Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1910-12-29
CONRAD AND THE STORK

Norway has village in which there
is figure of a stork carved on the
church and over many of the houses.
This is the beautiful story they tell
In that village once there lived lit
tie lad named Conrad and his widowed
mother Every summer a stork came
near the house and built its nest near
by. Little Conrad and his mother
were very kind to the stork. They fed
it and petted it so that it got to know
them, and would come whenever Con
rad whistled to feed out of his hand.
Every spring they watched for it, and
when it came it seemed as glad to see
them as they were to welcome it.
Spring and summer chased each other
till Conrad had grown to be a young
man. Then he said he would go to
sea and make money enough to come
back ana keep his mother in her old
age. So he went to be a sailor and set
out for distant land. All went we'll
for many weeks, but one day when
they were near the coast of Africa a
number of cruel pirates swarmed
around and took possession of the ship
and put the sailors in chains and after
wards sold them as slaves
Weeks went by. The widow began
to be afraid about her boy, it was long
since they had heard of him. Ships
had come and gone, and brought no
tidings of him. at last they gave up
all hope of seeing him again, and
mourned him as drowned, and all the
village pitied the lonely mother in her
grief.
As for her, the only thing that
seemed to interest her at all was the
stork as it came each year For Con-
RAIDS sake she welcomed it and fed it
until the autumn came, and it flew
away to the sunny South.
Now, it happened that one day as
poor Conrad toiled away at his dreary
work in some lonely place, a stork
came flying close to him, wheeling
about him in great delight. In mo-
ment the scene flashed upon him Of his
home and his mother, and their yearly
visitor Scarcely knowing what he
did, he whistled as he used to do to
call the bird long ago. To his delight
the stork came close to him, as if to be
fed. Conrad lifed up his heart to God,
and with tears gave thanks that SO
dear an old friend should have found
him there. Day after day he saved
what he could from his wretched meal
for the joy of calling the bird to feed
at his hand. But Conrad's heart grew
sad again as the time came for the
bird to fly away to the North.
Was it going to his mothers cottage'
Was the nest there still that he remem-
bered so well? Was there any to well
come it now, and any to feed it; Then
it occurred to him: "Why, this bird
NAV help me to get away from this
vile place. He managed to write on
scrap of paper line or two, telling
where he was, and that he was slave.
and then tied it firmly around the
birds leg.
The spring came again. and with it
the stork. The old widows eyes lit
upon it as it came, reminding her of
her lost boy, and tenderly she welcom-
ed it and fed it. As it took the food
from her hand she caught sight of this
strange letter tied to its leg. Curious
ly removing it, think of her joy when
she found that it was from her son
Forth with the tidings she ran to the
minister of the little parish to tell him
of the news. 1t quickly spread through
the village. They must send and re-
deem Conrad was what everybody
said. The next Sunday morning the
people brought their money to the
church, and each gave what he could
for the widows son. Then one was
sent to the king to lay the case before
him, and to get ship of war from
him that the pirates dare not touch.
1t took long time in those DAYS to
send to Africa and there to recover
Conrad from his slavery. But before
the stork had flown the bells of the |
village church had rung, and all the
people rejoiced with great joy for the
son was redeemed, and was
safely at home again at his mother S
cottage. Our Dumb Animals.