Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-27
SANDMAN STORY.
by Mrs. II. A. Walker.
Copyright. 1912 By tho MCCLURE News
THE TURKEYS MISTAKE.

Everything in the banyard was in q
great state of excitement, for quee 7
looking egg had been placed in the turkey
hens nest.
~ would throw it out if ! were you, !"
exclaimed the white rooster and all
the rest of the fowls agreed that WAS
the right way to end matters. But the
turkey did not think So
Mrs. Brown feeds me every day and
/ am sure she put it in," explained the
turkey at would make her angry and
how would | get my breakfast" No, it
won't do to throw away ones food I'D
that way"
In about three weeks the eggs on
which the turkey had been sitting hatch
cd and out crept dozen wee brown
things There was 18th one, but it was as
queer as if it had come from the moon.
II was dark, ugly and awkward.
"Myl Myi' cried all the white hens,
clucking to their pretty snowy chicks
What u horror that turkey has hatch
ed and all because Mrs. Brown put
that odd egg into her nest.
As the little ones grew the strange
one seemed to look worse every day.
None of the other fowls noticed him
and the little turkeys would play by
in sight. Very lonely he was, thin and
scrawny, with long legs and an equal
ly long neck. He fed alone and went
to bed alone in big bush. He heard
the rest of the fowls tittering and gos-
sping about the barnyard news but they
seldom spoke to him.
The summer went by slowly. The
cool October days came and the poor,
neglected thing still remained alone.
Out INTO the meadow IN the dusk he would
go for fallen fruit and on rainy days he
would venture into the comhelds. But he
still had no neighbors. Out in the forest he
found nuts. bugs and worms aplenty and
as the cool days grew more pleasant he
began to fatten up.
One day he was sitting lonely on n
stump when a gentleman drove down
the road, stopped his buggy and looked
at him.
81 suppose ! am such quecr-look-
ing sight that this man never saw any
thing like me before" he sighed The man
drove to Mr.. Browns house and IN few
minutes Mrs. Brown came into the field
with pan Of grain. Scattering this IN
line behind her she soon had him following
till they reached the barnyard itself.
II was full of chickens of all sizes
and colors Big white roosters, dainty
young hens, little chickens like yellow
balls. ducks quaoking noisily and state
" geese walking about as if on parade.
The gentleman pointed to the fowl
following Mrs. Brown.
"That is "a magnificent peacock he
cried "One Of the finest specimens |
ever saw and | will be glad to buy him
for my lawn
The humble, despised peacock who
had been Stunned by all few months
ago heard this with delight. Unnoticed
he had grown into a magnificent bird.
Spreading his big tail and holding his
head high he for the first time walked
proudly out before the rest of the fowls who
had scorned him in his ugly youth.
"Why, ! never dreamed that 1t was
n peafowl egg that ! put into the tur-
KEY nest" cried Mrs. Brown. HE is
certainly a beauty now But ! had not
seen him for weeks and thought he was
lost. How he. struts and how the other
fowls look at him with envy and surprlSeP'
So away 10 live on the beautiful lawn
of great estate went the happy peacock,
while the turkeys who had been hatched
at the same time but had refused to as
sociate with him soon became the main
dish on the city tables TO grace the feast
on Thanksgiving Day.