Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1911-09-29

"A"'S VI Stofk carved on the
cnufeh and over many of the houses,
says Our Dumb Animals. This is tho
beautiful story they tell of the place.
In that village there once lived a
little lad named Conrad, and his wild
owed mother. Every summera stork
came and built its nest near the house.
Little Conrad and his mother we're
very kind 10 the stork. They fed it and
petted it so it got TO know them, and
would come whenever Conrad wins.
tied to feed out of his hand. Every
spilng they watched for it, and when
camei' seemed as glad TO see them
as Trey were 10 welcome il.
spring ard summer followed each
oihei iii Conisd baG grown TO be a
young man. / hen be SAID be would 90
TO sea and make money enough to,
con e back and keep his mother ia her
old age. So be went TO be a sailor and
set out tor distant land. All went
well for many weeks, but one day
when they were near the coast of
Africa number ef cruel pirates
swarmed around and took possession
of the ship and put the sailors In
chains, and afterwards sold them as
slaves.
Weeks went by. The widow began
to be afraid about her boy. 1t was so
long since they had heard of him.
Ships had omeand 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 widow 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 il 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 at some lonely place, stork
came flying close to him, wheeling
about him in great delight. In a NOM
ent the scene flashed upon him of his
home and his mother, and their year
ly visitor. Scarcely XII owing what he
did, he whistIed as he use TO do to call
the bird long ago. To his delight the
stork came close to him, as if to be fed.
Conrad lifted 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 wretcbed meal for 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 ii going to his
mothers cottage? Was the nest that
he remembered so well there still? Was
there any TO welcome the bird now,
and any to feed it? Then it occurred to
him: "Why, this bird may help me to
get away from this vile placer He
managed to write on a scrap of paper q
line or two, telling where he W as, and
tied it firmly around The birds leg.
The spring came again to Norway,
and with it the stork. The old widows
eyes lit upon it as it came, reminding
her of her lost boy, and tenderly she
welcomed and fed it. As it took the
food from her hand she caught sight
of this strange letter tied to its leg. AS
she curiously removed 1t, 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 redeem 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
a ship of war from HIM that the pi-
rates dare not touch.
1t look 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 rnng and all the
people Iejoiced with great joy, for the
widows soil was redeemed, and was
safely at home again in his mothers
cottage. The Continent.