The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-09-04
DADDY,} EVENING
QfAIRY TALE q
YnARY @AHAn BONNER
BUSTERS THANKS.
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% As AUTHOR

II never stop being glad" said
Nancy, that we We're here when they
had planned to cut Busters tail, and
that we stopped them In time. Why,
none of them knew, none of them un-
derstood, not even uncle and aunt, nor
Jack, nor Marian, what suffering il
would have meant to Buster if they
had cut his TAIL"
I'll never stop being thankful" said
Nick, land it does seem as il we'd real
~ done something worth while when
we stopped an animal from suffering.
And, too, just between you and me, we
taught all of our cousins a lesson.
They never knew about the cruelty
to dog when such thing was done;
they only knew about the fashion"
Well have something to tell daddy
aDcut when we get back, won't WEI"
said Nancy.
And won't he be pIeased!" ex-
claimed Nick.
1 never could IKE anyone who was
cruel. and even if a person who was
cruel grew TO be a nice, good old lady
I'm not SO very sure l could forgive
her" said Nancy.
But they weren't cruel when they
knew what such a thing as cutting q
dogs tail meant" said Nick.
NO, Buster isn't suffering" said
Nancy. Il suppose there are lots of
people who don't mean to be cruel but
they don't understand. But when 1
told her what had happened TO the lit
tie dog we knew of who trembled and
suffered so with the pain and how
brave he was and how he tried to keep
from moaning and groaning to save
his mistress feelings-well Marian
cried and cried. But she cheered up
when she thought of Buster and that
he had been saved i'm time"
Oh" said Marian. as she ran out to
join her cousins, isn't 1t fine to think
Buster can come on our walk, too?
Oh. Nick and Nancy, you've kept us
from being ashamed of ourselves for
ever and everi'
when l took him in my arms, that
time, that dreadful time when we were
going TO be so cruel" said Jack, she
looked at me as though to say:
What are you going to do to me:
I'm sorry / ever ate up those two
slippers. Please forgive me. I'll never
do it again.
know now that was what he was
trying to say to me.'
The four cousins took long. long
walk that afternoon. They went to
some nearby fields to look for wild
asters.
"I'll tell you something" said Bus
ter. as he frisked along by Nancy's
side, land If don't get chance, you
can tell 1t to that brother of yours"
What Is it, Buster?" asked Nancy.
as she rubbed the dog under his chin.
buster had taken to Nancy from the
first. They We're off little from the
others now for Nancy had seen a vine
of red leaves she had liked and from
which she thought She would make a
collection of red leaves.
"They say that tails and stories
mean the same thing and that there
are sad ones and happy ones, but there
are lots of ones which will turn out
happily If only there are and will be
nice boys and girls in the world"
Buster" said Nancy. 1.-THE kind of
tales which are stories are spelt quite
differently and they don't mean the
same thing. They aren't tails such as
dogs have"
I'm only dog and don't care my
thing about spelling, and I'm puppy
and am not in the least fussy about
the exact meaning of words. l don't
suppose ever Will be even when I'm
a big dog"
Il don't suppose yoa ever win be
either" said Nancy.
But Will tell you this, Nancy" he
said. wagging his tail and looking at
her out of his big brown eyes that
one OF the saddest tails there is, is the
tail cut short of dog who was born
with one longer. l never had to have
q little stump tied up with a bandage
and didn't have to suffer because of
you and your brother. so let's shake
hand on 1t, shall WEI"
So Nancy and Buster shook hands.
Or, In other words. Buster gave Nancy