The Adair County news. [volume] (Columbia, Ky.) 1897-1987, 1921-05-10
Something to
Think AbOuf
HARD-WORKING MOUSE
By F. II. WALKER

TN A SOMEWHAT aimless after-din-
u ner walk the other evening / was
attracted to a crowd which had gath
cred in front of the window of a deal
er in house pets.
As the crowd next to the window
satisfied its curiosity and moved on
/ gradually came to see that fifteen or
twenty human beings Of which l was
about to become one, had been watch
ing the activities of a small white
mouse which was the temporary resi-
dent of new and shiny cage.
AT the top of the cage was a sort of
nest attached to the wires and filled
with bits of cotton. Below i'm the floor
of the cage was a feeding box and in
front of that a fat tin disk, some six
inches in diameter, so tilted upon
pivot axle that if you placed any
weight upon any part of it that part
which bore the weight would immedi-
ately turn so that it would be the low
est part of the disk. In other words,
if a living object attempted to climb
up the disk it would turn as fast as
the object assembled and the object it.
self would always be travelling uphill
and getting nowhere.
The white mouse pursued program
about after this plan: He would rest
for a few minutes in his nest. Then
he would climb down the side of the.
cage TO the food box, nibble for a min
ute and then running around to the
front of the floor Of the cage he would
jump down upon the disk and as he
did so the disk would begin to revolve.
The faster he ran, in his attempt to
climb, the faster the disk would re-
Volve, with the mouse always at the
bottom.
For three or four minutes at a time
the mouse would run as fast as he
could. A human being running as
fast as that mouse, In proportion to
his size and weight, would have gone
ten or twelve miles at a marvellous
rate of speed.
After his period of running the
mouse would suddenly stop, the disk
would cease TO revOlve, he would 90 to
the feed box, nibble for a minute and
then climb to his nest for a short rest,
only to repeat the whole performance
over again. --~v- - $500
r The mouse during the time that he
was running appeared to be putting
forth every physical effort of which
he was possessed. He was doing
everything that he could so far as
running was concerned. BUT HE
WAS GETTING NOWHERE.
He landed right where he began at
the bottom Of the disk.
He had burned out his mouse
energy, exhausted his mouse condition
and the result was NOTHING.
wondered as I stood there how
many of the men and women who had
stopped to watch him had learned any
lesson from that Gagged mouse and his
fruitless endeavors,
wondered how many of them were
running around On a disk, striving,
struggling, eXhausting themselves with
efforts which would end by leaving
them right where they started.
The mouse demonstrated a good les
son. He taught those who watched
him-if they thought at all about the
thing they were looking at-that every
man and woman ought every little
while take a look around and see if
they are going ahead. if they are ad.
yanCing, if they are adding something
however little, TO what life and its eff
forts should accumulate in wealth. ex
perience and wisdom,
= The merchant who never takes ac-
count of stock, who keeps no books.
who has no way Of checking his bust.
ness, is pretty much at sea as to
whether he is a success or a failure,
whether he is making money or losing.
The man who goes through life
without checking up his efficiency,
taking account of his accomplishments
or balancing his efforts against his ac-
emulation cannot have any very de-
pendable idea of what his efforts are
amounting TO.
SAAN AOO many VI uS VIM Inc
the mouse, let our lives consist of
working, eating and sleeping, without
knowing definitely what we are ac~
complishing.
If the mouse had the intelligence to
know that his great effort in running
on the tin disk really amounted to
nothing in results he would devote
himself to something more worthwhile.
Perhaps if we made an honest estf-
mate of what we are doing and what
the results are we would stop being
foolish and turn TO something more
productive and more to our credit.
The thing fer us TO do is to make an
honest estimate of what we are doing
and what it truly amounts TO and
guide our future endeavors accord
ingly.
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