Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-08-31
Old Sam Peabody
Rose Brooks.

odd man who lives in the deep, green
woods: not on the edge of the woods,
where he can watch people passing
on the road, but deep, deep in the
cool green woods, where there are no
other people at ALL but just little
furry, sharp-eyed squirrels, and gentle
brown deer and all kinds of birds.
said there were no people at all, but
forgot little Phoebe aud little Bob
White; but they they came later
Old Sam Peabody had never liked
grownups half so well as lie liked chill
dren and animals and birds; and
after he had lived all alone in the
woods a long, long time, though he
didn't miss grown-ups at all, he began
to wish very much that he knew some
children. He had plenty Of tree
friends and flower friends and animal
friends and bug friends and bird
friends. but he longed and longed for
some children friends.
So one day, when he felt he really
couldn't live happily without them 4
single day longer, he shut his cabin
door behind him, and walked and
walked through the woods till he
came to railroad track and then he
| "dthcu doWu Cnc tlcCh I'LL uc Cd1lC
to a tiny station. There he waited
till he heard the engine whistle in the
distance and saw the long train curve
into sight
J Old Sam Peabody hated the noise
and dirt of trains, but you see he
loved children more than he hated
trains, so when the noisy train had
ground it's wheels to stop he climb
ed on board, and sat patiently in the
car till he came to big city. There
he got out, and though his ears ached
with the city noises and his eyes
ached with the city's unshaded glare,
and though his feet acked because he
had to walk on hard pavements, still
| he walked on and on till at last he
came to the big building he had been
looking for, and the name Of that
building was an orphan asylum. An
orphan asylum is the big building
where orphans live; and orphans are
dear little boys and girls who have
no mothers and fathers.
| Old Sam Peabody walked right into
that orphan asylum building, and the
minute he was inside the door he be-
gan to feel happy again because he
could hear children's voices.
| In the hall he met kind lady and
told her who he was, and that he lived
| in the lovely, clean green forest, and
that he wanted little girl and little
| boy to take home with him, so that
they needn't live in dirty, noisy city
any more, but could have a forest
home where everything was beautiful
to look at and where everything was
sweet to smell.
At first the kind lady seemed sur
prised, but after she had looked into
Old Sam Peabody's kind gray eyes
she suddenly sighed and said she
wished she were little girl and could
go with him herself, so that she need
never see another big noisy, dirty
city again. So she smiled at him and
led Old Sam Peabody into the room
where the children we're all just sit
ting down to dinner; and when she
told them that this kind old man
wanted one little girl and one little
boy to take into the woods with him
to live. they all wanted to go
Poor Old Sam Peabody felt sorry
he couldn't take every one, but his
cabin was pretty small and he had
room for only two. He went among
the children, and soon chose a dear
little girl with brown eyes and curly
lgolden hair, and straight, strong.
! freckle-nosed boy with blue eyes that
| twinkled all the time with mischief
The little girls name was Phoebe and
the little boys name was Robert
White, but everybody called him
Bob.
So Old Sam Peabody and Phoebe
and Bob White left the orphan asy-
lum and went back, just as fast as
they could, to Old Sam Peabody's
cabin in the woods; and after that Old
Sam Peabody was never lonely a
single minute, nor were Phoebe or
Bob.
Every morning they were up very
early, Just as it was beginning to be
day, and went out under the trees
and watched the birds and listened
to their sweet, early songs. Old Sam
Peabody knew every single bird by
name, and just when they came In
the spring, and just where they built
their nests, and all about them. OF
course the birds could find plenty OF
food for themselves, but Old Sam Pea
body and the children carried crumbs
and grain to them every morning just
because they loved them.
After their own breakfast every
morning Old Sam Peabody taught
Phoebe and Bob real school lessons
little while. and after that the children
scampered through the woods watch
ing for their animal friends. or lay on
their stomachs looking down into
dark holes of the brook to watch the
big trout lazily waving their tails in
the cool deep shadows. Each day, too.
they put on their little bathing suits
and jumped into the brook and splash.
ed about in the clear cold water. and
slid pollywogs down each others
necks, and were happy. Yes, they
were all happy, all the time, but they
were always happiest when they were
feeding and watching and playing
with the birds and birds were very
tame and friendly.
When the birds found that Old Sam
Peabody and Phoebe and Bob were
I u L..