davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Little Storie
& Bedtime
The First Lesson in Swimming.
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS.
Copyright. 1918. BY J. q. LioydD

One morning Peter Rabbit was a litfla
late in getting over to the home Of
Little Joe otter. When he got the:s
there was not a sign Of the two brown
Otter children at the doorway of their
home, between the roots of the big
tree. 1T must be-" thought Peter.
that they have gone of hunting.
wonder il l can find them if look for
them"
just then his ears caught the sound
of a splash in the Laughing Brook.
Very, very carefully Peter crept over
where he could see what was going on.
Such a funny sight as il was There
in the water were Little Joe and Mrs.
Joe diving and swimming. and splash
ing. as only theS can. On the bank
We're the two otter children. watching
with their eyes round with wonder,
and great longing. At the same time
ii was very clear to Peter that those
two youngsters were afraid of the
water. Little Joe and Mrs. Joe kept
calling TO them to come in, But they
wouldn't. No, sir, they wouldn't more
than wet their feet Mrs. Joe swan
them as only mother can. IL was of
no use. All the coaxing in the world
couldn't overcome their fear of the
water Then she pretended to be very
angry, and she ordered them to follow
her They whimpered and cried, but
not one step into the water would they
go. Then she tried making fun Of
them. but she was no more successful
than before.
They We're afraid. Yes. sir. they were
afraid. There was no doubt about il.
Peter doesn't like the water himself,
but when he has to. he can swim. He
couldn't remember ever having been
as much afraid of the water as those
two otter children. not even when he
was a very little fellow. And that
seemed funny too. In fact, Peter
couldn't understand il at all. Here
were two babies whose father ana
mother were the best swimmers in the
world. and yet they couldn't get their
own children into the water
Finally, after great deal of coax
ing. Mrs. Otter got one of them to ride
same thing with the other For a Ions
time they swan around and around.
and had beautiful time. The babies
liked this. You see they felt perfectly
safe. and il was great fun TO he
carried about. here, there and every
where. Then without the least
bit of awrning Little Joe and Mrs.
Joe dived. Now, of course, when they
did this it carried the two ha bies right
under water they let go and came tn
the top. My. mys my. what fright
ened pair they were. They blew the
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Jane Is Grief-Stricken.

lane. too is all broken up with grief,
combined with self-reproach. and
have had to divide my efforts at COM
forting between her and Margery. 1t
wasn't really carelessness al all, but /
have been unable TO convince her of
that fact She had taken milk to the
calf at noon, and. finding the pail of
water which is kept in the, lot had
been upset. went to fill it. As she in
tended going right back. she didn't
bother to faSten tb@ gate. I know this
was very natural thing TO do because
] have done ii myself. and I'm Il good
deal of q crank on the question of
keeping gates shut and fastened.
Before she could get back with the
pail of water. however. she remem-
bered she had bread baking in
the oven. and when she went to look at
II She found it burning. The bread at
tended to. she started again for the
calf lot. but. luck would have it, at
that moment n"iEhbor from whom
she had engaged setting of duck eggs
came into the yard bringing them.
Jane had to go INTO the house and get
money to par for the eggs, and. oein,
two women together. considerable talk
Ing. of course. was required for clos
ing up the transaction suppose
there also was some neighhorhnod Cos
sip TO be compared and possibly some
cooking receipts to be exchanged Jane
isn't certain just hoW long the neigh
Dor stayed npr how soon after she left
IL was she thought again of the calf
When she found "Tippy'' in the garden
eating green corn she was so excited
she had no thought OF time.
Evening star., 1915-05-15
HEARD AND SEEN HERE AND THERE.
By Earl Goodwin.

Peck, captain of No. ! precinct, and
got three-dollar rebate on his fine.
Perhaps if he went to see Judge Jim
Pugh he might get it all back-and yet
again Judge James might add twelve
just for fun.
Friday-Terriflc howl from police
again. Owner leaves his car in front
of 5ewelry store too long, and Jap
anese embass ssy car had to back in. In
ternational complications averted by
showing me out of the way. Owner
drives home young woman from Opium
Pipe. She asked owner if it was not
very hard to write something bright
each week. Owner said Il don't know.
Never tried IT.
Saturday-Owner hired a man to oil
me every day. He asked the man If
he had given me all the necessary
iubrication tab1 , to which the he abysmal
how much you wanted put in each
oil hole" Another friend with a
kind face and a gabby tongue ap-
preached owner today with this:
Where did you get money to buy
car" My owner replied Il got my start
in life as newspaper reporter, and
made considerable money attending to
my own affairs. You ought to try it.
Owner had lunch today with Ray Pull
police. Crossing the Avenue at 14th
street, owner said: Ray, there's one of
your cops. He arrested me-" Ray did not
even bat an eyelid as he replied. Yes.
that is a very good policeman. He
arrests two or three of my friends
every week"
Battling Nelson says that the woman
who does the washing for his family
Evening star., 1915-05-15
TAKING A FAMILY
BACK TO IHb SOIL
Being the Experiences of Gov
ernment Clerk Who Sets Out
to Lower the High Cost of
Living.

Fatalities to chickens and rabbits. the
enforced departure of old BILL. our
first horse. and other mishaps to our
possessions have caused passing grief
and sorrow at sunny Knoll, but never
has there prevailed such desolation as
the past week has known. '"rippe-
rary.' the calf. is dead.
Jane left the gate to the feed lot
open and ''Tippy" got out and into the
garden. The tender young corn and
other succulent things she found there
made feast that appealed nightly to
her catfish palate. but they were too
much for her infantile digestion. Her
little "tummy" swelled up like 4 toy
balloon. She went moaning and crying
to her mother tJane says she actually
did moan and cry). but all the mother
could do was to moo in sympathy and
caress her offspring with her tongue.
When / got home from the Office Mon
day evening l found the weeping fam
lily gathered around the little sufferer.
The relief with which my advent was
hailed. the certainty that | would do
something to save the situation made
all the harder what | saw at once l
had to do.
Evening star., 1915-05-15

rife lot of joshing to stand. They josh
him because he comes from MasSa chu
setts; they josh him because he wears
spats; they josh him because of his
42-centimeter policy on army. navy,
guns and ammunition-and yet he
seems to bear up remarkably well un-
der it all One of the leading joshers
of the House is Representative Tag
CART of Kansas. Tall, lank, iron-gray,
and bearing the unmista kable marks of
the natural born farmer-lawyer-ph
losopher, Taggart's inscrutable coun-
tenance has playing upon 1t at all times
the suggestion of a smile that means
either pleasantly or irony-you can't
tell which.
1t was one day in the session just
mast that Gardner, with that voice of
his which sounds like the splitting OF
a twelve-inch oak plank, was making
the air vince under his lashinss on the
governments navy and army pohcy
Taggart was sitting in Il front row, and
not interested in the least. After the
speech was over. Gardner went 1nto
the lobby, and Taggart followed him.
Gus he said. with the Kansas voice
that denotes the dryest but Wittiest OF
wit, "why do you want so many guns
to defend this country? Or is it to de-
fend Boston? Don't worry about Bos-
ton-no one wants to take Boston. I ou
can't get anywhere from Boston Bos-
ton was captured once-by Lord Howe
in the revolutionary war; and he got
out of it just as quick as he could
when he found out what 1t was
Evening star., 1915-05-15

owner back in Washington. Understand
my chauffeur is to leave me. He is the
handsomest man I ever saw. Blond and
with jaw or iron.
Wednesday, am arrested. Coming
up l4th street northwest on the wrong
side, cop at Pennsylvania avenue stop
ped me Climbed in and had owner
drive ME to the police station Think It
pretty tough that ! not only have to
suffer disgrace from owner being ar
rested, but have to act as patrol wagon.
No wonder cops grow fat. At station
house owner leaves IS. after sympathe-
tic desk sergeant ADVISES owner 70
nhone Raw Pullman Owner spent even
ing telephoning vainly for Pullman or
Commissioner Brownlow. but realizes
he has no chance to get his IS back
after hearing that Joe Tumulty had to
pay fine for his chauffeur.
Thursday-Owper went to see Charlie
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Medicine of No Avail.

Jim told me of the calamity when he
met me at the station. and l stopped at
lovetts store and got some medicine.
but it was in view more to saving my
own face than in hope of saving the
calf. ] didn't believe there would be
anything to do but put ii out of misery
as pa'nleSsly as possible. Sight of the
bloated little body confirmed this belief.
but ] gave il a dose of medicine and
sent Jim to call Mr.. Brown into con-
sultation. 7 wanted his moral support.
He agreed with me there was but one
thing to do. and that in all merciful-
ness II should be done at once. | broke
the news to Jane, and she got Margery
aWay-out of sight and out of hearing.
| felt like a murderer when l pulled
the trigger. There are times when
sympathy cries out in protest against
the mandates of cold reasoning. My
Evening star., 1915-05-15

the two women tried several remedies
but whatever they were they did no
good When Jim started to the station
10 meet me Jane instructed him to get
me home fast the horse could
travel, and he did. But too much time
had elapsed. possibly. for the medicine
J. bought TO be effective. Mr.. Brown
chance in any event to save founder
ed calf older Than this one was.
He couldn't recall. in fact. that he
ever knew young calf TO be foun-
dered. Capt. Russell, at the office, was
inclined TO doubt whether the calf had
been foundered at all, and suggested
that she might have eaten poison ivy.
This doesn't seem a tenable theory. for
thew 10 no poison ivy nearer than the
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Attracted by Cows Mooing.

Jane got the calf back into its lot,
and, as IL showed no i'll effects from
Its giuttony. she went back to the
house and TO her household duties. II
was an hour-perhaps two bours-later
that her attention was attracted by
the moong of the cow. The calf al
ready had begun to swell and was al
most too weak to sta nd. IL had gotten
as near its mother AS il could and the
COW had her head over the low fence
and was cares sslug it
lane didn't know what 10 do She
took Margery and went across the field
10 get Mr.. Brown. but he was not at
home then. Mrs Brown came over and
Evening star., 1915-05-15

You never thought times would be so
hard as to dump pet ostriches on the
market at 10 per cent of their real
value? Sealskin coats and high-pow-
cred motor cars have been sacrificed
and all that, but who would have
thought that we Washingtonians could
purchase nice pet ostriches to follow
us down street for the mere price OF
a household cat? Speak up. friends.
Any one who wants a fine little ostrich
with an eight foot neck and a pair of
legs that would hold up the Aqueduct
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Want Garden and Chickens.

They want a piece Of ground big
enough for garden and small
house and run for chickens. I sup
pose in some way it would be managed
that I furnished the chicken feed. but
l wouldn't begrudge that. If they
wanted to keep only dozen or 90
hens. Custis, / imagine. is somewhere
between fifty and sixty years old, and
his wife possibly few years younger.
But they both are in good health, and
we know they are good workers Their
their several ways, and Lee and his
wife say they want a home where they
know they 'afn't gwan be disturbed"
They have been living on rented
place of three or four acres, but the
land was so poor it produced hardly
enough to feed Lees two mules. Now.
as a last straw. the roof of the cabin
is leaking, and the owner will not even
furnish material for Lee to put on a
new one.
The mules are problem that would
have to be solved. Lee has q down.
right brotherly affection for them and
doesn't want to part with them. Be
sides, their days of usefulness are SO
nearly over he couldn't sell them for
much more than their hides and bones
them along and let them work out
their board. but I'm not certain they
would make very profitable boarders.
We have one good horse now, and while
we probably would need another one,
I'm afraid neither of Lees mules. nor
both of them put together, would quite
fill the bill.
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Two Sources of Comfort.

At times, when the pace gets me
ratified, however. there are two sources
from which l derive comfort and cour-
age. One is James calm assurance
that all is we'll. that the road is wide
and clear. and the machine will not
break down. The other is William
Frederick Brown, my neighbor and ad-
wiser. guide. philosopher and friend
He is a born farmer, and an educated
one-self-educated, it is true, but none
the less learned in the lore of the soil
He approves of what we have done and
what we are planning to do, and says
we are going to win.
1t is TOO much to hope that / ever can
discharge the debt of gratitude ] owe
him, but at least l can pay tribute to
one of the truest gentlemen it evel
has been my fortune to know: a mod
est quiet, unassuming man, who tolls
hare and honestly six days week, anG
on the seventh day stands up before
his felloWmen and testifies to the faitf
that is in him. l am not, myself, q
Christians. but no man can know viii
liam Frederick Brown without having
a profounder respect for Christianity
E S. NJ
Evening star., 1915-05-15

LITTLE JOE AND MRS. JOE KEPT
CALLING TO THEM TO COME IN,
water out of their noses, and both be-
gan to whimper and cry But at the
same time both began to paddle as faft
as ever they could.
Little Joe and Mrs. Joe popped their
round brown heads out of water and
swan just ahead OF the two babies. The
two b. bes did their very best to get on
the backs of Little Joe and Mrs. Joe. but
the latter kept just out OF their reach.
Then one Of the babies stopped crying:
He had discovered something he had
discovered that he was swimming ana
that swimming was really great run.
Somehow that water didn't seem so
dreadful any more. Then the other
discovered the same thing. They had
had their first swimming lesson and
had found that mother and father were
right after all-the water wouldn't hurt
them When at last they scrambled
on the shore and shook the water from
their little brown coats their eyes were
shining with pride and excitement
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Not So Mad as All That.

From the Boston Transcript
Il never saw a woman SO mad. In her
rage she stamped up and down the room" :"
.And tore her hair, l suppose"
Mercy, no it cost too much"
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Both Garrulous.

From the Boston Transcript.
Here's a writer says that it's the rich
and the aristocratic who are the worst
gossips and scandal spreaders."
"On the principle, perhaps. that money
talks and blood will tell
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Why Store Clerks Go Dippy.

From the Boston Transcript
First Shopper-It's so hard to find just
what you want.
Second Shopper-Yes, especially when
you don't know what it is.
Evening star., 1915-05-15
His Preference,

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
The Woman-Td rather live on bread
and water than on charity.
The Tramp-Yest mum; there's no
accountin' fer taste.
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Proving an Axiom

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
silence is golden, for haven't fortunes
been made out of stills?
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Ave. There's the Rub.

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Whats the hardest part of your
new job, Blinks?"
"Holding it" --------
Evening star., 1915-05-15
KINDERGARTEN AND
MONTESSORI.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

Another ray in the dawn of the new
internationalism is seen by many edu-
Gators in the transfer Of the Third In
ternational Montessori Teachers Train
ing School from Italy to this country.
It opened in Los Angeles May /. its dis
tinguished founder having arrived a
few days before. The session will con-
tinue four months and while, because
Of the unsettled conditions in Europe,
the number of foreign students is small
compared with the attendance at the
two previous sessions held in Rome. 1t
will give DR.. Montessori an opportu-
nifty to demonstrate her remarkable
educational discoveries in the country
which is best fitted to put them into
effect. DR.. Montessori believes as did
Froebel, the founder of the kindergar
ten, that the democratic influences of
our great republic are better adapted to
the development of true educational
ideals than are the monarchial coun-
tries of Europe
Advantage has been taken of DR.
Montessoris presence in this country
to secure her representation upon the
program of the international kinder
garten congress, to be held in San
Francisco, in August, in conjunction
with the international congress on
educa ton under the auspices of the Ma
that this recognition of DR.. Montes-
SORTS work by the kindergartners of
this country will go far toward bring
ing about a better understanding of
these two great developments in child
culture.
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Proposition Looks Attractive.

The proposition looks mighty attrae-
tive 70 me The market is right at my
door, and no doubt would be perma-
nent / know ! would get square treat
rneut and could have my money every
week. or every day. if | wanted IT. More
important vet keeping that many cows
and feeding the skim milk to pigs and
chickens. practically everything that
came from the land would go back TO
il. and ] soon would have my farm in a
high state Of fertility.
In the beginning I would use the
stump land for pasture, but gradually
/ would get it ali under cultivation
and would practice "soiiing." Just
why they call it that | never have been
able TO figure out. II means simply
keeping your cows confined all the
year round and growing feed for them
instead Of letting them run on pasture.
1t is coming more aDd more to be
practiced by dairyrien who operate on
small acreage, and especially Where
| land is high in price. BY soiiing, IL
lis claimed. twice az many cows can
be kept on a given acreage where
they are paStured.
Generally, several different kinds OF
green stuff. grasses and rape and the
like are cut and fed during the spring
and summer, and silage and root crops,
such as mangels and rutabagas, are
depended on for succulent winter feed.
! could grow enough corn to Justliy
the erection of a small silo, and II l
could get a stand of two or three acres
of alfalfa | wouldn't have to buy much
roughage for half dozen cows. The
concentrates, such as mill feed and cot
ton seed and other meals, | would nave
to buy of course, but good part OF
their cost ! would get back in manure
Cotton seed meal itself is one of the
best fertilizers known, and tests con-
Quoted at experiment stations nave
demonstrated that 1t is Just as Falua pie
as a fertilizer when fed to cattle as
when applied in its natural state, ana
il ranks high in feeding value. both Tor
dairy cows and for beef cattle.
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Sorry for Him.

From the Boston Transcript.
John, there's a burglar in the house" :"
poor fellow; it's hard to work for
nothing"
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Balm.

From the Boston Transcript.
"She was completely prostrated and
made very i'll by his perfidy."
did she recover?'
"Yes. 5000"
Evening star., 1915-05-15
The Idea I!

From the Boston Transcript.
He-Do you know I've called full q
dozen times and not found you in.
She-Nor will you ever find me in II
you call in that condition.
Evening star., 1915-05-15
Lee Has One Weakness.

Men who are familiar with conditions
of farm employment out here tell me
the proposition is fair one, and those
who know Custic assure me he is
thoroughly dependable six days in a
week. He likes to go to town Satur-
day night, but heNalways sleeps it off,
Sunday and is ready for work Monday
morning. This would not be a serious
interference with ordinary farm labor.
but cows have to be fed and milked
Sundays as well as other days. How
ever, / am home Sundays to look after
things, and Mandy, Lees wife, declares
she can milk just as well as her "ole
man" can, and says she Is willing to
take his place. Custis, ] am told, is
never quarrelsome or troublesome, and
never drinks except Saturday nights.
He hasn't failed in twenty years, Man
dy says. to get the last car home, and
is always able to navigate. All things
considered. therefore. I don't think l
would allow this weekly lapse from
the straight and narrow path to inter
fere with the arrangement. provided it
seemed desirable in other respects.
The thing that makes me uneasy is
that we seem to have acquired so much
momentum in our agricultural expert
ment that ] can't be quite certain where
we are going to stop. My experience
and farm knowledge arc not sufficient
to make me feel sure of myself. and I
can't help being afraid that there may
be breakers ahead
Evening star., 1915-05-15

sympathies.- am not ashamed to say.
We're deeply stirred: partly because of
the calf. but more on account of Mar
gerry. Her heart was almost brok en-.
She sobbed herself to sleep that night:
and she is unable yet to see how there
ever again can be any JOY in life.
Evening star., 1915-05-15

them, and they would board them
selves, except that l would be expect
ed each fall at hog-killing time to sup
ply them with enough fat back to
run them through the year. They don't
ask any hams or bacon. but 1 imagine
they would get in on the sausage and
other things when the pork was fresh.
They would be welcome to the
chitlings
Evening star., 1915-05-15

1t doesn't matter a great deal that
can see what killed the calf. The fact
that "Tipperary is dead overshadows
any why or wherefore. l don't know
how we will ever reconcile Margery to
buy her the pony she has been want
ing.
One of the neighbors / ride with on
the calf before I buried it. l don't
think I'll ever like that man again.
Though the death of the calf has put
a good deal of II damper on our enthu
slasm. for the time at least, we have
been going ahead with plans for i'm
provement of our additional ten acres
of land. Careful study of the subject
and consultation with experienced men
have about led me to belief l may not
have TO wait SO long as l had feared
before getting return on the invest
ment.
Almost without exception the farmers
| nave consulted advise that, working
In the city as | do. l will have to have
man on the place regularly If l am
to make it pay. With only eight acres
of land there wasn't enough work, un-
less | went into truck gardening, to
Justify hiring regular help. But with
eighteen acres of land, the proposition
is an entirely different one. 1t would
pay me, am assured, to hire a man by
the year. When there was no work In
the garden or fields to do, he could be
clearing off scrub brush, cutting wood
and getting out posts and building
fence. With man to do the feeding
and milking II would be practical to
keep several cows, and we could en-
large our chicken plant much more
rapidly if assured of man always on
hand to do the rough work
Evening star., 1915-05-15

Is the mother of two small dark twins.
Mrs. Nelson was very much interested
in the washerwoman. and asked how it
was she could leave the twins at home
and go out all day doing other folks
laundry.
We'll, you see. missile said the
washerw oman "Ah jes puts dis yer
black jack merlasses on their hands and
then All gives 'em each a feather; and
they ies' stays lax dat all day long
tryin' to get dat feather often their
hands,
why employ nurse at all, when a
feather is good,
Representative A. P. Gardner. who is
called "Gussie" Gardner right to his
face by his best friends regardless OF
the fact that he is physical counter
part of young Jess Willard, has ter