Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-03
TheDennigod
UNIT MARY, her hands In the
dough. looked out of the side
window of the kitchen and

saw Donald seated on the
grass playing his Jews harp. With a
half-formed thought that 1t was
blessing to have boy like Donald
who never ran away and who was al
ways just where she expected him to
be. she pushed back a stray strand
OF her brown hair with the back Of
her hand and continued kneading her
bread dough.
with green blinds and a wide sloping
Fable roof, set well back In a great
square Of yard-two lots of sixty feet
each. ono hundred and forty feet deep
There were Two apple trees, q yellow
mellow and red-cheeked Benoni, and
eight or ten other trees in the yard.
and barn and wood shed backed
against the alley. Sometimes the
grass was very long and unkempt;
SOME times man came and cut 1t with
scythe, trimming the edges with O
sickle. Once, and only once, the house
had been repafnted. Money was al
ways scarce in the big white house..
Donald himself was barefoot and his
Drowned legs We're scratched. One toe
was bound with a bit of once-white
rag where he had stepped on q piece
OF broken bottle. His hat was ''ten-
cent straw" his breeches were home
made OF what had once been part of
MISS Mary's: black redingote and were
Iatched behind and on the knees with
fresher pieces Of the same outworn
garment. He sat in the long grass
with his legs doubled under him fac
inH the big Benoni apple tree, twang-
Ing the tongue of the Jews harp and
breathing tune that was no tune
Miss Mary finished her bread making
ana leaned out OF the window,
Donald" she called, don't 60 away
I'm going to run over to Mrs. De
Mortimer's for a few minutes"
The boy looked up. It was few
meaning OF his aunt's words.
No'm," he said. "All right. won't"
There are some cookies in the cup
board. II you want some."
"Yes'm," he answered in the same
detached way. "All right. don't
( Well. maybe you WILL" said Aunt
NJ; Mary. and she closed the window.
The next minute she was in the front
OF the house, throwing on q light
wrap. but Donald was farther away
, tnan that. In an instant he was
CURED to place the jews harp to his
lips he was In Greece and in the age
OF heroes and demigods, and he was
himself one Of the lesser gods
It was not a game. as boys play the
making serious test to discover
whether he was, or was not, in fact
Orpheus. 1t had occurred to him that
ne might be Orpheus. and there is
nothing Ike trying thing out when
sooks arg e. IN h,, DOUBT nnn. When Miss Mary
deciding he was not Orpheus. For an
hour he had SAT before the Benoni
spple tree and had played as sweeflv
as ne was able. and the Benoni apple
tree had not moved an inch toward
, h.m: Orpheus. playing the same
Benoni apple tree. and the yellow
mellow. and the ox-heart cherry. and
the silver poplar. and the six pine
trees. and the row Of five naples all
clustered around him, ready to be led
children Sollowing the Pied Piper Of
Hamelin. VI
The Benoni apple tree had not moved
There were. Of course, certain minor
,ea pasn why. even II he was Orpheus.
as IL should. A Jews harp ia not tse
Tyre. and Orpheus used Tyre. At the
best Jews harp th9t- cost two cenfs
at Hazards notion store ana that oc-
casionalIy hit back q singing blow on
the tongue was hardly an instrument
Of SUFFICIENT nobility to assist in NOV
ing dlgnihcd old Benoni apple tree
with a Firth of six feet.
.-zhoo." ~-'"A'
Donald gave the tree three repeti-
lions Of his musicless tune. in which
to move, II 1t ever meant to move.
and then gave 1t UP. He got to his
feet and found that one lcr had
gone to Sleep" and he hobbled to the
tarn and brought out the hog in
Which were his two mud turtles. He
lifted the turtles from the box and
carried them to the middle Of the
yard and dropped them In the grass.
Then he retreated FIVE yards and seat
I'd himself and played to them on the
Jews harp. Turtles. being more mo-
uile than trees, might be better to
begin on.
For several bars the turtles lay as
he had dropped them. heads. legs ana
tails <A:nped tightly inside their
nhells and then they put forth their
heads tentatively. Nothing annoyed
them. They put forth their legs and
tails and raised their heads. Donald
played moro vigorously; he added q
cultural vocal noise to the hollow
drumming of the. jow's harp. Tho
turtles hesitated, seemed TO DO con-
Gidering the music and, with the sur
Nrlsing. agility they could show on
occasion, started away. from Donald
ut top speed. Donald slipped the jews
harp into his pocket and darted after
the turtles. 60.
Donald put the turtles in their box
and returned them to their place In
the barn. 1t WAS fairly evident he was