Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1908-02-20
THE STORY OF
A RUG
Pa 0elected II with His Usual
Good Taste

on his mind and he did his best to
look benevolent.
"I-er-bought rug to-day" he
said.
"A rug?" cried ma.
"a rug?" cried Bee.
"A rug?" cried the rest of the fam.
lily, and Shep, the family dog, looking
as handsome as picture, took advan-
tage of the excitement by barking
loudly and tossing one of pas slip
pers In the air, pretending 1t was
naughty sheep. Shep had new rib
bon and he had been giving himself
airs all day.
(Ma, l ought to say. Is an authority
on old china, Bee is studying sculp
ture. and the rest of the family hopes
to be poet some day. Pa is Tery
stout and he has any number of
chins).
YES" said pa; "a friend of mine
who Is In the trade gets them very
cheap. and arranged that he should
buy one for me and ship 1t by express.
A six by three, my love-"
Just the size for the parlor, my
dears," said ma I'VE need a new
rug for the hearth, and unless ! am
mistaken here Is the expressman
now"
She went into the parlor and made
q place for the rug, while pa carried
1t In and united 1t. 1t had a green
fringe and border which shaded into a
tan. Inside this was blue and inside
the blue was an olive streaked With
orange. Large heads Of cabbage dot
ted the design wherever there was
room for them, these vegetables being
portrayed in pink and yellow, while a
flash of green with red spots breaking
out all over 1t composed the center
Now, the beauty Of these rugs Is
this" said pa, beaming at us. When
one side Is worn out you can turn
them over and the other side Is just
the 'same!"
II think, my dears," said ma, that
the dining-room would be the better
place for it, after ALL"
We found a dark corner for 1t be-
hind door and pa sat and admired
1t while ma and Bee shuddered to
themselves. Pa is very touchy In
anything rejecting upon his taste, and
he seemed to think that his choice of
this rug assured his reputation for all
time.
And the beauty of these rugs" said
he, lis that they last practically for.
ever"
The next day we put 1t up In the
spare room and pacified pa (who
missed 1t the moment he got home)
| by telling him that 1t was too good
for any dining-room. This Modified
him, but the next morning he got a
letter from Aunt Jane saying she was
coming to spend few days. Ma ran
upstairs, and when she came down she
| avoided Bees eye. Bee ran upstairs
and when she came down she avoided
my eye. ! wasn't going to have 1t, sc
/ l ran upstairs and put 1t In mas room
When / came down ma looked at me
| and sighed and fetched 1t down into
the kitchen. Shep looked at 1t very
| thoughtfully. The groceryman knocked
on the back door, and ma hastily
threw the rug down into the cellar
| Shep ran after it, thinking it might
| be sheep to mind, but as soon as he
saw what 1t was he cried to be let III
| again and scratched the cellar door
until the whole house ratified.
Perhaps" said Bee, "if you hung II
out on the line some one might steal
| it."
Hang that out on the liner cried
F.! ma. Il would die first!"
And added:
"Besides-no one would steal It."
She looked reflectively at Shep.
Leave 1t to me, my dears,' she
SAID at last; Il think l have plan
And as soon as pa had eaten his
dinner that night, an extra special
feast, she unfolded her plan.
PA" she said, "that dog of ours
| gets to know so much that sometimes
/ am almost afraid of him. When you
| picked him out as puppy | must con
| fess that | had my doubts about your
| choice, but, rs a matter of fact, he is
a most wonderful dog! Most wonder
full! Now, what I've been thinking Is
this: Here's winter coming on with Its
cold, blizzardy weather, and that old
pet hasn't thing on the floor of his
coop. We've never made him a pres
ent yet, but he's such an extraor
binary dog that. don't you think we
/ might, as a family, let him have our
new rug? He would appreciate II Sc
much The pet! Look at him, pa!
+, Isn't he picture?"
do you think 1t would fit?" asked
pa, doubtfully.
Bee snatched the rug and ma ran
out at once, with Shep In glad pur'
suit They staid out so long that pa
began to wonder.
What's the matter?" he called.
He won't go I'M" cried ma.
"He swears and growls!" cried Bee
MAKE him go I'M" commanded pa
A vague form fitted through the
gloom, paused for moment, but reso
lutely turned and disappeared down
the street.
Hes run away" they cried In a
chorus of despair, and then in tones OF
loving sympathy and admiration they
added lin concert):
I