Manchester Democrat., 1909-04-14
DYING OF A STICK HORSE.

i
. DYING OF A STICK HORSE.
You would scarcely believe that
once was one of the finest horses
that ever pranced along the roadway.
am only stick now, and yet
was once a beautiful horse, with flow
ing mane and tail, and sporting a
bride. which had silver bangles that
glittered in the sun. No doubt IT.
seems strange to you that plain old
stick could be thus transformed, but
there can be no question of the truth
of it.
And before was a horse was
hickory bush, growing by the road
side; and before was sprout was
hickory nut that had fallen from
large tree overhanging branches.
oh, have had an eventful life, even
If | am young and dead now.
remember as stood by tn road
side. spreading out my leaves and
branches and watching wagons that
ratified by in the roal near me, caus-
ing the dust to rise and cover my
leaves-how longed then to travel.
But couldn't because was rooted
| fast in the earth. Yet got to trav-
ell.
The boys. going to school, used to
| pass and break off my leaves, peeling
the twigs and selling them as candy for
the leaves, which they called money.
They were greenbacks. just like sure
| enough money. One day boy bent
over me with his knife and began cut
ting me down. The knife was dull
and hacked me terribly, and you may
Ibe sure suffered. 1t is not pleasant
to be cut in two, slowly, and to live
through it all. But had no hands
and so was powerless to defend my
| self.
The boy stripped off my limbs, and,
cutting off a piece from my body with
| which to make whistle, dropped the
rest of me in the road to die. Here
was all cut to pieces, yet still living.
| The leaves soon withered and felt
them no more, and in the course of
a few days the piece that had been
skinned so as to form whistle dried
up and ceased to be painful; but the
body of me, in the road, lived on
and on IN the dust and nearly fam
ished.
Before died, however; that is, be-
fore the biggest piece of me died, 4
| little boy passed by, and, straddling
me, went prancing down the road. He
called me Horsey, and as / looked,
sure enough did seem to be a great
black pony. "Geddup!" he called. and
we galloped down the road. making
the dust fly high into the air.
I'VE are almost to New York." he
said. and. in the distance saw 4
haze and countless chimneys and
spires and skyscrapers, towering up
like goods boxes on the sidewalk.
;.Now." said the boy, I'VE are al
most to the sea-" And could behold
stretch of green. with birds career
ing over the waves and sails and
| smoke in the distance.
Then we raced with train, and ac-
| tually beat it; and at last, wearied
with our travels, he hitched me to a
fence to feed, and under my parent
tree he went to sleep.
| Now, this was life? Oh, the many
places we visited together! Oh, the
many transformations l made, from
/ a horse to sword and from sword
to a scepter and from scepter to a
train and from train to another
boy. Not everything that begins with
an acorn and then dies, in part. turns
into as many things as did. Some
times I could hear the squeak OF a
hickory whistle another little boy car
ried and knew it was part of me;
but it did not seem like it was, and
this was the most wonderful thing of
| all.
After long time the little boy lost
me in the grass, and lay there the
\ longest time. nothing but stick, get
| ting drier all the time. My, but it is
Lonesome and tiresome, to be lost and
useless! confess slept a good deal,
merely to pass the time away. Once
/ sIucIG WdS awhile iCONVElCG opLCau
over me, and at first it was Geld and
| / thought / was going to die; but
after awhile lay SO snug and warm,
and snoozed for ever SO long. When
! awakened grass was growing partly
over me, and a violet nestled at my
side, and sometimes spoke to me with
fragrant breath.
.Smust tell you what l saw one day.
There came first wagon. being drlv-
en- very slowly; and inside was lit
tie white box; and behind it fol-
| lowed another wagon, in which there
was woman in black weeping soft
| iy, and man and the big boy, who
had cut me from my stump; and be-
hind them was string of wagons
/ moving slowly in a row. There was
something about it which made mo
feel very sad.
Just then something passed me
which seemed only shadow, and 1t
appeared to me that could see the
little boy with whom had had such
times. He bent over me and heard
him say softly, like the voice of the
violet, "Oh, there is my good stick
horse. Come with me, Horsey."
think shall go with him. l am
lonesome without him and l am get.
ting weak. Who knows what may
be in the place Observation-Disclosures
Star.
WASHINGTON,S ADVENTURE.
Tell me something to play, How
ard, do tell me something to play"