The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-07-27
y STORY OF ADVENTURE.


listening to the Friday evening story
that Ralph was telling.
Glad its not my turn" said Harold,
from his seat on the rug. Il don
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.
NO, I'm not; I'm bigger every day,
and can tell Il Precious story of ad-
venture"
SO he told it. ana somebody thought
it was the best story of ;hem all. The
! Story Robby Told Once there was
a patient woman WHO lived away off
in the woods. She had seven children,
and their names We're 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, 80 ont
in the woods and play and they
said Why" and ran away very fast.
Then she said, Girls run out in the
woods 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 that they could not get in, for
vines were like big strong wires, and
they said Why? Why? Why? Why
Whyo Whyo Why " but nobody ans,
wered them. and in a minute all the
others saw that Annie and Dora were
running along the teenytonty 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 a little bird in cage. Why
did you take his 'squisite tail feath-
ers and put in yolr 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 a long gold hair in his bill !
and Dora and Annie didn't have a I
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 a fiat place full Of white sand. with
the sun shining on il. and on the |
rocks around sat millions Of hundreds
of red squirrels and black squirrels
and gray squirrels and striped squir-
rels. 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 Bennies
shadows that lay all black ON the
white sand, and pinched them and
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
a. 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
a great long row, and said Why?
don't you try to be good little chill
iren? Why? You should SET your big
brothers and sisters good esample,
and not tag along and do Just as they
10. Why don't you try? Why?
You may go now. but We don't b'lieve
hat you can ever say anything but
WAY again" And he three ran home
Is hard as they could.
They found Charlie and Bonnie put
ing piles Of corn and seeds an"
and nuts under the trees for
he squirrels, and they We're crying
-ery much because they wanted their
shadows, though their mother told l
hem she was sure heir shadows {
would grow again If hey worked |
lard, and were kind, and didn't ask {
Why?' all the time.
Annie and Dora, with their heads '
led I'D in handarchiefs. had let their I
title birds fly out of the cage. and S
hey We're putting s.gngs and thread /
nd cotton on all the bushes so that t
he birds could build nests. for their L
nother said their yellow hair was /
ure to grow if they did their work 2
veil, and were kind and didn't ask i
Why?' S
But when the children asked George c
nd Frank and Ethel where they had e
cen they cried and cried, and all they a
7ould say was Why? Why? Why?" l