The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-10-25
Letter to a Country Mouse
From Her City Cousin

Dear Mouse:-wenL here I a right N the midst of things and feeling
exactly like a mdecule. Lonesomef Well, 1 should say SC Why is it that
city crowds make one feel 81 unnecessary? When you stroll out into the
country surrounded with the chickens. pigs, sheep, goats and cows and
pigeons and thousands and thousands of tiny folks that go to make up the
crowded country life, you feel that man is indeed lord Of creation. But when
you stroll ut in The city and meet these same folk, jus: because they have
put on human shape, you fee quite small and inferior and abashed. 90 they
ire all here, Mouse, dear, every single one-even to Greedy and Grunty, my
prize Berkshres. I lunched at the next table to them today. The only
marked difference ws mar there was no pen arounu um ana ureeoy wof
beautiful diamonds. Grunty made just as much fuss about mis- food. You
purpose than to annoy him, and as he guzzed and grunted and grumhled,
ibis fat jowls, red and shaking, IS he tried to stuff, and complain to high
1 was tempted TO yell "Sewey' and drive him and Greedy back to their pen.
had not been exceptions, America could never have shipped 100000 pounds
of beef products during the month of March to our hungry allies over
yonder. 1t mean nothing to them that before we entered the war we x
ported to the allies 100000 pounds of pork a month. When we entered the
war this had increased to 125OOOOOO pounds, and in March of this ear the
amount of pork exported to the allies amounted to 3o8NONN pounds which is
more than six times the normal and 90 per cent greater than any other month
during the last seven years. This is what "porkless days" have done so
it's back to the pen with Greedy and Gruntyl
The old Dominecker rooster had two punes to lunch at the table just
INF straw n showing on generally de was sixty, IN a grandfather, II he
was a day. and the girls could not have been owe twenty-five and pretty as
big Office building where Daddy Dominecker heads a loan business, and be-
neve me food conservation meant nothing in their young lives, 81 long as
daddy paid the bill. They ate straight through the mem card. / don't see
how they do it and keep their shape, for that they yer easy to look at
goes without saying. They we're built along leghorn lines, and in spite of
their system. Two goOdlooking young aviators were just across from them,
10 n of them would engross Domneckers attention while the other nrted
with the soldiers. Then they would change about, and their team work was
10 perfect that poor old rooster paid the check, which would have bought
two fve-doLar War Savings stamps and gone a long way n the third, and
chuckled as he paid it; then strutted off to get his hat and coat, leaving them
moonlight 1 hope, for youth should call to youth. Mouse, what is it that
blinds a la of sixty and a woman of forty to the fact that when they act
kittenish they never fool anybody but themselves. and the world laughs at
them and not with them?
II e t mfr Bg 1 s ssssfi for h SSuns G in sss s sn ioya crowd.
But he dm%sDBPssdl hi his f. wins md ssspIe@ 50 high
No. q 6 be n ! ~ s@ a9s' 81 a liz 81 in lat
Mouse, I have a nice juicy bit of scandal that I would write you. but I
thly too nsque to be read by modest brother John o Molie of the tender
years, 81 I will postpone it. In the meantime, know that tin the midst of all
the exciting sounds and sghts-the heady experience of nbbhng this strong
citys cheese-I think of you and love you. So. dear, tut of the peace and
great spaces in which you are moving send a quetins honey letter to