Tensas gazette., 1909-12-10
The Last Day of Vacation.


one familiar with their habits would
have noticed that sort OF gentle
melancholy seemed to brood over the
pool of the alligators. There had been
five or six wrestling bouts, but they
had been conducted in a half-hearted
way as if simply INDUCED in to assist
digestion. There was no go and dash
about the performance.
Finally even these hollow attempts
at play were given up, and rippleless
silence took possession of the pool.
All the alligators, big and little, ar
ranged themselves in a row, and shut
ting their eyes, Just rested the points
of their long noses on the bank. They
might have been so many pieces or
green bronze.
Some people think that alligators
can't count; but even the smallest al
ligator knew the day of the month,
and that was the last day in that dear
outdoor pool. Tomorrow they would
be pushed and showed and prodded
and poked into winter quarters. For
the little alligators that spelled
school, horrid word, For the older
aliigators it meant a long stretch OF
days with no nice hot sun, no nice big
pool, nothing to do but sleep and eat!
And for the oldest alligator of all 1t
meant teaching!
Was it any wonder they were all
greatly depressed? But it is absurd
TO spend the last day Of vacation in
/ vain regrets. So when the Oldest and
largest gator crawled slowly out OF
the pool to the center of the pen, all
the rest opened their eyes at once,
just as if he had said, 'One, two,
three, wake up." When he had
stretched himself at full length, he
opened his mouth and made sound
like escaping steam. Come on, all OF
you," he said. Let's have one more
game of pyramid"
Did you ever see alligators play
pyramid? 1t is the oldest game in the
world, invented By the first alligator
that eevr lived. He taught it to his
children long ago in the land of
Egypt, and they in turn taught it to
their children. Only the alligators
and crocodiles, their cousins. know
how to play it properly.
When the oldest and largest alliga-
tor had stretched himself at full
length. the next largest in the crowd
crawled on top of him, with his head
turned toward the big ones tail.
Then both together gave the same
steam-hissing sound. and then the
next largest crawled up, and the next
and the next, until on the top of the
pyramid sat quite little gator. with
eight larger fellows underneath, all
head to tail. Then they all let of
steam together to attract the atten-
tion of the other pyramids, none OF
which was larger than seven gators
high.
Then began the really difficult part
of the game. Old Samson Alligator
started to crawl slowly round the pen.
II there were any hillocks in his path,
or stones or uneven places in the
ground, he did not avoid them, as one
might suppose. but even went out of
his way to go ove- them. AS he felt
the load slipping to one side or the
other, he would let of a steam, which
is the way alligators laugh to them
selves. At the fourth hump. alligator
number eight, who was next TO the
top, fell Off But little gator number
nine lust managed to keep his seat.
, That pleased him very much. for it
: is the rule of the game that the top
ones should fall first, and as number
eight had fallen before him, he could
, stay on his back and ride round until
: al the rest were shaken off, This,
: naturally, took some time, and as all
, the rest fell off in regular order, num-
ber eight was in bad humor at his
( mishap.
"Oh, you're terrible smart, know,"
he said. ill-naturedly, to little number
nine. ''Just you wait till tomorrow,
when you begin SCHOOL, Perhaps
t you'll find you don't know so much,
after ALL" But at the very mention
of school his ill-humor vanished. Af-
] ter all, misfortune makes one kinder.
: He, too. had to 80 to school. When
t the keeper brought supper he had en-
tirely recovered, and good-haturedly
made a place for the smallest gator
next to himself, and did not gobble
Y more than four-sixths of the food that
+ came their way.
Q "To-morrow's full of trouble" said
/ the keeper to friend We've got to
!. move all these alligators. It's job!
!. There are so many now that we will
e have to separate 'em. Take out some
r of the big ones and put 'em in a sepa.
rate corner"
r At this all the little alligators
o nearly died of excitement. Suppose
4 the teacher would be taken? They
|, scarcely slept all night, and those that