The Springfield herald., 1909-08-06

One of the saddest deaths that ever
occurred in Betzville took place last
Friday at p. M, and Ezra Claggin
is almost broken hearted. For 2S 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 good old
soul, swore that Ezra shouldn't sleep
that way for another 80 years, so she
went over to the store and traded is
yards of dried apples for live goose.
She did this unbeknownst to Ezra,
meaning to surprise him with good
feather bed inside of eight or ten
years, according what kind of feather
crops the goose grew, but when she
took the goose out to the woodshed 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. So
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 garret.
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 1t was no
use, she couldn't bear 1t, SO she just
picked another feather to show what
was coming to the goose some day,
and went into the house and hid that
feather in the garret.
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
she looked down, there was the goose,
and there was feather in the goose's
bill, and the dear intelligent bird was
craning its 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
out 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 it's feathers
in its bill and hand it to Fluenza, and
Fluenza would kiss the goose, and
take the feather up into the garret
and hide 1t, 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
Off
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 its 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 feather in its
bill. He didn't think anything of it.
But when he got up to go away that
old goose just tagged at his heels,
looking up with sad, sad eyes, and
tHt ltdlucls IL
considerable. He couldn't make out
what the goose wanted, but presently,
just -hand-like, he took the feather,
and then the goose squawked joyfully
and went back to the woodshed as
contented as lamb. And still Ezra
didn't guess anything but that 1t 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 1t had a feather in
its bill, too. So it sort of aggravated
Ezra. A white goose feather is no
sort of thing to hand to man that
is in deep mourning. 1t 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
ly. But the goose just looked up at