Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1911-03-01
Reparadon

/ ca Will peTSplraC1On, porn, not or Ia
Dor, but Of obstinacy.
Nov, Frederick" began Miss
Burke, with conscientious enthusiasm,
sitting down at the desk across the
aisle. Tets draw picture Of a beau
ti-ful big dog"
A few more beads Of perapiration
appeared upon Fredericks flushed
forehead and the hand that held the
pencil became shade more nerveless.
1t was at three o'clock that Miss
Burke had suggested gayly that every
body should draw the picture of an
animal and let everybody else guess
what it was. It was now a quarter
past four. Each Of the other children
| had executed the likeness of some
| chosen animal and then their short
legs had trudged, trotted or skipped
| home with these treasures of art, but
| Frederick still sat before his small
! desk, mulishness enthroned upon his
brow and no slightest hint of the ooun-
| terfeit presentment of any beast ap-
| pearing upon the virgin surface of his
| paper.
Miss Burke spoke again, persuasive
| ly. Tim going up to the platforms now,
Frederick, to arrange my desk all
neatly for tomorrow, and when l come
back [ just know I shall find a lovely
picture Of dog. Now, shan't II"
Frederick spoke not, nor did he
move during the ten minutes Miss
Burke passed in inventing small du-
| ties in connection with the tidying
| up of her desk.
When she came down from the plat
form and stood before Frederick again,
there was that in her voice which
made him take his reluctant gaze from
his paper and raise it to her face
Frederick Merriam" said the nth
erto persuasive tones, I'm going to
wash my hands and put on my wraps,
and when I come back 1 expect to- find
a picture of dog on that piece of
paper"
She pointed firm finger at the
sheet before him and then turned
away.
When his teacher returned ten min
utes later Frederick sat With his toe
dug into the floor and his pencil limp
| ly grasped in his hand but Oh the
paper had appeared an outlins in
which an indulgent critic might have
found faint suggestion of dog.
| We'll try to do better next time,
| Frederick" said Miss Burke You
may get your hat and go now"
Miss Burke, passing down the hall
| few minutes later, overlook her small
pupils. Good night, Freddie" she
said with the magnanimous courtesy
| of the one who has had the best IF it.
Frederick stared f1xedly at the wall
until she had passed. Then he looked
vindictively at her retreating back.
I'll go and muss up her OF desk, :"
| he thought Maxim me draw a pitch
! er of a OF ANIMAL"
He turned back into the schoolrOom
and tiptoed up to Miss Burkes desk
Everything was put away insids the
| drawers except a few pencils and a
ruler. Friedrich threw the pencils on
the floor, and then, taking the euler
| between two chubby hands, he broke
! it across his fat knee Then he tip
tood to the door and sped down the
| hall
There was no rest for Frederick that
night. His uneasy dreams were
haunted by visions of angry Miss
Burke threatening him with broken
rulers and great paper dogs opening
horrible mouths at him. Early in the
morning he crept from his bed and
went to the drawer where he kept his
bank. He took the bank to the bed
and shook it violently until he could
hear nothing more rafting inside it.
Three bright Lincoln pennies re-
warded his efforts
Eight o'clock found Frederick, hur.
ried breakfast lying heavy upon his
youthful stomach, standing before the
showcase of the school store" ma
king careful survey of it's contents.
After due consideration he selected
one stick Of chewing gum, done up in
a piece of sky-blue paper fringed at
the ends, one taffy-on-a-broomsti
and enc all-day sucker. With these
deposited in a paper bag striped with
purple he fastened to school.
Here he tore a sheet from his tab
let and inscribed these words upon it.:
Dear Miss Burke. Yours truly, Fred
er1ck." Attaching this with a decrepit
pin to the paper bag, he laid it on
Miss Burke's desk and, returning to
his seat, buried his nose in his Ian
guage book and awaited developments.
WELL" exclaimed Miss Burke.
Somebody has been giving me a pres
ent. Frederick" reading the name on
the sheet of paper. why, how nice
Of you Frederick"
Did she, as she took up the bag,
give a fleeing glance at the broken
pieces of rules lying in a conspicuous
spot on the desk, where the janitor
had placed them?
Chewing gum! Dear me. what g
gay paper! Taffy-on-the-br oomstick-