Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-13
THOSE AWFUL1REAMs

| haven't anybody in particular to tell the
dreams to-and that makes the big differ
ence. It's the telling of the dreams that's
| the story.
| The married woman Is full OF her dreams
l as soon as she wakes up. No sooner does
| she pull up the shades. and then sit plumb
| on the floor to begin her toilet, than she
begins to unwind. Her husband. just about
half awake. is struggling to get his eyes
| fully open and to guide his mind around to
| what he has on hand for the day.
| Well. says his wife. in rumtnativs
| tone-sitting on the floor beginning to
| mako her toilet-"of all the queer dreams
world" and then he knows full well that
| he's in for 1t.
! 1T was about Aunt Ella. you know" she
Aunt Ea 4 she t only knew how
she looked in that dream-dear me, sakes
alive!'
He only grunts. He's gazing abstractedly
out OF the windows at the gray morning.
| piled I'D on his desk that he's got to pitch
into the minute he makes his office.
| Il drea1nt that Aunt Ella was ballad
dancer. you know" she goes on, chuckling
| quietly. Ballet dancer in a circus, or some
big thing like that know the place where
| she danced seemed to be miles and miles
and miles big and that 1t took her hours
| and hours and hours to dance her way all
| around it."
| HUH says he. Just to edge in some
| thing-he isn't hearing much, for he has
been listening to his wife's dreams for long
| years.
| and the poor old dear looked quite NICE
too. in her ballet dancing Dress she goes
on, now on her feet before the dresser and
| combing her hair and sticking an alarming
| number Of hairpins in her mouth "She
| looked years and years younger than she
| really Is. of course-I must have remem-
bered In my dream that old picture Of her
tn, 4oly1 IL
| the seventies. with her hair done up in a
| chlgnon-yes. she actually had the same
| chignon on in the dream. and while 1t
looked old-fashioned and all that, along
| with her gauzy pink ballet skirts, why 1t
| seemed natural enough in the dream
| everything always seems natural enough in
| a dream doesn't it?'
| He lets out deep sigh. but that isn't any
| hint for her. She goes right on, as she be-
gins to coil her hair up at the back
WELL" resuming the thread. 1.-The dear
| old creature-only she didn't look old as a
| ballet dancer, you know-she was out there
in the middle Of the ring-yes. am certain
! 1t must have been circus ring. for it was
| banked up, and there was sawdust scat
tered everywhere-she was pirouetting
away, spinning around on one toe. when
| something just awful. dreadful, horrible
| happened!
He doesn't look even little bit startled.
Instead Of that. he hops out of bed, as If
| in a sort of despair and begins to dress,
| sousing his head in the basin as II to shut
off the continuation of the narrative Of
| that long. long dream. But It's no 60.
| She continues:
"a great big purplish-looking thing,
| something between a camel and giraffe
walked out to where the poor old dear was
| dancing and stuck it's tongue out at her
| and, oh, 1T had the longest tongue. and
| there seemed to be sparks of fire coming
| from It."
He isn't hearing much because his head
| Is still plunged in the water, but she never
stops:
well the horrid-looking thing suddenly
| turned from that brilliant purple to flick
erng sort of hunters green, and It grew
| bigger and bigger all the time. until 1t be-
| came all bloated and out of shape, and then
| 1t looked more like zebra. all except the
| stripes. Poor Aunt Ella didn't seem to
| know the frightful danger she was in. She
| kept right on fitting around the ring.
changing from one toe to the other, and
all the time that huge. bloaty, monstrous
| greenish- thing-whatever it was-kept ad-
| vancing closer to her. She was just In the
act of kissing her finger tips to the audi
| the tentIyes, now I know 1t was a circus.
because plainly saw the tent-when. what
| do you Think
| He doesn't think. He's getting on his
clothes. not thinking. Anyhow he's tired.
| Why" his wife goes on, "the terrible
| greeny-brOwn thing-it had begun to turn
sort Of. brownish. too. l forgot to say
| why. 1t just reached out that immensely
| long, tongue. apparently with the idea of
grabbing Aunt Ella around the waist, like
they say elephants grab their keepers and
| folks, when, horrors! 1t seemed as If Aunt
Ella as ballet dancer suddenly disap-
peared. and SO did the head OF the horrible
| monster, but Aunt Elias head. chignon and
| all. suddenly became fastened on to the
| body Of the monster, just as plain as any
thing you ever saw in your born days!
! Wasn't that hideous?'
| II he thinks it's hideous or anything like
| that he isn't admitting it. He's putting on
l oil ma whit
| impolitely.
| "Then. worst Of all. that terrible looking
brute, with Aunt Elias head on 1t, began
to dance ie around Yn, the ring Itself goes on
| frightful. The thing first danced, or rather
| just rocked and swayed around the ring.
on its four legs but finally 1t reared up
on its hind less-still with Aunt ELIAS face
| attached to its body, you know, only poor
Aunt Elias face kept getting older and
older. and all blurred and twisted out Of
hind legs. why, the awful creature sudden
ly began to stand on its head-on Aunt
Elias head, I mean-and the way the poor
old dear's chignon got messed up and
| 1t kind Of funny, too, and I had to
laugh a little-in my dream. of course, for
pecially If she was in such an actual pre-
wide. wide world. deed wouldn't!'
He's putting on his coat by this time and
IL
| she's all dressed. too. all except putting
| three or four thousand pins in the back Of
| her waistband but the dream still holds
| her. and she goes right ahead:
| well. the hideous looking yellowish
| thing-I forgot to say that it suddenly
| turned from greenybrown to a bright
yellow-it stood poor Aunt Elias head.
| right there in the center OF the ring and
| the ring master cracking his whip-oh. 1
| forgot to say that there was one of those
| old-timey ring asters, with shiny top
| boots. cracking his whip all the time-not
| at Aunt Ella when she was a ballet
| dancer and dancing. You know, but after
| ward, when her head had become joined to
| the beast's-well, anyhow. 1t stood on
| Aunt Elias head four or five times more,
and then-mercy sakes alive, I hate to tell
! it. it's awful, but, all of a sudden, Aunt
| Elias head. that was on the beast, sud
denly changed into the head of Uncle Ira
Aunt Elias husband. you know, that died
| soon after the war; never saw him, but
| I've often his pictures in Aunt Elias
home-a great. big man with bushy black
whiskers, and his hair brushed forward of
| his ears. and ferocious scowl, and"
BY this time he's trotting downstairs to
breakfast and to get away from that end
| less dream and when he sits down at the
| table and picks up his paper he wistfully
| homes she'll he res Of hat