davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

ted from the same corner. following
the spider to the easement. There
the form paused and turned towards
Bonita, who was now too much over
come with surprise to speak.
Tn a fairy, my child" said the
white creature. and she famed tiny
wing to and fro. II know all about
your trouble, about the wicked men
who swore falsely against your father.
shall assist you to rescue him from
prison. We shall have to work
secretly, my dear. for your being SIM
ply little girl, and I a fairy in whom
people have no faith, prevent our
doing anything openly. l must de-
pend on my magic to help you. You
must depend on your faith in me to
assist me. Do you pledge yourself 2"
Bonita got off tho chair and fell
upon her knees in an attitude of
prayer, "Oh. yes, my dear good fairy,
in whom believe earnestly, shall do
whatever you bid me-" cried Bonita,
eagerly.
well, here is my trained spider"
And the fairy pointed towards the
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

One little boy a fishing went
With pole and line and hook.
I'll try the pond" said little boy;
IT'S better than the brook"
He baited hook, then sat him down:
The swimming fish went by.
But when they saw the ugly hook
The Oldest one did cry
Beware of that, my brother dearl
Beware OF II, say!
Taste not the worm that bangles
there,
And you'll live another day."
So swiftly off the fishes swan.
The boyle fell asleepi
And after while he toppled down
The slippery bank. so steep.
And when at last he swan ashore
He shook himself and said:
Fried fish are mighty nice to eat
But I'll take some pie instead"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

took up their life anew and began
to prosper. They were given many
horses by their friends, the CO.
manches, and built their wigwams and
tepees on the banks of the Little
Arkansas river. But hardly had they
become settled when new calamity
befell them. The wild tribes became
involved in war among themselves,
and troops from st. Louis were scat
tered along the old Santa Fe trail.
They brought the cholera, which
spread like prairie fire over the diff
ferent reservations of the Indians in
both Kansas and the Indian Terri
tory. This dread disease made havoc
among the peaceful Wichitas, carrying
off their chief Owaha. A little later
tho combined cruelties of a prairie
fire and white outlaws again made
fnroads on the Wichitas, and their
renewed sufferings were past under
standing.
In 1858 the Wichitas, what was
left of them, finally settled in their
old home on the Washita. where the
government sent aid to them. There
their descendants remain to this day.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23
Frccklcd Tom HoineS

mind and went on with his work of
building a small air-ship model.
The following week the Grays went
out of town to visit some relatives in
an adjoining county. They were to
be gone three weeks. Three days
after their departure Tom heard the
weak mewing of a kitten in their back
yard. and going over tho fence, he
found a wretched little creature, half
starved. He knew It to be Julia Gray's
kitten. dear little white thing with
black-tipped tail and ears. He did
not stop to wonder how the Grays
had happened to leave the helpless
mite, locked out and without food
or water. during their long absence.
He merely ran and jumped the fence
between the two yards, made inroads
on his mothers cold provisions. and
with bottle of sweet milk in his
hands and meat and other cold bits
of food in his pocket, he hurried
back to the starving kitty. The way
the little creature ate made Toms
big heart glad. And after kitty had
finished a hearty meal. Tom began
to rummage about the place, hoping
to find some sort of shelter for the
lonely creature. A garage was in the
rear of the house and Tom found a
small window open. He crawled
through it, and from the inside opened
the great door about six inches, prop
ping It so that the cat might get in.
From home he fetched basket and
bit of carpet and made a bed for
Kitty. Then he set food beside the
basket and called the kitten into the
garage Kitty seemed to understand
that the bed was for her for she
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23
, ON HAINES had not a spot on
his face or hands the tenth-part
of an inch square that was not
: marked by a freckle. The boys

~ marked by freckle. The boys
called him "Freckled Tom" Tom
did not mind this nickname till the
Grays moved into his neighborhood-
the house next door to his own. Then
he began to wish he wasn't so
"speckled," for the Grays had a four
teen-year -old daughter whom Freckled
Tom thought very fair.
One afternoon Tom was making the
short cut across the back yard of the
Grays' place, thus reaching his own
home half a minute earlier than by
the front pavement. when he en-
countered, face to face. Julia Gray.
They had never met before, and while
Tom knew her by sight. she evidently
did not know who he was.
Tom doffed his cap and began to
stutfer an apology for crossing their
yard in such an unceremonious man
ner. But Julia, her face averted,
could hardly keep back a smile of
amusement at his awkward manner.
His freckles also looked so funny to
her. She simply said, That's all
right-please don't mention it." and
was off to her own back door.
Tom blushed burning red. He
ground his heel into the soft earth.
She's making fun of me-because I'm
so burned freckled," he said mentally.
Then he rushed home and banged his
own den door behind him. "Ill
never, never try to get acquainted with
her, so won't. She's little stuck
up. that's what she is" Then he dis.
missed the girl next door from his
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

TEJOLLY barn game to be enjoyed
81 during rainy afternoons when
y the children cannot play In the
open is THE Little Mans House." 1t
is played in this way:
The children participating sit In a
semi-circle. tho leader In front of
them. The leader begins by address
ing the first boy or girl on his right:
Il sell you the Little Man." This Is
repeated down the line till 1t comes
to the leader again, who says: II
sell you the house of the Little Man"
This is again repeated, as at first.
and on reaching the leader a third
time. he says: II sell you the door to
the house of the Little Man." And
again the leaders words are taken
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

But Bonita held his arm. "Slt still
Father. The spider viii not harm
you. 1t came with me. Have faith
that what I tell you is true. Let the
creature do its work. 1t will do nc
harm-but great good. Can you trust
me, Father7"
Andris looked into Bonita's eyes
and saw something very mysterious
there-somethins no could not solve
But he knew she was serious and that
what she said was true.
Very well, Daughter" he replied
Il shall have faith in you--in all that
you say and do"
Bonita did not stay long. The jailer
called for her very soon, and as she
kissed her father. she said: Never
fear. Well soon be together-far. far
from our enemies"
/ Then she went away and Andris
prepared himself for bed. Soon he
was fast asleep, dreaming of his lib
erty--the dearest thing on earth to
him after his darling Bonita. When
he awoke after a full nights sleep
(for he had q clear conscience) he
saw the spider had woven a web from
the table to the top of the high
window which was covered with three
iron bars. But nowhere could he see
the spider. When the Tailor entered
with his wretched breakfast he
noticed the spiders web and said.
II did not know this cell was full of
spiders. I shall proceed to poison
them soon. But.<now I'll finish the
one building this web"
But ere he could lay his hand upon
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23
.ss Bonita, FAIRY AND z SPIDER ,s.s,s
.&e& ~

the web to tear it from its place. An
dris said: 81 beg of you, good jailor,
to spare the spider and his work. en-
Joy watching him weave. It shows
his industry. The day would be long
indeed without some creature near by.
working at his trade
The jailor laughed. then went his
way. locking the door securely be-
hind him. Then Andrls went to the
spiders web and tested 1t. 1t was
built In the form of a ladder, with
many, many little threads intertwln-
ing. so as to hide the exact pattern.
And when Andris tried his strength
upon 1t, he found it like threads OF
steel-unbreakable. He remembered
the words of his darling Bonita, and
sat him down and pondered. He de-
cided to do nothing till nlghtfall, SC
spent the day in hope and patience
, Just as the sun was setting, Bonita
again appeared at the jailor's door
and begged to see her father. 81
know, l am supposed to come but ono,
a week. sir" she said: but my dear
father gets so lonely--and 30 lonely
too. and goodnight kiss makes 4
less hard for us BOTH
1T can do no harm, child" said tn,
! jailor. And he led her to her father
cell. unlocking the door and usherinr
I her In. IT shall not call for you 70
one hour" he stated. for I am goini
out with my wife and son to din
with our relatives over tho other sid
| OF the river. So you may have
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

horse. He would not need guiding.
but would take the road leading over
the mountain to your mother-my
dear grandmother. And there would
be safety for us, as no one knows OF
grandmother's whereabouts, not even
of her existence. There you can live
In peace and happiness with her and
your little Bonita"
Then. It being quite dark, the two
assembled the ladder and found the
iron bars in the window loose. These
were soon removed. and they beheld
another spider web leading to the
ground. Down that they went. Then
they assembled the wall; then down on
the other side by means of other
webs. and found the pony-cart, with
swiftly-going horse hitched to 1t. all
ready for them to start.
That night they crossed the noun
tains and came to a beautiful valley
on the other side just at daybreak.
And in neat stone house, in the
midst of a grape vineyard, they found
Andris' aged mother. She held out
her arms to them. She had received
news OF their coming IN Ii 0retaIi, dho
knew before her son told her of his
persecution. -
"Ah, this is in another country, my
son." said the old woman. "and even
! IL they wanted to take you here. the
law would not permit them to do 30.
And the property tho wicked men
want-let them have 1t. for 1t will be
their undoing--their ruin. They will
never relish a morsel of their stolen
bread. But here and she waved q
hand about--"we are IN fairyland.
Everything we want, and plenty to
spare. We three shall live together
and be happy, happy, my boy.
Andris." And then she kissed Bonita.
who put her arms about her tenderly.
yes. happy. happy, Grandmamma.'
she said.
And so they remained In the val
ley of flowers and vines, and had
plenty and to spare, and the wicked
men who had robbed Andris came to
untimely ends. having cheated and
swindled each other. till at last both
were ruined.
So ends the story of Bonita. q
Fairy and a Spider.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23
Delicious Salad for
Girls Luncheon

TFS there is no dish more appetizins
VI than salad for an afternoon
y u luncheon. the following recipe
may be gladly followed by girls when
making up a luncheon menu. Take
ono ripe, juicy orange; one large, ripe
banana; one mellow, yellow apple:
one mellow pear; three large, perfect
figs; one white. crisp stalk Of young
celery; medium-sized piece of
American cheese Unjust be old and
crumbling), two hard boiled eggs. Cut
each into small pieces. grating the
cheese. When all have been we'll
mixed together with wooden spoon
In wooden bowl, pour over the whole
the juice of two lemons. twice the
quantity OF olive oil. bit of mustard
and salt, which have been beaten to-
gether till thick. Put into mason
jar, cover tightly and place in the Ice
box. When thoroughly chilled. put
two spoonfuls upon a crisp white let
tuce leaf on small salad plate and
serve with thin slices of bread and
butter. This. with cup of rich choco-
late, makes an appetizing combina-
ton for luncheon. 1t may be followed
by IAN ice or whipped cream and
sponge cake. Vita
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

face became serious and her grey
eyes looked into his blue ones kindly.
IT see, our hired man did not come
after Pussy. He promised us he'd
take her to his house and keep her
till we got back. And Just think
she might have starved. or persisted
in the storms, hadn't you been so
kind as to look after her. How can
1 ever thank you? She is my little
pet, and I am very fond Of her. /
owe her life TO you. You are our
neigh bor-aren't your"
Freckled Tom was happy. Evil
IDENTIFY Julia did not mind his freckles.
for she didn't seem to notice them.
He got up and came out to where
she stood, and together they chatted
in the most friendly way. And be-
fore he knew how It had come about.
he had asked her over to see his air.
ship model and she had said joy
ously, "Oh, thank you. I shall be
so glad to come. And--won't you
come in and see my fine geological
specimens? l got such lot of them
where we were visiting. / know we
shall be great friends-as well as
neighbors. for boy who loves the
science of flying through the air win
love no less the study of geology"
"And you don't mind an ugly,
freckled fellow, like / am. coming
to see your" ventured Tom.
well, / should say not" responded
Julia emphatically. II like sensible
boys and girls-and it's sensible to
have freckles. I'd have them II /
could-but / just tan. But-you must
come and meet Mamma and tell US
how you happened to care SO nicely
for kitikin."
And together Tom and Julia went
into the house.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

her father was. she noticed the
spider also entered behind her. But
the jailer. who did not see very we'll,
did not observe the immense insect.
Bonita kissed her father tenderly.
and spoke words of encouragement to
him. He did not see the spider for
some minutes. then he noticed 1t
elm bling up to the side of the high
window over his little table.
See. darling daughter, that hideous
spider. Let me get at it and kill It.
Otherwise 1t might bite me In my
sleep"
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

ing. I shall not be able to visit him
till this day week."
Yes think you will be permitted
to carry to him some clean clothing"
said the fairy. You may put up a
little bundle of garments for him and
go to the prison now-before the
night gets quite dark. The jailer will
heed your plea. He is not bad man
at heart"
So Bonita hurriedly put together
some night clothes for her father and
wrapped them into a bundle. Then
she set out towards the jail. She
stopped at the Jailer's door and beg
ged leave to speak with her father
and to give him some night clothes.
Strange to say, while 1t was in viola
ton of the prison rules. the Jailer per-
mitted the little girl to visit her
father. He went with her to the
prison door. opening It for her. Then
he said: You may enter, my child,
and sit with your father. 1t can do
no harm. I shall call to let you out
after I have finished my supper"
AS Bonita entered the cell where
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

round the semi-circle. And again the
leader adds to his sentence. this time
saying: II sell you rhe lock to the
door to the house of the Little Man."
and so on, without end.
If any of the players misquote the
leader they are put out of the game
and made to pay a forfeit at the end
of 1t.
that one never grows tired Of. If a
quick-witted leader Is chosen, one
who can think out clever things to
say about The Little Mans House.
He may even go inside the house and
sell away the Little Mans clothing or
furniture. 1t can be made very laugh
able.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

crawled in and went to sleep.
Now. I'll come twice a day and
bring food for you, Miss" said Tom.
"And I'll see that you get used to the
window to come and go through, SO
may again fasten up the door
though there's nothing in the big
place since the family has taken away
the motor car
The weeks passed. two of them. and
they were entering upon a third week.
Tom had heard from the neighbors
that the Grays would not return till
the end of the third week. so he
meant to continue feeding the kit
ten. The little creature had become
vei nd of him, and would run
AM up from the window to his
shoulder Of mornings when he called
TO her. He had fastened the door
and she went in and out through the
window. it being only three feet from
the ground.
On Thursday afternoon of the third
week Of the absence OF the Grays,
Tom was feeding Kitty in the garage.
So intent was he that he did not hear
footsteps approaching the open win
dow near him. He was sitting on
the floor. tossing a ball about for the
kitten to run after. He was laugh
ing and talking to his little compan-
ion when suddenly the window be-
came darkened and he glanced up TO
see a girls merry face framed in It,
Tom sprang to his feet. his freckied
face covered with confusion. II beg
your pardon. Miss Julia" he STAN
nered. .I-I-didn't look for you
folks to be back so soon. III
was just taking care Of this kitten
1t was left without food or-or-''
1T was SO good of VOL" JuIfa'a
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23
Ute WLchILa
! L20LHRg

- He Indians known as the Wich-
"a itas were remnants of other
u tribes affiliated together when
first known to history over
century ago. One tradition has 1t
that the Wichitas were originally of
the far Northwest, using dogs as pack
animals, as all Western Indians did
before the Spanlards brought horses
to their land. But this is not his
tory and we have no proof of their
life previous to their being found liv-
ing on the plains west of the Mis-
souri, State line. Their language and
tone of voice would suggest their
Resemblance from the tribes along
the Columbia river in Oregon, and
are entirely foreign to the voice and
language of the tribes east of the
Rocky Mountains.
The year 1884 found the wichitas
that were located in Kansas very
prosperous and happy. Buffalo were
more plentiful-they covered the
prairies in vast herds. They had
many well-trained ponies and dogs.
The women had cleared the ground
and planted vegetables, such as beans,
melons, squash and maise (Indian
CORN. Indeed. along the valley of
the Arkansas river the red men had
made themselves comfortably domes-
tic. Their houses were well-built
and roomy when compared with the
dwellings OF most OF the neighboring
tribes. They were built of strong
saplings and thatch of heavily-rooted,
broad-bladed grass. Doors were made
of buffalo hide. The floors and walls
were often covered with the same
warm robes, for the Indian knew
the process of curing the skins of
wild animals, making them soft and
durable.
Owaha. says a writer of that time,
chief of the Kansas Wichitas, was an
ideal prehistoric man of 5000 years
ago. He was not a bad fellow by
any means. With opportunities he
might have made fine statesman,
for he was keen-witted and of fairly
good judgment. and held his people
together In peace with other tribes.
The greater number of Wichitas at
that time were living peaoeably at
the Wichita agency in the Indian
Territory. and braves from the two
Wichita settlements often visited each
Otner. Wnen tne civil war DIoke
out the .Wichitas, with many other
loyal tribes, had been driven out OF
the territory to the friendly soil of
Kansas. and there had found relief
through the friendly Usage Indians
who owned most of the extreme
Southern part of Kansas. The Osages
granted a portion of their holdings
to their stricken brothers to hunt
!. over The buffalo being SO plentiful.
the streams so full of fish. the prairies
SO abundant with quail, prairie chick
ems, wild turkies and rabbits, that the
Wichitas found plenty to keep them
from want. But their homes had
been destroyed, their horses stolen
and their lands invaded by the en-
envy, and owing to these hardships
many of them became discouraged
and died. But those who remained
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

dwelt. and to live with her till his
cruel and unjust term of imprison-
ment was over. But this Bonita
could not do. She wanted to remain
In their little cottage. keeping watch
over all that was dear to them. And
above all, she wanted to be where
she might visit once a week her
father, and carry love and words of
hope to him behind the cold prison
bars.
So Bonita sat watching through
dimmed eyes the fading day. her heart
too heavy for words. Suddenly from
out the corner of the room a huge
spider crept, weaving a web into the
lattice of the window near by. Bonita
started and was about to scream, for
she feared spiders. particularly such
large ones. But before she could
utter a word, a small white form fit
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

huge insect that was still busily weav-
ing his web in the latticed easement
at the window. THE three of us will
rescue your father"
when shah we do SOP" asked
Bonita. drying her eyes. She felt the
fairy would do as she promised.
Wen begin tonight. my child. Are
you allowed to visit your father In his
prison ?"
Eyes. once a week I may go there
in company with the jailer and speak
with him through the bars. But as
he Just went to the prison this morn
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23
.%s@4

~ ONITA was very, very miserable.
- Her good father, who loved her
81 IS SO dearly and who was beloved
~ by her in return. had been
thrown into prison on false charge.
He was wholly innocent. as Bonita
knew. But how could the poor father
prove his innocence? And how could
Bonita-only ten years oid-prove his
innocence2 Wicked men, In order 10
get hold of a piece of property belong
ing to Bonita's fathers had concocted
wicked scheme by which they might
put poor, honest Andris (Bonita's
father) In prison for a long term of
years and in the meantiml rob him
of the coveted property.
Bonita's mother had been dead
more than two years, and the little
girl and her sad-hearted father had
grown more and more attached to
each other in their common grief over
tho loss of the wife and mother. And
Andris tried to be both mother and
father to his little Bonita, and Bonita
tried to take her mothers place in the
pretty white-washed cottage whose
windows overlooked the placid blue
bay. OF evenings Bonita laid the
table and prepared the bread, cheese
and eggs for her fathers supper. She
always placed a silver bowl of flowers
on the table, just as her mother had
been wont to do.
But there came an evening when
Bonita did not spread the supper
table, and when she did not gather
flowers from the garden to fill the
silver bowl Her heart was too heavy
to think of anything but the wrong
done her dear father. He had sud
denly been tried, convicted and
thrown into prison.
AS Bonita sat watching the suns
last rays falling into the blue bay her
tears fell one by one. bitter, bitter
tears. What should she do through
the long days and silent nights with
out her father? He. poor man, had
begged her to go over the mountain
to the north to where hi1 mother
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23
! Our Puzzle Corner *

Is enjoyed by all children.
8. Human hearts may be hard as
stone.
4. The good man gathers friends
about him.
s. 1t is not always easy TO say no.
6. Damp shady hooks are often coy-
cred with moss.
ADDITIONS.
1. Add the letter d TO sphere
and get a scarcity of anything.
2. Add the letter ID to a place
whore water is obtained and get to
reside.
3. Add the letter r TO something
frozen and get a grain used for food.
a. Add tho letter to the cry OF an
owl and get to fire gun.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-06-23

And when he reached his happy home
Without fish to fry,
His mother gave him. smoking hot,
A big IN cherry pie.