The labor standard., 1919-06-01
DADYyg[N|kN l|QY TAll
THE RATS STORY.
6 l1ArH 0AuA1eQXER

"It was the best joke," said MT. Kat. "Yes, repeat myself-it was the pest joke in the world"
 "You mean" said Mrs. Rat, that 1t was the best joke in the cellar. l was there at the time and I know the joke, too."
 "Ah. Mrs. Rat," said MT. Rat, you are right in one way when you say that it was the best joke of the eel lar. So it was. It isn't often that the poor old dark cellar has a joke like that to boast of, and talk about.
 'I don't feel so sorry for cellar" said Miss Rat. "In the winter there is often a furnace in cellar Wnicn keeps it warm and in the summer there is food in the cellar-most glorious food, as you know, MT. Rat.
 "Rats," said Mir. Rat, you don't understand me, and you don't under stand each other. There is great con fusion. Mrs Rat says my joke should be called the best joke of the cellar, but she doesn't seem to think 1t should be called the best joke in the Worio' and Miss Rat thinks that cellar IS such a nice place that jokes should pc proud to belong to one.
 Miss Rat has the idea, and very rightly, too, that it is as fine to be- long to cellar as it is to belong to a fine and noble family. Instead of saying this: I'm the great Miss Black; of course you all know my family and the big estate upon which we liver we can say:
 "'We're the fine rats. Of course you know our family and the big eel lar in which we live"
 Good" squealed all the rats. "That is the way to talk.'
 "I didn't mean" said Mrs. Rat, 'sthat cellar was not fine place. I simply meant that the joke was the joke of the cellar and not of the big world"
 'I was right" said MT. Rat, land I will explain. But it is a great relief to my mind to hear that you really do think we'll of cellar. Why to have rat not like cellar would be as bad as to know child who didn't like to play. Such things would be entirely too much"
 "Wel. as Have explained myself" said Mrs. Rat, wont you tell us just what you mean, and tell the other rats the joke?'
 "Yes," squealed the other rats, please tell us the joke"
 'It was this way" commenced Mir. Rat, as he sat on his hind legs and stroked his whiskers, "you see, Mrs. Rat and were spending the summer in the cellar-not this cellar, but an- other cellar. We had decided 1t was better to spend the summer in a eel lar than to spend it at the seashore or in the mountains or on farm.
 sA cellar would have all these ad- vantages and we would feel more at home in one So we chose this eel lar, as I have said before. We liked 1t immensely. We would have been most unhappy if we had gone to a seashore place where we would have had to wear our best clothes every evening and our second best once every morning"
 All the rats laughed hard at this, but Mrs. Rat waved a paw and said: 'sThe joke has not yet been told, though it is a funny joke to think of MT. Rat not wanting to bother with best clothes, as all of us know he only has his one regulation rat suit as we all have"
 'The joke, tell us the joke," squealed the rats. You've already been funny, but we would be glad to have the big joke. We are waiting to laugh, to squeal with joy at the joke"
 'In this cellar," said MT. Rat. "there were all sorts of fine vegetables"
 "Yes," agreed Mrs. Rat q didn't have to wonder what would get for dinner or breakfast or supper. There was plenty right before me-"
 "How nice," smiled the rats.
 'eIt was nice," said Mrs. Rat. grin ming as she thought of the wonderful summer she had had.
 "And," continued MT. Rat, "one day we entertained very generously. We gave big dinner.
 We found some peas-oh. so many of them, and we invited our friends to our feast. 1t was good of us to be so unselfish, though if I remember rightly some of them came to call and then were asked to remain at the point of my story.
 "We took half the peas we found and there were lots of them, for if there hadn't been we would have talk en them all. And so we played a joke on the people who lived above the eel lar in naughty, proud fashion. And for long time they didn't know how their peas had gone. and when they were sure who had taken them, myself and Mrs. Rat moved awayw