Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-05-10
he Broken Windo,v.
Pane

playing with his fine new ball tina,
santa Claus had brought him and he
had just said to himself, as he tossed
It up, This time 1t will go as high as
the house top" when, crash! the bal
went right into the little window and
the glass came shivering down.
The little window was in Jacks own
room He could lie in bed atnight and
see the twinkling stars and the SHINING
moon through its bright panes, and
every morning the sunbeams came
streaming IN to fill the room with gold
en- light. There were four panes OF
glass, each one as clear'as crystal, and
not one had ever been broken before
that Jack could remember. #
The north wind that had been sing.
Ing all day in the tree tops hurried in.
to the house through the broken glass
1t ratified the window and slammed the
door and made such stir in the little
boys room that his mother went In to
see what was the matter.
Dear me, dear me!' she said. when
she saw the broken window pane. And
she made haste to sweep up the brok-
en- bits Of glass and to fasten blanket
across the window.
1T would never do to have the north
wind in the house on a day like this. /"
she said, as she closed the door and
went back to her work. She was still
talking about 1t when Jack came in
from the yard.
"Of all the days in the year for such
thing to have happened" she said to
the maid. "But have fastened a
blanket across the window and that
will keep the wind out. till we can get
new glass;"
She did not ask Jack any questions
and he did not say a word. He sat
down behind the stove and listened to
the north wind singing outside,
"Ooooooo!"
''Who broke the little window, who?
know, and SO do YOU
That is what it seemed to say. He
did not like to hear It, so by and by
he got up and went out to the barn
where the hired man was mending the
harness. The hired man was singing
too:
Yankee Doodle went to town
r Upon little pony.
He stuck feather in his cap
And called it Macaroni."
did ever tell you about the pan.
Their that saw when l was about your
size?" he said when he saw Jack.
The hired man knew the incest stor-
les They were always about bears or
SQUIRRELS or panthers, but this day Jack
did not care to listen.
"Did you ever break a Window" he
asked as soon as the story was ended
II don't know that ever did," said
the hired man. "did your" But some
body called Jack and he went out with
out answering. \
The little boy who lived next door
was calling. II you will come over
here, l will show you my soldiers" he
said. 'I got them for Christmas and
they are made Of wood. Go ask your
mother II you may come"
He went into the house again and up
the stairs to his own room. The blan.
ket was across the window just as his
mother had said, and the room was so
dark! It did not look like the same
room that he had left only q little
while before, even though his sled and
his top and his new Christmas bank
were there just where he had put them
when he ran out to play with his ball.
The ball was there.too, lying under the
bed where 1t had rolled when 1t came
through the window; but Jack did not
look for 1t. There was lump in his
throat and an ache in his heart, and
he lay down on the bed and hid his
face in the pillow.
He lay there 80 long that he fell
asleep; and, when he walked up, his
mother was in the room. 1t was grow
ing late and she had a lighted candle
in her hand that made the whole room
bright.
what was my little boy doing up
here in the dark by himself?" she
asked.
20 mother, mother" cried Jack, ut
was I who broke the window pane.
"I--" But before he could say an.
other word his mothers arms were
around him. She sat down on the bed
and he sat close beside her and told
her all about it. The lump had gone
from his throat and the ache from his
heart; and. when the north wind
rushed round the house singing its
song, 'Ooooooo,' it did not seem, to say
a word about the broken glass;
The very next morning Jack went To
town and bought a window pane as
clear and as bright as the one he had
broken. He paid for 1t, too, with some
of the money from his Christmas
bank; and, when he went home the
hired man helped him to put 1t IN the
little window. The blanket was fold
ed up and put away then, for the wind
could not get in. Only the sunbeams
could come through the little window
and they streamed in TO an the room
with golden light.-Maud Lindsay, IN
Kindergarten Review.
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