The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1919-09-18

FAIRY TALE "A
6y f1ary Graham Bonner w
THE RoosTER's DEA

NICK anu nancy mad come home
again. They had left their cousins
feeling very happy for all now were
such good friends, and they were bet
ter friends than ever before after the
visit, which made everything very
nice to tell to Daddy. Some Of the
animals from the %barnyard belonging
to the house where the cousins lived.
had been taken over by Daddy, for the
cousins were going to move to the
city, and they wanted their animals
to be among friends. They had only
taken their dog with them.
Sir Benjamin Bacon and Sir Per-
cival Pork, now two of the leading
pigs Of the pig pen were having a
fight over some food, but Mr.. Red
Crown Rooster was paying no atten-
ton to them. Nick and Nancy had
been feeding all the animals and now
they were listening to Mr.. Rooster.
who vas talking at the top of his
voice, or Growing, as his talk is usual
ly called.
"In the good old days." said Mr..
Rooster, folks paid attention to me.
They may think a lot of Miss Fidgety
Fashionable Hen now that her eggs
have become so scarce, but they don't
pay half enough attention to a good
natured. kindly old rooster.
"Now, last summer l had a narrow
escape. / was crossing the road when
one of these horrible dust throwers
came along. BY a dust thrower I
mean a motor car or an automobile, or
whatever 1t Is they are called.
"This one had the usual horrid horn
attached to 1t and how that horn did
foot. l hurried OUT of the way and
i was almost nearly run over. Dear
me. but 1t was a narrow escape. I
might have lost my life. True, they
did warn me they were coming.
"But what uppish creatures motors
are. The very idea Of telling a fellow
to get out Of the way in such a rude
manner. And think CT the service I
have always lone people.
II have awakened them in the morn
ing. True, they have grumbled. They
have said that just because l was an
early riser 1t was DO reason I should
try to wake people up. But I knew
what was good for them.
II knew they shouldn't be staying
in bed so long, I knew they should be
getting up and enjoying the sunlight
and working and not wasting time.
81 feel a friendly feeling for that
alarm clock Nick and Nancy talk
about. That alarm clock gets abused
too. 1t seems to my rooster mind
that alarm clocks lead very sad lives.
They see that children aren't late to
school and that men aren't late to
business and that ladies see that the
breakfast is on time but do they get
thanked for 1t?
mot a bit Of II. I've heard people
say.
"'Oh, / could have killed that old
alarm clock this morning. / was bav-
ing a nice sleep and 1t didn't care, In
the least
"Now, the alarm clock was doing it's
duty. 1t was seeing that whoever was
In the room with 1t wasn't late. That
was most important. So / feel a
friendly feeling for the alarm clock
for / have been abused. too.
"But l could stand all that IL only
/ could still be the king of the BARN
yard. Now that motors have come
along the motor horn is treating us
al as slaves, making us rush this
way and that, from one side of the
road to the other, I am against all
things modern. I'm for the good old
days when a growing rooster was
thought to be a creature worth while.
lit may be all right for Miss Fidgety
Fashionable Hen to live In these mod
ern days, but they are sad days for the
rooster"
"What are you growing about. old
Red Crown" asked Nick.
Yes, you have a lot to say for your
self" said Nancy.
'Tm dreading the SKINNER and the
automobiles" said Red Crown.
But the summer hr1 iust past"
said Nancy, "you shouldn't be so up
set. and you do seem upset about
something. I guess TIL give you an
extra handful Of grain"
"Tm %dreading next summer" said
Red Crown, but I feel a little better
now. I've two good friends In a good
old barnyard, after all. Maybe the
automobile will go out of date and
the motor birds Of the al, the air
planes will take their plates. Then
they'll foot their horns for creatures
to get off the clouds and the good old
ROSTERS of the %barnyard viii rule as
they used to rule. In that csse I'm
for the days to come.
"But l do dread next er, for
this last n has been a hare. hard
one," he ended.