Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-05-24
Norman's Pussy-
WILLOW Aduen-
ture

w lLOU 7uUeU-
ture
"Muvver," pleaded Norman earnest
ly, may go down to We pasture bars
and see if We pussy-willows aren't
weady? I'm almost sure vey are-ve
sun is oso dwight, and We wind feels
fevvers bwushing my cheeks!"
1T does seem like good pussy-wil-
low day. answered mother, "and it is
only eleven o'clock, so there is an hour
before father will be home to dinner.
So, on with your cap and sweater. and
leggins and rubbers, and bring mother
home good lot of pussies. She likes
them SO much!"
In just about two minutes Norman
was skipping down the lane, whistling
merrily.i A song-sparrow, who had
come early SO to have a good choice
Of building-places, fluttered along be-
fore him, from bush to bush, answer
ing his whistle with sweet little song
Come along, come along!'' he
seemed to call. ''The pussy-willows
are waiting, are withdrawing for
you, waiting for you! Follow me, fol-
low me! Sunshine, sunshine! Beau
tiful, beautiful, beautiful"
So, whistling and singing, Norman
and Mr.. Song-sparr0w came to the
pasture bars. There, sure enough. the
pussies were waiting, just peeping out
from their shining brown coats. Their
sleek, silvery-grey heads shone in the
sunlight, and they chung close to the
bright brown twigs as the soft breeze
rocked them to and fro. Mr.. Song
sparrow perched on the highest twig
and sang, "The Song of Spring and the
Pussy-willows," never bothering him
self to look down at the dingy, crusty
snowdrifts that lay in the hollows all
about the willows and the pasture bars,
with big old gray rocks humping their
backs up through to the sunlight.
Norman climbed up on the bars,
close to one of the posts, and broke on
one twig after another, talking to them
gently: ''My muvver will put you in
We pwettiest blue vase" he told them,
"and set you in We sunniest window,
and you'll gwow, and gwow, and gwow,
and have goldy-dust all over you, and"
. Slip, slide bump! Norman had
reached too far, trying to get some
very plump pussy-willows, his feet had
slipped. and down he went, onto the
snow-crust; and then he rolled and
rolled, over and over, until he stopped
hard, between two messy old rocks.
..Whyeee-woosh!" he spluttered,
wiping the snow from his face with
the backs OF his mittens. "Vat was
pwetty quick and bunny! I must
hurry and get out and get some more
pussies, or I'll be late, and muvveru
be heightened about mel"
4 But when Norman tried, to get up
he couldn't! He was wedged between
those hard old rocks, and the more he
wriggled and twisted, the harder he
was wedged. Finally he stopped, quite
tired out. The snow-crust stretcneo
from knoll to knoll, and from rock to
rock, and the light shone through 1t
softly, as it does through windows OF
frosted glass. There were little tufts
Of very short grass, the brightest
green: and checkerberries were grow
Ing all about, bright and CHEEKY; the
were fresh and plushy-looking,
giving a soft look even to the hard old
rocks that held him. Close by, q lit
lie rivulet Of melted snow was tinkl-
ing merrily along its way, making
fairy music.
Altogether, it was very, very cnafm-
ing little fairy chamber, with the soft
light shining through it's snow ceiling;
md it was not at all cold. But Nor
nan did not like it. He wriggled and
Kicked some more, wedging himself in
still more tightly. His head was bit
over than his heels, and nobody likes
hat. of course. He thought he heard
footsteps, and shouted Justify, "Faver!"
No answer. "Muvver!" Still no
answer. anybody" But no one
came to the rescue. The sound he had
heard was only the snow-crust settling
here and there. Up In the topmost
willow twig Mr.. song-sparrow was still
singing, but it sounded very far away.
Finally, the little prisoner lay quite
still. listening. The rivulet's song grew
sery soft and dreamy, and Mr.. Song.
sparrow sounded farther and farther
Meow" Pop! What was that?
There, on Norman's left thumb,
oerched a tiny gray kitten, waving the
shortest sort Of tail!
He had cIung to his pussies through
all his tumbling and rolling, and now
ne looked eagerly at the bunch OF
wigs, for something was happening!
Each pussy-bud was popping into
kitten, the littlest bit of kitten-fast
as corn in pepper, with just the same
CHEEKY pops! How they scampered
about, with silvery little news! All
over Norman they scurried, stepping
in his eyes, perching on his nose, hid.
ing in his ears; and once the liveliest
me hopped right into his mouth, which
was wide open with surprise. Round
and round they flew, up and down and
crisscross, with bright eyes shining
and wee tails waving! Norman thought
he had never seen anything so pretty
and cute in all his life.
Suddenly they all stopped their
merry races, and he saw that they