The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1908-05-29
TOM AND HIS BABY OXEN

TOM AND HIS BABY OXEN.
Little Tom Tripp was narrowing
in his field of buckwheat with his
yoke of calves, Jack and Robin. His
father had given him patch of rich
ground about as large as good
sized kitchen garden to do with as
he chose.
Tom had been somewhat at loss
to decide what to raise upon it. Aunt
Polly thought sunf1owers and poppies
and marigolds would be just lovely!
But he thought it was girls work
to raise flowers.
Uncle John suggested potatoes
But, oh, dear! he would have to
tug" the heavy things in bail bas,
ket all over the patch to drop. Then
he must hoe them when the sun was
hot enough to scorch him, or wher
he would want to go a-fishing. They
would have to be "hilled up" too
like enormous ants nests. 1t would
take heaps of dirt to do that, and
it always did make his back ache sc
to hoe. Besides, there were the tor
menting potato bugs! Ugh! He
wouldn't plant potatoes, that was
certain.
Then grandma proposed catnip fol
Major (Sister Mans cat), and sage
for sausages and turkey-dressing fol
Thanksgiving. This latter allusioI
did make little Toms mouth water
but after much thought he settled
upon buckwheat. 1t made such de
licious griddle-cakes!
And here he was this morning
the last of May, with Jack and Robi1
in their little yoke, and hitched to {
diminutive harrow that Uncle Joh1
has~made~for them, pulling their best
and Tom tugging at the yoke to hell
them along; but the little harrow
would get big turf in its teeth. Of
get hung up on a stone, and Ton
thought it too hard work for Jacl
and Robin, SO he harnessed Towser
the great, good-natured dog, in front
tandem.
Things had to march" then. Bu
Jack did not like Towser and h'
kept he oking at his hind legs 81
much that he could not pay attention
to his narrowing. So Tom had tt
cut Towser's traces, and let him go
Then Robin and naughty Jack hat
: to. DO the4work alone.
By this time Robin was awful.
hungry, and SO was Jack. Besides
they were just discouraged. And il
spite of Tom, Jack would lie dow1
fast as he could-poor little ox!-
while Tom scolded, pulled at the
yoke, famed himself with his ragged
hat and prodded him with his brown
great toe.
But Jack didn't mind the toe, MOI
the scolding, if he could chew hi:
sweet cud of clover.
Just then Aunt Polly came out O
the shed with tin pail of sour curd:
for the young turkeys. Now Aun
Polly had been in the habit of feed
ing sweet milk to Jack and Robin
it made them grow SO fast-and a:
soon as they heard her call: "Turk
Turk! Turk" up jumped Jack like
Jack in the box" and away scam
pered both baby oxen toward Aun
Polly, jerking the little harrow ovel
stones, through Uncle Johns grea
beds of onion sets, cutting down g.;
whole row of Aunt Polly's tender "pit
plant" and getting hung up in ;
great gooseberry bush at last, where
they bawled so loudly for their mill
that Aunt Polly clapped her hands
over her ears and hastened to thu
milk room for something to stoI
their mouths"
Tom was angry and discouraged
but Ae persevered, and at last got hi!
buckwheat narrowed in, and HI
raised nearly bushel, which served
for cakes the whole winter, beside!
giving the bees d delicious feast il
blossom tim.-Farm and Fireside.