Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-05-02
A LITTLE BOY VIII DID A BIG
DEED

On the island Of Koiongsu, in Chi
ma, on a rocky hill, not far from the
famous Sunset Seat" is a certain
missionary's house. This missionary
we, for short, will call the professor.
The garden has many shrubs and
trees, and the house itself is cased
In shady, wide Veranua. cannot
tell you al about the house-and as
to the garden, there is only time to
tell Of one little corner and OF two
trees which grow in that corner.
To begin at the beginning of this
story we must go back to a certain
summer. som thirty years ago, when
any day little figure under a big
pith sun hat might be. seen trottfng
to and fro about the veranda.. Most
of the sayings and doingks of thai
busy, fair haired little boy have pass
ed away but one day he succeeded
in doing a big d~ed. Probably he mas
long ago forgotten all about this
deed Of his, and the fluent Chinese
in which he told the coolie, and his
"Amah,' and the table boy, and every
body else all about it long ago be
came a strange tongue to him; never
theless, his big deed still lives on.
1t was the mango season. Mango 10
a fruit and grows on a big tree; but
Just what mango is like, and just
howe nice and juicy it is, [ am not
going to try to tell you. So meman-
strongly of turpentine. Of course, I
am not thinking of that kind, There
are others-large, finely favored,
and generally delicious; these taste
nicer than the incest fruit you ever
ate.
The very best mangoes, as every
one knows come from Manila, in the
philippine Islands. That day of the
big deed our friend Boy had Just
eaten such a Manila mOnga, and now
all that remained of the glorious feast
was the skin and one big seed.
Whether it was pity for the many
who could never know just how nice
that mango was, or a general desire,
to mae NOR mangoes like that beauty
one grow as quickly as possible, I do
not know. This l do know; That Boy
found a large fowerpot, and in the
fioWerpot he planted the stone. It
took a long time before starting to
sprout; but at last came a shoot-a
real, though tiny mango tree! It |
grew and grew, and pretty soon the |
roots found the flowerpot too small, |
and the prfessOr helped Boy to plant
out his mango tree in the ground to |
the west side of the house not FAR
from the veranda.
So Boy did his big deed. Sad TO !
say, he never knew what it was to |
watch the fruit grow on that tree Of
his planting, for one day he was TAX
en- off home to Scotland, and there |
sent to school with other boys who |
Guild not speak one word of Chinese |
and knew nothing of mangoes. His |
big deed was done for others.
This Juyl, on coming to spend nv |
holidays in the professors house. I
found the tree, now about twenty feet
high, laden with fine crop of nearly
ripe mangoes. Green and hard they |
were mostly at first, but as the hot |
sun shone on them day after day
they began to turn golden yellow. If
we did not knowc kdown the ripe
ourselves the wind did it for
Us, and they lay about on inc grass
below waiting to be picked up and
enjoyed.
70 DRAIN FLORIDA EVERGLADES
To save and use some six or seven
Million acres of land which has been
To he waSfa and which bacl