The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-03-12
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THE RATS STORY.
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at was the best joke said Mr.. Rat.
Eyes, repeat myseff--it was the best
| joke in the world.
| you mean" said Mrs. Rat. that it
| was the best joke in the cellar. was
there at the time and l know the
| joke, too"
".Ah. Mrs. Rat" said Mr.. Rat, ''you
| are right in one way when you say
] that it was the best joke of the cell
lar. So it was. 1t isn't often that the
/ poor old dark cellar has a joke like
that to boast of, and talk about"
i Il don't feel so sorry for a cellar"
said Miss Rat. I'm the winter there
is often a furnace in cellar which
keeps it warm and in the summer there
is food in the ceiIar-moSt glorious
food, as you know, Mr.. Rat.
Rats" said Mr.. Rat, you don't
{ understand mo- and You don't under
2 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 it should
be called the best joke in the world,
!, and Miss Rat thinks that cellar IS
such a nice place that jokes should be
. proud to belong to one.
e Miss Rat has the idea. and very
d rightly, too. that ii is as fine TO be-
S long TO q cellar as it is to belong To
d a fine and noble family. Instead OF
saying this: I'm the great Miss
/ Black; of rse you all know my
e family and the big estate upon which
:, we live? we cal say:
!. "We're the fine rats. OF course
e you know our family and the big cell
d lar in which We live.
e Good squealed all the rats. "That
le is the way to talk"
4 Il didn't mean,'' said alrs. Rat, that
q cellar was not fine pace. / simply
: meant that the joke was the joke of
: the cellar and not of the big world"
IN II was right" said Mr. Rat. "and |
or will explain. But it is great relief
&c to my mind TO hear that you really
Of do think well of a cellar, Why to
le have a rat not like cellar would be
II as bad as to know child who didn't
{ like to play. Such things would be
entirely too much"
/. We'll, as have explained myself
10 said Mrs. Rat, won't you tell US just
at what you mean, and tell the other rats
a. the ioke?'
i'll Yes" squealed The other rats,
1t please tell us the joke
70 1T was this way, commenced Mr..
= Rat. as he sat on his hind legs and
so strokej his whiskers. you see, Mrs.
at Rat and L We're spending the summer
he in the cellar-not this cellar, but am
other cellar We had decided it was
better to spend the summer in cell
lar than to spend it at the seashore
II or in the mountains or on a farm.
II a cellar would have all these adj
II Eantages and We would feel more N
II home i'm one. So we chose this eel
II lar. as / have said before We liked
II 1t immensely We would have been
II most unhappy if we had gone 10 i
seashore place where we would have
- had TO wear our bcst eIdthcs every
evening end our second best once ever!
ter morning"
ev All the rats laughed hard AZ this
a but Mrs Rat waved paw AMI said
lhs though If is a funny joke 10 tllnl, =
- sir. Rat not wanting TO bother will
=, hest clothes, as all of rs know he onl!
der has his one regulation rat suit - "
be all have
ace The joke. tell us the joke" Squealc,
INT the rats, You've already beea funny
but We would be glad to have the hi;
I ls joke. We are waiting TO laugh, I,
squeal with joy at The joke"
yer in this cellar said Mr.. Rat, .-thcr
his were all sorts of fine vegetables"
ser Yes agreed Mrs. Rat Il didn'
ers have to wonder what I would get 70
'rt dinner or breakfast or supper. Their
was plenty right before me-
-, How nice smiled the rats.
ter st was nicer said Mrs. Rat, grin
ore ming as she thought of the wonderful
vat, summer she had had.
ing And" continued SIr. Rat ION
hgs day we entertained very generously
ell We gave big dinner.
M. I'VE found some peaS-oh. so man
,ra of them, and We invited our friends t
on our feast. 1t was good OF US To b
pie so unselfsh though if | remcmbe
rightly some of them came 10 call an
low then were asked to remain at tn
inu banquet. However that is not I'll
to- point of my story.
I'VE took half The peas we foun
lid and there were los Of them. for
ngs there hadn't been we would have tai
dy en- them all. And so we played joS
hs' on the people who lived above the &c
/, lar in naughty. proud fashion. An
fer 4 long time they didn't know ho
,on their peas aad gone, and when the
got were sure who had taken them. mySe
ingi and Mrs. Rat moved away
cry "
ms Til. p.o,t. vvbo u.v. Tir.