Grand Forks daily herald., 1914-09-07
Little Bedtime Stories
FARMER BROWNS BOY FORGETS
HIS LUNCH.

Farmer Browns boy has nimble fin
gers. They fairly flew as he picked the
luscious big blueberries up in the Old
Pasture. Not one did he put in his
mouth, se-well-because he
knew that if he put one in he would
put two in, and if he put two in he
would put three in. In short, he knew
that if he once tasted them he would
fill his stomach before he did his pail,
and that wasn't what he had come for.
So he shut his mouth firmly and
thought of that berry pie his mother
had promised him. Thinking of that
pie and how good it would taste made
it easier not to think of the berries
themselves. And all the time he pick
and picked as fast as ever he could,
and little by little the pail filled.
When I've got it full and heaping
UP III eat my lunch and then I'll eat
all the berries I want before ] GO
home thought he.
At last the pail was FULL heaping
full. He gave a long sigh of satisfac-
tion and pride as he carefully sat it
down In the shade of a big bush. Then
he took the lunch he had brought with
him and started for a certain spring
of clear, bubbling, cold water, of
which he knew and which was not far
| away. When he reached ii he opened
the paper in which his lunch was
wrapped and took out two thick sand
wiches. He put these on flat stone
close by the spring Then he stretched
himself fiat on the ground and plung-
ed his hot face in the cool water while
he drank and drank.
He had Just lifted his dripping face
for breath when he heard.a noise back
where he had left that pail of berries
1t sounded as if some big animal was
over there, Now, there We're some
young cattle which had been turned
into the Old Pasture to spend the sum-
mer there, and right away he guessed
that one of the had wandered over
where he had left his berries.
K ut would be just my luck to have
one of the stupid things upset that
pail of berries guess l better go
look after Them he muttered. Now
Farmer Browns Boy believes in doing
thing when you first think of it. So
he didn't wait to take so much as a
bit of one of those thick sandwiches,
but started to look after his precious
berries He had worked too hard to
get them to take any chances: Of los
ing them.
Now it just happened that that
very day when Buster Bear and
Farmer Browns Boy had decided to
go berrying in the Old Pasture some
one else had decided to have look
around up there. 1t was Old Man
Coyote. He had been promising him
self for some time that he would run
up there and see if he couldn't sur
prise old Jed Thumper, the big gray
Rabbit, who, you know, was the faith
er of little Mrs. Peter Rabbit. But old
Jed Thumper was not to he surpris-
ed. Old Man Coyote hunted a long
time before he found old Jed Thump-
er, and then he was safe in his bull
brier castle. Hot, tired, and disap-
pointed Old Man Coyote decided he
must have a drink and headed for the
very spring here Farmer Browns Boy
had planned to eat his lunch. He got
there just in time to see Farmer
Browns Boy disappearing among the
bushes on his way to look after his
berries.
Now Old Man Coyote has a very
wonderful nose, and it told him right
away that there was something good
to eat there. He first made sure that
Farmer Browns Boy really had gone.
Then he followed that wonderful nose
Of his straight to the fiat stone where
Farmer Browns Boy had, left his
lunch. Old Man Coyotes eyes glisten-
ed as he saw the two thick sandwich
es. Almost before you could say Jack
Robinson" he had bolted them down,
not leaving so much as crumb. Then
as noiselessly as he had come he dis
appeared, licking his chops and grin
ming wickedly.
II guess said Old Man Coyote to
himself that Farmer Browns Boy
is going to be surprised"