Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-05-04
About a Good
Natured Baby

OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Eyes, ma'am, I'm taking care of
the baby. Mothers working out, ia
Their has job just now and my old
est sister is married and has kids of
her own. Oh, yes, I've got brother
but boys amt no good for taking care
of babies.
week before last, when I was aw-
full sick, mother she let my brother
Sam take care of Nora-Nora is the
baby's name, ma am-and he hid her
in doorway of house near the
tracks while he went off swimming.
No one would have found it out, nei-
Their, for the baby she didn't mind
she likes to be one place just as we'll
as in another-only Sam he had such
a good time swimming that he for
got the baby and came home without
her. Ma was unreasonably mad. She
said he was too old to forget thing
like that and she boxed his ears and
sent him kiting back after Nora.
The baby was right there where he
had left her, having too much sense
to crawl away. Them little things
have more sense than us older folks
thinks. She knowed very we'll,
guess, that If she crawled off and got
lost she couldn't tell her name or
whose kid she was, so she went right
. to sleep.
Sam didn't give her no candy, Ell
ther, him being that stingy he just
always spends his penny all on him.
self. allus buy licorice drops, fer
you kin get more licorice drops than
you kin anything else for cent, and
then I kin always give the baby
couple. You don't think they're very
good for the baby, ma'am? Well,
you don't know our baby; she can
stand anything. Sometimes she does
get little sick, but so do pa and
ma, for the matter of that, and the
baby she gets over it quicker.
"Goodnatured? Well, guess she
is.f When I dropped her out of my
arms wunst, account of Sans trip
ping me up, and she fell down the
Sstairs she laughed all the way down.
She did cry little on the last step,
but that was only cause she didn't
want us to play no tricks like that on
her again. Yes, I was scared some,
thinking she might hurt her little
head but there was carpet on the
stair most the way down, and babies
don't get hurt so much as older peo-
pie, their bones being softer.
"My sister Sadie, her that married
he plumber an lives in a steam
heated fat, gives herself airs on &C
q count Of being so rich. She reads
all them newspaper articles on ba-
bies and cuts 'em out to show 'em to
ma. An Sadie is that particular with
her baby you would think she was
made Of wax instid of bones and
flesh, like folks. Brother Sam says
you can't have no fun with her at
all, like you can with Nora. For
wunst when he throwed Sadie's baby
up in the air to see if he could ketch
her again, Sadie's husband give him a
worser lickin' than pa ever did, and
that's goin' some!
zone day when Sadie brung her
baby to the house to see ma, she
sent me around to the playground
with it. Her baby went to cryin' and
I gave 1t licorice drop-the last one
had, too, me saving it for myself
and when Sadie found it out after
ward. she was so mad she slapped
my face. That's all the thanks I
got for it. My pa, when he came
home that night, he took my part and
he give me another penny, which
made two that week, so wasn't out
none after all.
Wouldn't rather play with 9TH
er girls than mind the baby? Well,
guess not Not me! miss the
baby too much. She's more fun than
any doll you kin buy. She's more
real, for one thing and then she lasts
longer, not always coming apart like
them 10-cent dolls does.
"Oh, no, ma'am, she don't walk yet;
her not bein' old enough But she
will soon. I'm learnin' her now. How
do I do it? / hold her hand for
while and then I let go when she
amt expectin' it. If she falls pick
her up and if she don't fall give her
a chew of my licorice drop, an bein'
smart and KNOWN what's comm, she
does her level best to hold herself
straight. 1t might hurt her? Don't
you ever believe It! Fer if she was
going to get hurt she would have
been hurt long ago. She amt that
kind of baby
THANK you, ma'am, for the two
pennies. If you'll mind the baby for
a second for me I'll run and buy
lynne licorice drops and let you have
one of them, so you can see for
yourself what they taste like"