Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-12-06
Johnny Decides
Right Road,
Best Road

| Johnny always knew which was the
right road! 1t was the one he didn't
like, the one that led to school
| Every morning since he could re-
member-except the Saturdays and
Sundays, Of course-he had come
along the lane which led from his own
back door, to where two roads ran
away from each other, just like big
fork with two prongs. One, the mar
row one. led down to the school house
and how we'll he knew it! The other
-ah! he had never had a chance to
walk down it. 1t was much nicer look
ing than the school road. The school
road was hard and smooth. Johnny
heard people with automobiles call it
beautiful road. But he preferred the
other, over which nice, soft green
grass grew on the sides of which flow
ers bloomed.
Well, one morning Johnny was lit
tie late for school, SO it came about
that he walked up the lane alone.
When he came to the two roads, he
stopped. The wrong road looked so
very nice. The grass was green, the
flowers were pretty, butterflies were
fitting from blossom to blossom, bees
were humming and buzzing after the
butterflies, a grasshopper was having
such a good time, and Johnny wished
there were no other road, and no
school, and-well, he even wished
there were no teacher.
He put out one little foot, the
wrong way!
Then he put out the other little foot,
also the wrong way. Only two steps,
IL he
Johnny drew a deep breath. 1t
was terrifying, but it was delightful,
too. He went on and on. Now he
would stop to gather flower. Again,
he would be tempted to chase blue
butterfly. And flower and butterfly
alike led him farther and farther away
from the right road the road to school,
and from doing what his mother GER
tainly thought he was doing.
Presently, his foot struck in deep.
deep hole, made by cows hoof. He
had hard work in pulling tt up. The
next moment the other foot was hard
and fast in another hole! And then
he saw that all the road was mud
black mud and nothing else. Before
he had floundered along much farther
he had both feet fast in the black,
soft mud.
But Johnny was a brave little boy.
He stood still for a minute, shutting
his eyes very fast and then opening
them, and wondered what he could do.
And then he knew, and did it!
He turned right round and began to
20 back the way he had come. 1t was
nard work His feet stuck fast In the
mud, and he had, at the last, to leave
one shoe behind himt
On and on Johnny struggled. At last
he came to where the two roads fork
ed, and once more the choice was his
to make.
He would go on to school. Mother
would be sorry enough to see him
looking as he looked without being
shocked by seeing him come home IN
the middle of the morning.
But was anything harder than going
into school? Every one looks at you,
when you're late, even if you have
both shoes.
However, teacher was better than he
felt he deserved. She did not say
much, and she spent recess in tidying
him up. More than that, when he
told her the truth. she sent big boy
after the missing shoe. So, after all,
r.other didn't have to be so terribly
shocked!
But it was a great comfort to tell her
all about it. He wished he had told
her how he wanted to see the wrong
road, for then she would have told
him that it led to the pigsty.
And Johnny learned two things that
morning. First, that it is better to
keep to the right road, for the wrong
one may take you to pigsty. Second
ly, that, if you find yourself on the
wrong road, the quicker you turn right
back, the better