The Washington herald., 1913-07-20
/, NJ FRANCES sHAFFER.


At first sight. he Is a very bad little
boy. the little story-boy Of Mary Heston
vorse's fancy. And as she tells all about
him In Harper's Bazaar. she pictures .
small lad who. at the start. 10 the image
Of guilt, yet who manages TO sit ~ Q
tiny. but very righteous. Judge upon
parents who DO not understand.
Told at second hand. win 1t be Of In
terest, l wonder?
He Is q very small person, not yet out
of the tunic period. with fearless blue
eyes, bare. sturdy brown legs-not yet
six years old.
II was q summer morning and things
went avry from the very moment that
he tumbled out from the wrong side OF
bed to his last fatal conflict with the
cook. All flushed and hurried. he had
rushed into the kitchen. and In his
scurrying. helter-skelter way had knocked
straight against the mistress OF that do
main. from which he had been warned
times without number. And that was
not all, for she happened to be deep In
the mysteries of a company cake when
the energetic little cyclone struck her.
OF course, something dreadful hap
pened. for dish. cake mixture. cook. small
boy. and all were jumbled together for
awhile. And when the wreekage was
cleared away II seemed perfectly ap-
parent to the wrathful cook that the
little chap had showed her a-purpose %
And SO the tale. duly garnished and
with none of the lurid features softsned
at all. was carried to mother for judg-
ment.
And then the court began.
Bombarded with Questions.
The Judge, his mother. asked the little
culprit why he showed the cook. but he
did he come in the kitchen like a Wild
little thing from the woods and push %
fast and hard that the damage was done,
all in a minute? To which his only reply
was that he did not shove.
But why was he there at all when he
had been repeatedly told to keep away
when cooking was going on-didn't he re-
member? Yes, he remembered; and then
came silence.
After a minute or 10 a small, hesitant
voice announced that the hens were out
Of the yard, tearing around. scratching
things. and making a general distur bance.
But the judge would not be turned aside
in that foolish way and told him to for
get the hens and think Of his own short
comings. She questioned him more and
more, but not once yould he admit that
he had showed or pushed at all. and
whenever he found an opening he trailed
away to talk about the hens But the
judges greatest concern was with his
disobedience. his prevarication. and his
general attitude. and she would not let
him step aside.
OF course. the miserable little story was
recited from beginning to end. and the
big man, looking down at the flushed lit
tie face small body wriggling about and
one rebellious toe stubbing the rug at
his feet. thought he saw guilt, defiance,
and q few other things plainly written
there. The Judge told that he absolutely
refused to admit that he did anything
wrong. and the worst of all was that
their bad little boy would not tell the
truth.
So away he was taken by his father for
fitting punishment. all the while protest
ing that he had not done a thing.
Everybody Was Wrong.
bad little boy had been bundled of to
bed to dream of his sins, his father came
back to tell that the child had been
firm to the last. firm and angry, too. for
he dehantly declared that he hated
everybody and would not talk Of any
thing but the wandering hens.
And then-well. then II developed that
everybody had been wrong from start
to finish. everybody but the little fellow.
who had dehantly refused to admit his
guilt For he had been told by a neigh
Dor to hurry to the kitchen as fast as
his small legs could carry him and give
the warning that the hens. were out.
Naturally enough, he rushed like the
little boy whirlwind that he was and
naturally enough he came to grief with
the cook and her cake-but they would
not let him explain. At least, they would
not, could not. or did not, look through
his stumbling, boyish words to the truth
beyond. and they did not realize, as the
writer put 1t, that ''he had not been
In the country long enough to learn the
language" For six brief years is not
long enough to teach any little boy how
to explain away things that look sort
of dark-he has not words enough.
OF course. the bad little boy was taken
out Of bed and forgiven for the things
he s never did at all; but-and there's