The Charles Mix new era. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1???-1911, 1911-02-10
Why GRANDMOTHER
Could Not Write

By RUDOLF HAUMBACH

Copyright ~ Shoot olossss Co, Ltd,
In front Of the last Of the little
houses scattered along the edge of
the forest sat a curly headed boy on a
stone bench drawing humpbacked let
tiers on the slate which - held on his
knees. Every now a1G then he cast a
longing glance toware tAe distant vii.
lage green, where his playmates look
ed like little colored 0oeO running to
and fro. Then hs drew . long sigh
and held his stats psoe1 idly il his
hand till his sense Of duty warned
him to resume his hated task. An oid
woman stepped out ~ he house. She
was the child's Uas1nother. She
leaned ' e his shouI1es and looked
pityingly at the eesibSled letters.
You poor little 1ellov!" murmured
she, stroking her granAson's curl,
head with her boay kaD1, "they don't
give YOU any peace even - the Lords
day" The little fellow made a dole.
full face anu looked p1esously up at his
grandmother.
".They ask so muaA g Children now
adays," continued To - woman. and
seated herself on the stsos bench be-
aide the boy. Il car 0oitAsr read @
I write, yet I have always bsen respec.-
ed and have w~ell-1sAaved children
and grandchildren. o. what use is
learning to us pea1n0t folk?' Her
words sounded like so0oD from angel
lips to the younsDsse.
Cant you write. ORas1ncther?"
asked he.
NO." ssid the old woaan, with dig.
nifty, and drew hesso4 -. A long
pause followed.
Were there no scAGoinastera when
you we're little?' asked - iIauisitive
grandchild, after . wA53A.
"Ch. yes indeed!" aoswefe1 grand.
mother. we had . ooAooimaster;
and such a s~choolmaster! He
drummed the Ten Commandments and
whatever else we needed to know into
. cur heads, SO that the parish priest
was very proud of No when he cate
chized US, but he wasn't very particu.
lar about anything else. On, there
are no such men nowadays. But there
was a very special reason why I did
not learn to write, and that is a very
remarkable story. / may thank my
mother-God rest her s0ul-that I
never learned to write. She couldn't
write, either, and her not knowing
how to write saved her from a great
danger. When my mother was frs.
married, she and her husband had a
hard time getting along. They worked
early and late and still hardly earned
their daily breai. One day my moth.
er went out into the woods to get lit.
ter for the goats, and her heart was
20 full of sorrow over her poverty
that she sat down on the ground and
cried bitterly enough to melt the
heart OF q stone. All At . sudden Q
stately gentleman stood before
her, dressed like a huntsman and
wearing a cocks feather In his hat.
He asked my mother why she was
crying, and when she told him how
poor che was, he laughed and said:
I will help you. I will make you rich.
10 That you will have enough as Ions
IN you i've Then he drew : little
red book cut of his pocket anc hand
@ It to my mother, and giving hes
also a pencil, said: Write your name
in that book. There are the names Of
q good many people .whC0 / have
helped in there already
Then my mother, quits overjoyed'
seized the book and the pencil to d
AZ the gentleman had requested, bu'
as she did not know how to write, she
made a cross. In a moment the tooe
turned red hot in her hand, and she
threw Il away with a scream, n y
cur ned up In the twinklins Of an eye
When she looked up, the strange MAJ
had disappeared and the whole "a
sm.a horribly Of birthstone. The
nv mother felt her blood turn cold
ard she knew that the strange gen
tleman must have been the devil hiE
self. She ran home heels over head
and it was a long time before h go
ayer It. Her making . cross In TIN
devils book because she did . know
how to write had saved her soul from
everlasting damnation ana % she ID
sisted that no child OF hers shoui(
ever learn to write. If I had my way
YOU should never learn either. bu'
things are not as they used to be u
the good old timeo."