The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-08-13
Ny Fairy
Godmother
She Gave Me Three
Riddles.
By F. A. mitchell


Having tried various ways Of spend
ing the month I put aside each year
for an outing. and tired Of them all, I
was casting about for some new meth
Cd when l saw an advertisement of a
cabin situated on an island on the
coast Of Maine. The price was 10 ret
sonable that it attracted my attention.
I entered into correspondence with the
owner and engaged 1t.
My reason for doing 80 was that l
met 80 many people at home that l de-
sired to 60 where I would see 10 one
All day long l was bounded by per.
Sons eager to get q word with me to
sell me something. and in the evening
l was engaged In various social mat
tiers. A cabin hidden In q wood with
a view Of the ocean appealed to me.
To lie at night listening to the break
ers on the beach was a pleasing fancy.
found the location what l had
dreamed It. The cabin was we'll
enough. but the furnishings were ex-
ecrable. A cheap bedstead. a rickety
bureau. a table on which to eat. q cook
stove and a lot Of cheap dishes CON-
pleted the furnishings. There was no
other abode rear me-. but scattered
about were summer cottages. some of
which were fairly %pretentious. I saw
no reason why I should be troubled by
the inmates of any Of them so long as
I let them alone. which I proposed
to do.
I had spent a week with only my.
self for company when one day. after
q long tramp. on returning to my cab
In l stood on the threshold astonished
at a Transformation Of the interior.
Disorder had been accommodating ever
since my arrival: the bed had never
been made: the dishes had not been
washed. There were enough of the
latter to last one person a week with
out being used more than once. and
had about finished the lot. I found on
my return the bed made. the dishes
washed. the cooking utensils secured
and hanging spick and span on the
shelves
I felt myself to \" the hero Of q fairy
story and almost expected to see a lit.
tie old woman drop down the chimney
and stand upon the hearth.
Several days passed. during which
disorder was again looming up about
mo uhop oftor q n ohcop.o ro<,,rpod
to find all set to rights. as before. Still
not finding any clew, I wrote on a
piece Of cardboard q message and
pinned 1t up against the wall for my
next absence:
Fairy Godmother-Thank you very much
for your attention. ! need only one thing.
VIII you give 1t to me? II so, leave word
when next you come and I will make 1t
known.
! went away again very soon, and
when I returned beneath what l had
written were penciled in letters ap-
parently in the hand of an old person
the following:
Your single wish Is granted: name 1t.
Before going away again l wrote:
Some one to love-me.
The answer to this was:
Love is not singular: it is plural.
l found on the rude mantel of my
cabin a skein Of fine thread, tangled.
and pinned to it the words:
Unravel this and you shall have your
wish.
This fairy business was not crafty
Ing my curiosity. l spent no time try
ing to unravel the thread, but spent
considerable thought in laying a plan
to find out who was my fairy god
mother. l did not doubt that it was
some girl from one Of the cottages
possibly several girls who were deriv.
ing a lot Of amusement in playing
fairy. The only plan l could think Of
was to so away early in the day and
hide near by. This l did There was
. dense thicket a short distance from
my cabin. and one morning. having
breakfasted at 3 o'clock, taking q book.
pipe and tobacco and q lunch. I went
into the thicket prepared to wait and
watch.
About II O'Clock in the morning l
heard q child's voice calling, Hes
gonev peeped through an opening
and saw a girl about ten years old
neal the cabin b~eckoning to some one
! could not see. Presently l saw a
gin Of perhaps twenty concealed from
the hut by q tree, but visible to me,
evidently fearful Of advancing. But
the child ran into the cabin and out
again, beckoned eagerly. and the young
woman timidly left her hiding place
and went into the cabin.
Now I did not propose to give away
the advantage I held BY cornering my
fairy godmother. I waited till she had
left the cabin. then stole cautiously
after her. my object being to locate
her home. I followed her and her COM
panion for two miles and saw her 60
into q cottage situated on q bluff over
looking the ocean. Then l returned to
my habitation to see what was her
last message.
l had left the tangled skein on the
table and near It n sheet Of writing pa-