The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1909-08-06

One Of the saldest deaths that ever
occurred in BetAville took place last
Friday at p. M. and Ezra Claggin
Is almost broken hearted. For % years
Of his married life Ezra slept on a
corn-husk mattress, and by the end
Of the twenty-ninth year the corn
husks were so matted down that few
corncobs that had been put In by mis-
take sort of poked through and made
stone-bruises on his back, and his
wife, Fluenza, who was 4 good old
soul, swore that Ezra shouldn't sleep
that way for another 20 years, so she
went over to the store and traded Is
yards of dried apples for live goose.
Che die this unbeknownst "a Ezra,
ueaning to surprise him with q good
feather bed inside of eight o; ten
crops the goose grew, but when she
took the goose out to the woodshet to
pluck out the first crop of feathers The
goose looked up into her eyes so SOUL
fully, and squawked so pitifully that
Fluenza hadn't the heart to pluck ST
she just plucked one small feather, as
a sort of warning of what the goose
had to expect when she could get her
courage up, and took that feather into
the house and hid it in the garnet.
The next day she thought maybe
she could harden her heart, and she
went out to the woodshed and inter-
viewed the goose again, but it was no
use. she couldn't bear it, so she Just
F:ckeo another feather to show what
was coming to the goose some day,
and went into the house and hid that
feather in the garnet.
So when the next day CAME she
made up her mind that she was fool
ishly tender-hearted, and she went out
to the woodshed again, but when she
was half way there the good old goose
came waddling up to her, and, when
che looked down, there was the goose,
and there was feather in the goose's
hill, and the dear intelligent bird was
craning it's neck to reach the feather
up to Fluenza's hand. Well, it was so
touching that Fluenza just sat right
down on the soap kettle and clasped
the goose to her bosom and wept.
And there they sat, tears running out
OF Fluenza's eyes, and tears running
cut of the goose's eyes.
1t was a white goose with gray
markings, and every day after that
the goose would waddle up to the
kitchen door with one of its feathers
In it's bill and hand it to Fluenza, and
F1uenza would kiss the goose, and
tkke the feather up into the garnet
and hide it, and all would have been
we'll and in time Fluenza would have
had enough feathers to make feath~
er bed If death had not carried her
Of.
So the next thing anybody in Betz.
vile knew Ezra Claggin went out into
the back yard to sit on the soap kettle
and think how sad he was, and while
he was sitting there up came the
goose and laid it's head on his knee
and wept. So Ezra looked down and
patted the goose kindly on the head,
and the next thing he noticed was
that the goose had a feather in its
bill. He didn't think anything of it.
But when he got up to 60 away that
old goose just tagged at his heels.
looking up with sad, sad eyes, and
offering the feather. It annoyed Ezra
considerable. He couldn't make out
what the goose wanted, but presently,
just off-hand-like, he took the feather
and then the goose squawked joyfully
and went back to the woodshed as
contented as a lamb. And still Ezra
didn't guess anything but that 1t was
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. It is 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
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