The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-15
THE TRUE STORY IN BIRMINGHAM OF A GENUINE BIC MAN FAIRY"

 is uffering-insufficiently clad, and she wonders if he has been warmed through once this morning, or whether he is per haps breakfast1ess and cold to the bone.
 They run walk along, cutting cor ners, chatting little; "he likes the toys upstairs at Caheen's, but the man wouldn't let him slide because his mother wasn't with him'-but all the time she is measuring for him the distance to the warm school house, and she wonders at his fortitude
 In the lower hall at last The teacher gives a sigh of thankfulness for him. He hands her the plain black pin with which she had pinned his collar together. Thank you for the pin1 he says, and Twill you meet me on the Woodward corner tomorrow morning so we can come together again?"
 And this Is the boy who throws inky water on the other children in the school room, and refuses to learn his spelling. Well, who can blame him for upsetting things occasionally? Who knows what he has had to upset him? Poor little spir- tied scamp
 Tuesday morning the teacher wakes thinking of Pete and the windy corner and she hurries down to get there first A friend passing in an automobile takes them up this morning and they are both so grateful for the quick, comfortable ride.
 This day in school they read story about an old woman who was really fairy but she had taken the form of an old woman to see how she would be treat ed. "Is 1t true?" the children always ask. CThey long to be told that fairy tales and romances are true-they hope i that life is like that) The teacher hasn't the heart to disappont them, so she says Well, not exactly. You see. something very much like that really happened, and so the lady made up a story from it,n- and they are satisfied
 A few minutes later a forsaken looking little boy who owes the teacher a nickle comes to her desk and asks to be allowed to go to the basement. You see" he ex- plains, "I put on two pairs of pants this morning. and the niel1e is in the pocket of the other ones and I'll have to go down 10 the basement to get at it." She sees.
 Wednesday evenings o'clock, Twen- tieth street again. Cold a little windy, and a drizzling rain. One longs to catch his car quickly. The little newsboy on the Empire corner is shouting his papers and stamping his feet. He will be out another hour or two.
 Hurrying toward a Lakeview car, the teacher runs into Pete again. Gle goes in off the streets at 7:30 or he gets beating. A curious combination of par ental leniency and parental discipine.) And now comes the happy part of the story
 70, Pete! Such good luck we're hav- ingl I met a big man fairy today and he gave me this (showing a s2 bilD and told me to take little boy and buy him a warm new sweater and a pair of woolen glovesl Come onr' He follows her into Porter's-(no more heart-breaking cold for Pete)-then ont again-a quick "Good-night! See you tomorrowi" and here is the warm, happy ending of our little true story; except, P. S.: Wasn't the big man fairy a dear?
 We who followed this story to an end, have the kind of eyes which will see other little cold boys on our street cor ners, and the kind of hearts, too, which will understand how uncomfortable they are in the wind which we find merely bracing.
 These little boys to whom one warm garment added would mean so much, are not hopelessly numerous on the streets of city of our size; and their natures are as sadly in need of the warming in
  bodies are of more clothing or a bowl of warm soup.
 Have we no more big men fairies? Have we not one more big over-coated fairy l who spends his money and sends his lady l flowers and bonbons? And some cold evening can he not appear before one of these little brothers and say. Sonny, | you're luckyl I have a little bit of Uncle | Sams money here, and l made up my | mind to spend it on somebody. Come on, Let's have a cap that pulls down over the ears, or" but a big man fairy | knows what to say.
 And when he tells his lady. Won't she | be proud of him? And won't she just | give him little extra-er-assurance of her admiration, or brehy-well, at any rate. shell know that he's good, and he'll know that he's good, and the boy will know it too; and they'll all go on their way rejoicing.
 And perhaps m time, let us hope, an- other tr1a story with fa itiac and ,a-