The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-12-04
TheGoose ThatL
the Golden Egg
By F. A. Mitchell

81 have heard that you won your
wife from the fact that you were
successful author" said Dawson to MS
friend Sturdevant. IF man wants to
win a woman he must raise himself
above his fellow men by doing some
thing that glitters. To wear gaudy
uniform is the easiest way with the
ordinary type Of woman. But l am
not surprised that it required diner
ent sort of prominence to secure MIS-.
Sturdevant. She is very bright wo-
man and would naturally look up TO
a man of your caliber."
Sturdevant glanced at the ceiling
then at the floor, then out through the
window.
"Yes," he replied, my wife is
smart woman. but she has no reason TO
admire me-"
THAT'S modesty for you"
You don't know anything about wo-
men. John. You say woman to love
a man must look up to him. SO far'
so good. But she is just as likely to
love him because she looks down on
him. The truth is, the sex Is not to
be analyzed. This story that l won
nv wife on account of my literary
standing is balderdash. I'll tell you
the basis of it If you like
please do So"
IL have always been rather imprac-
teal. and Dora is the very reverse.
When | met her l was ambitious to
write a successful novel. She listened
to my talk, sympathized with me, but
I could see that she considered me In
the clouds.
"'You don't seem to think I'm up to
the work of successful scribbling?
said to her one day, miffed at her want
of enthusiasm.
81 think you're not down to it. she
replied.
"'What do you mean?
"'Oh. that would take too long to
explain
"She might have truthfully added, 4
wouldn't attempt to try to fire it into
as stupid brain as yours"
81 was engaged at that time on my
story, The Goose That Laid the Golden
Egg"
II believe 100000 copies were sold?
Dawson broke in.
"Three hundred thousand"
"And all the WHILE" interrupted
Dawson, 1T was you who
Don't be in such hurry. I'm tell
! ing this story. I put $1,000 into the
venture. intended to spend it all OF
the printing and binding, but Dora
persuaded me to have 1t illustrated
So 1 paid $500 Of the amount for pic
lures. The book was published through
Lampblack & Co., who put their i'm
print on the title page.
"Three months passed, and l got {
check from them for $27.bO. The pub
lie didn't clamor for the goose tina
laid the golden egg worth cent. ON
reviewer said that It was easy to picl
out the goose that didn't lay the COLDER
egg, which complimentary remark evi
IDENTIFY referred to the author. Anothe
three months passed, and got anothe
check for $675.
"What was my surprise when tn
next quarterly payment was made t.
receive $3.50. After that one day whel
was introduced to man he looked a
me curiously and asked, Author o
1.-The Goose That Laid the Colder
Egg?"' Surprised, admitted that
was and with a heart futter Tn
next day l was told by a friend tina
my book was being talked about, and
stopping at book and news stand, tn
dealer told me that he was selling
like hot cakes. l asked him to wha
he attributed the sudden increase o
sales, and he replied:
"'The public wants it.
"This satisfied me that l had a
least struck popular vein, and
hoped to climb the ladder of literar
fame.
ITO make long story short, m
novel was talked about by everybod,
rich and poor high and low In 81
months l had cleared small fortune
then the sales fell to nothing. l ha
made some money. but no literary rel
utation
| Dora and l were married and wer
to Europe on bridal trip. One da
while on the voyage over l was twi
ting her on her want of appreciatio
Of my ability to succeed as an autho
when she said:
The reviewer who said that it wa
easy to pick out the goose that didn
lay the golden egg was half RICH
Now listen to me.
Zone day after your novel had fal
en- hat, she went on, L concluded |
try to stir up an interest in it. | wei
to all my friends and told them the
was hidden meaning in the title an
asked them to guess what it was. The
all went about propounding the aueI
to their friends. 1t got noised abol
that there was mystery in the boo
that did not appear ON the surfac