The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1909-08-06

didn't guess anything but that it was
a mighty foolish goose.
The next day when Ezra went out
to. sit on the soap kettle and mourn
for Is or 20 minutes, up came the
goose! This time it had feather in
its bill, too. So it sort of aggravated
Ezra. A white goose feather is no
sort Of thing to hand to a man that
is in deep mourning. 1t is a light and
cheerful sort of thing and might be
looked at as an insult, and Ezra chose
to look at it that way. He turned to
the goose and spoke to it quite sharp
~. But the goose just looked up at
him with sad, patient eyes and stood
right where it was, but on the other
foot from the one it had been standing
on. So Ezra said he saw plain enough
that he couldn't mourn in peace there.
and he got up and went away, and the
goose went right along with him. It
followed him all around the block, and
down Main street, faithfully holding
out the feather for Ezra to take, and
when Ezra couldn't stand it any lon.
ger and went home and into the house
and locked the door, the goose just
stood on the door step with uplifted
feather. It stood there all night.
But it was just as faithful as ever,
and at daybreak it waddled out to the
woodshed and plucked another feath.
er, and when Ezra came out, there
was the goose with two feathers in its
bill. Ezra saw he couldn't mourn in
peace on the soap kettle, and he had a
reticence about wandering around
Betzville followed by goose with it's
bill full of feathers, so he Just locked
himself into the house and stayed
there. go
That night it was colder than ever,
and the goose mourned all night. and
in the morning it was plain. that it's
spirit was entirely broken, as we'll as
that@ft had extremely acute rheuma.
tism in the feet. It waited outside un-
til 1880. and then 1t hobbled slowly
toward the woodshed, and when it was
nearly there its attention was attracted
BY q noise next door. The noise was
Uncle Ashdod Clute wriaging the
neck Of chicken. As soon Aas the
goose saw that, and how easy such q.
death was, It made up its mind. and it
reached up with one. foot and grabbed
itself by the neck. 1t did It's best,
poor thing. but the rheumat ism was SO
bad It had no strength in its foot. and
1t couldn't wiring its own neck. Ezra
Claggin was up in the garnet moping
around, and he happened to look out
of the window and saw the goose; and
all he felt at the sight was pleasure.
The goose saw Ezra, too, and gave
him one last reproachful look. and
then stretched out it's neck full length.
bent 1t around 80 1t could get good
grip on it with its bill, held It fast,
and whirled its body around until It
had wrung its head OF.
At that very minute Ezra ran across
the little pile Of feathers Fluenza had
been saving up, and al At once he i'm.
derstood everything, and he rushed
down to the yard, but too late! There
was the goose In one corner Of the
yard. and its head In another. and IN |
it, blu the two feathers, showing It |
was faithful TO the last. Ezra looked |
Of his watch and saw It was lust |
p. M, and then he sat down on the
soap kettle and wept and for every
three tsars ~ shsd for FfnenSa heJ
shed one Tor the goose. regularly, all |
afternoon. until the sun set. ana then
he went indoors ana kept on shed iing
until bed time II the same ratio.
(Copyrtght. ~ ~ w. a. chapma..)