The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-07-26
A TRUE FAIRY TALE

I "Once upon a time in country by |
the sea there lived a little girl. Her
father and mother were very poor,
and she had great many little sis
tiers and brothers,-amost as many
as Hop o. My Thumb. So this little
girl had great many duties to per-
form. She had to sweep rooms and
make beds and wash dishes and do a
great many things that she did not
like to do at all. But this little girl
was very rich in one way. She had
a loving father who not only loved
! his little ones, but loved flowers and
birds and all living creatures, and
moving clouds and blue skies and sun
sets and all the wonderful pictures
that Nature has given to her children
to bring comfort to their hearts. And
she had loving mother who taught
her to say her prayers and to love
the good God and to remember always
that it is better to be good than to
be happy.
Every night when she k1ett to say
her prayers she asked the good God
to make 1T possible that she might
| go out into the dig, wonderful. beau
tiful world and learn 70 give express
sion to the talent which was hers.
For moe than anything in the world
she wanted to be an artist.
The cay came when the children
were no longer little and money was
needed, so the girl put by all her
ambitions ana went out to earn her
livinb n waSs that she did not like,
just as ma ~ Of ~ :: 've to do some
times.
! And one day ;here came into the
store w.:le she vac working y very
lately lad. and on the counter be-
sides the books that me &: was in
charge O. there Ia, sheet Of paper,
and or this there was a picture that
the girl had Sketrked n one :: te'
idle moments. Nov happened that
this grea' lay had son ~ho was
an artist n d zig d:g, acc sns r,'ked
up the pie so1 asked the g;rI who
had drawn it, and when ire girl told
her, with bet''Hs heart, that - vas
her own work, the lady said:
''You have grea deal of talent
and it should be cultivated WcUjd
you like to be an artist ?" And the
girl did not reply, but her eyes filled
with tears, and that was her answer.
She did not see the lady for many
weeks, but every night she thought
Of her and sometimes she dreamed
of her, and one day her dream came
true, for the lady came into the store
where the girl stood behind her coun-
ter, very tired, and gave her a letter
to read, and in this letter the son who
was an artist in the big city, said
that if she wished to come and try
her fortune he would introduce her
to great artist and he would make
special arrangements with him to give
the girl lessons, provided she was
ambitious enough to want to make
her own way, and to sacrifice for her
art.
So at last it was arranged and the
girl kissed her brothers and sisters
goodbye, and was held close in the
arms of her mother, and had her
fathers blessing, and watched the fig
ures grow DINNER and DINNER
and DINNER through fast falling
tears, and then settled back numbly,
trying to realize that she was really
going out into the great world to seek
her fortune.
The artist who met her in the big
city was kind to her but he gave her
to understand from the first that she
must make her own way.
After while she secured a position
in a large stationery store. Her salary
was very small, and by the time she
had paid her room rent and board at
the Y. w. c. A. there was very little
left.
She did her own washing and iron
ing, paying twenty-five cents for the
use of the Mushroom and ironing room
each week, and this left her exactly
twenty-five cents for carfare anC
whatever expenses she might have
The shop was not far from the Y. W
C. A. however, so she did not have
to ride except in very stormy
weather.
She took her lessons early in thi
morning before going to her work
and at her lunch hour, and in the
evenings she read and studied, for tht
kind old artist took a great interes
in her and secured a card for her from
the public library, and told her to
study and read and fit herself for tn,