they could not get in, for
vines were like big strong wires, and
they said why? Why? Why? Why
Why? Why? Why but nobody ans.
wered them, and in minute all the
others saw that Annie and Dora were
running along the teenytonty5 path,
but the rest couldn't find the place.
Annie and Dora ran until they came
to an open space in the woods, and all
around in the trees sat birds-crowds
OF them-and they all screamed:
You had little bird in cage. Why
did you take his 'squisite tail feath.
ers and put in your doll hats? Why?"
Dora and Annie cried and cried,
and said they didn't think. Then all
the birds swooped down on them, and
when they swooped up again each
one had long gold hair in his bill
and Dora and Annie didn't have a
single hair left on their bald heads.
So they ran home.
Then Charlie and Bonnie got in,
and walked and walked till they came
to fiat place full of white sand, with
the sun shining on 1T, and on the
rocks around sat millions of hundreds
of red squirrels and black squirrels
and gray squirrels and striped squir-
irels, and they pointed their paws at
Bonnie and Charlie and shouted, why
did you take our piles OF nuts last
autumn? Why?" And then all the SPUR.
rels leaped on Charles and Bennie's
shadows that lay all black on the
white sand, and pinched them and
it hurt Charlie and Bonnie more than
If the squirrels had scratched and bit
them. But the more they cried and
jumped, the harder the squirrels scrat-
ched and, bit, until there wasn't a
speck of either of their shadows left,
and the two bad boys ran away as
fast as they could.
Then Frank and George and Ethel
got in, and they were the .ittlest, and
kept tight hold of hand and looked
for the. others, Bimeby they came to
great big field and it was full. Of
ants and grass-hoppers and bees and
wasps and bugs and squirrels and rab-
bits and birds, and they all stood in
great long row, and said why?
don't you try to be good little chill
dren? Why? You should set your big
brothers and sisters good 'esample,
and not tag along and do just as they
do. Why don't you try? Why?
You may go now, but We don't b'lieve
that you can ever say anything but
why again." And the three ran home
as hard as they could.
They found Charlie and Bonnie put
ting piles of corn and seeds and
crumbs and nuts under the trees for
the squirrels, and they were crying
very much because they wanted their
shadows, though their mother told
them she was sure their shadows
would grow again if they worked
hard, and were kind, and didn't ask
"Why?" all the time.
ID Annie and Dora, with their heads
tied up in handerchiefs, had let their
little birds fly out of the cage, and
they were putting strings and thread
and cotton on all the bushes SO that
the birds could build nests, for their
mother said their yellow hair was
sure to grow if they did their work
well, and were kind and didn't ask
."Why?"
But when the children asked George
and Frank and Ethel where they had
been they cried and cried, and all they
would say was why? Why? Why?'
over and over.
They can't say anything else" said
their poor mother at last.
"They are silly-billys," said Charlie,
and then he said very quick and loud:
do you want your suppers?" and be-
fore they knew it they said. Yes!
Yes! Yes!" So they all went in to
supper and worked hard and were
kind, and never, said Why" when
their mother told them anything for.
ever after-and that's ALA. L. Sy-
kes in the Washington Star.
A VERY NATURAL QUESTION.
Margaret spent one summer abroad,