davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28
FIRE FAIRIES.
Ry Miss TTPOp RaprS-

Copyright, 1921. by Wheeler sly

tCopyr1ght, 192l, by wheeler syn
dictate. Incl
so the fire fairies found the lost
prince, and he and the forgotten
princess were married and lived
happily ever after. Now kiss me.
Betty Lou, and let nurse put you
to bed"
Betty Lou did so, rejecting that
Aunt Louise was a most unsatls-
factory story-teller of late. She
would pause and stare into the fire
as though she saw the fire fairies
themselves, quite oblivious of her
small niece During the progress
of being undressed and put to bed,
Betty Lou recalled the joyous times
she used to have with Aunt Louise
special trips to the wonderland
of dolls, jars of barley candy and
the jolliest automobile rides. OF
course, those were mostly in Mr..
Harrison's roadster, when tucked
in between him and Aunt Louise,
the car tore over miles of country
road And once there had been a
picnic! Betty Lou sighed raptur-
ously over the memory of it, and
signing, fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Louise Birch, the
best beloved aunt, sat frowning at
the blue and red fire fairies, dane
ing impudently over the crumbling
log.
And they lived happily ever
after" she murmured. Yes, I will
write to Wallie and put it in the
fire. At least it will be a safety
valve for my feelings. He'll never
see it, so I'll just write exactly as
Il feel 1t is seven weeks today
that it happened. Surely he must
have known there was some reason
why | didn't keep that engagement
only he's too stubborn to ask for
an explanation" She reached back
TO the table for her writing case.
"I'll write a couple of letters first
and save Wallie's till last
It was late when at last a letter,
whimsically addressed to Wallace
in care of the fire fairies. lay seal
ed on the little pile of letters, and
Louise rose to crush a piece of pa
per to enliven the fire. 1t may
have been the semi-darkness of the
fire-lit room. or the binding tears
in her brown eyes, or perhaps the
fire fairies themselves that saved
Wallace's letter from the flames.
At any rate, when she reached
down a fumbling hand and. with a
bitter little laugh, tossed a letter
on the leaping fire, the letter was
addressed to Mrs Lawrence Curtis,
and made no mention of the fire
fairies.
Louise watched the flames caresS
the paper, transform it into a min
iature inferno and finally Crumble
it into gray ashes.
Kind of a post-mortem for Wal
lie" she managed between sobs,
and without a glance at the other
letters, she went YEARLY to bed.
determined to root all thought of
wallace from her mind. But think
ing of him had become a habit and
Louise tossed uneasily until dawn
The fire fairies in the first rays OF
the sun must have closed her eyes
at last. for when the rest of the
household awoke, Louise still slept
Mother forbade Betty Lou to so
much as tip-toe into Aunt Louise's
room. Being only seven was very
lying at times, SO Betty Lou wan
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28
The Daily Short Story

Gered disconsolately downstairs to
wait for the breakfast bell. The
home of the fire fairies of Aunt
| Louise's stories drew her over to
. the fireplace. There stood the big
arm chair where She and Aunt
! Louise had sat when the latter told
! of, the adventures OF the forgotten
princess-and lying on the cushion
was a pile of letters, all sealed and
addressed, waiting for stamps.
Guess Aunt Louise wants these
mailed remarked Betty. lingering
them curiously. Shed let me
stick the stamps on and put EN- in
the box if she was awake. P'haps
they're awful important. I'd bet
ter mail en- Whereupon. with
great care, Betty moistened the
! stamps and placed them carefully
on the waiting envelopes, spelling
out the names as she did so.
Now what do you think of that!''
she expostulated as she laborious-
ly deciphered ITO Wallace, in care
of the Fire Fairies" Aunt Louise
does believe in fairies. l told Billy
SO! Fire fairies don't bother with
mail The postman brings letters.
| She must have rgotten-Oh,
goody, goody! I'll write the ad-
dress myself. I can print most as
! good as Billy n he's nine
Without further ado. she plump
ed down on the floor, and with
| many wrinklings of her small fore
head she printed the well-known
address, for Wallace lived right
next door, except now, in the sum-
mer, when he was at the seashere.
Now that Betty Lou considered, it
seemed funny that he had not been
to see them all summer. and it was
September now He used to spend
lots of time at their house, and
once she had heard nurse tell cook
that she guessed Mr.. Wallace was
Miss Louise's beau.
Betty Lou mentioned this at the
table. and mother replied that she
must not mention Mr.. Wallace
while Aunt Louise was there. She
! was so, stern that the perpetual
ny" on Betty Louis tongue slid
down her throat for some other oc-
casion. This was not the time to
mention the letter she had so pains
ldklngly addressed, and. with
nurses assistance, dropped into the
mail box But, as Betty Lou said
nothing at all about MIR. Wallace or
the letters, which Aunt Louise
seemed to have quite forgotten.
The next night there was no
good night" story for Betty Lon.
Aunt Louise seemed to have for
gotten all about the fire fairies. al
though she had entrusted them
with a very important letter. Rut
as Betty Lou could have assures
you, the fire fairies never forget If
you believe in them. They iv nm
the chimney. abroad in the world
and bring you your hearts desire
Didn't Betty Lou have a new fairy
tale book with colored pictures
Hadn't Aunt Louise kissed her
small niece and told her that fair
les really lived? For that after
noon Betty Lou had seen Mr.. Wal
lace race up the drive, and, catch
ing Aunt Louise in his arms, kiss
her And wasn't she to call him
Uncle Wally?'
Guess you'll be flower girl. sure
enough" said nurse TO the radiant
Betty Lou-and went out, leaving
her to dream of the fire fairies
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

@ How far is it from New York
TO San Francisco? H. h. r,
A. The distance from New York
to San Francisco is 3,1S6 miles.
Q. When was the first Ford car
made? ID. L. ,:
A. The first Ford car was Model
A which was made in 1908.
Q. How does the pay of railway
employees of today compare with 1t
before the>wa A. ". 5.
A. The United States railroad
labor board statistics show that the
average daily rate of pay for all
grades of railroad employees is now
s4.54, while in 1917 it was S2.S7.
The present rate includes the 1212
per cent wage cut authorized by
the board on July l, 1921.
O. Does gas consume Oxygen
when used for heating a room?
c. L. P.
A. Gas does consume a portion
of the oxygen when used for heat
ing a room. This objection is cas-
iIv overcome, however, by keeping
the room well ventilated. Fresh
air is heated more quickly than
stale air.
Q. Did the anthracite coal com
mission in 1903 recommend col
Iective bargaining for the anthra-
cite industry? /. O l.,
A. The award of the anthracite
coal commission of 1908 included a
detailed recommendation for a
comprehensive system of collective
bargaining for the hard coal indus
try.
@. Were addresses delivered on
the occasion of the burial of the
unknown French and English SOL
diers? H. A W.
A. Addresses were not made at
the burial of the unknown soldiers
of England and France.
@. What is the distinction be-
tween warm and cold-blooded ami
mails? A. l.. G.
A. Cold-blooded animals are
those (mostly of vertebrates of
classes below birdsl whose body
temperatures vary with that of the
water or air in which they live.
Warm animals are those
such as birds and mammals. which
have relatively high and constant
body temperature, usually consid-
erably above that of the surround
ing medium.
Q. We're any of the locomotives
sent to France during the war sent
ready for use? V. T.
A For the first time in history
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

American locomotives we're shf
ped across the Atlantic stacked z
ships on their own wheels. Ups
the arrival of the first C0nsignna
General Pershing csbIed, "Sll}
ment of erected locomotives trans
mitted on the Feit0re very sauT
factory" Five hundred ifty-thTs
locomotives went over in this ma
ner.
q. What is animal sugar.
NJ Z. 7
A. Glycogen or animal sugar .
a carbohydrate OF the same chen
cal composition as starch, hut W.
different chemical properties. II \
found in small amounts IN m3s--
lar tissue. and more abundsnlJ I
the liver. 1t has an iupOrJant lu--
ton in nutrition. being stored a. 4
reserve source OF energy LOT ~
body. Il
@. Is Christmas celebrated p
Argentina with a Santa Claus.
H. 5. D. v.
A. The American consul gene.
to Argentina SAYS that 'tht!
not have a Santa Claus II "
country as we practice Y j. n
United States, but on cacn 0'I
January they dress up TO z I, g W
limited extent what they eau
Reyes tThe Kings. VearlL5
Santa Claus beard and red OF ).
ored coat, but the perToTnal,--.
very tame and not al al gel..
o. What gave the iTideScel~
glass found in ancient runs
A. This glass was no. artl, -,os
" coIored The action OF the ~.
| ture of the earth caused De-
sition OF the glass by Thieh -
scales were formed on IT'S Sl,t &.
Q. Does the government a
railway own mail car? r - .
A. The postofice depaL'-s
saws the railroads own the .
cars. ,ss b
@. Please inform ne OF = r..
ference in the amount Of corr "a
sumed in the United states vi vi
ago and now. ,aaa.ls
A. During the years 20 .;or
the average yearly consump....s-s
corn was > 669.04S.0oo De1-
while the average for me 10 "a
1914-191S was 2,719.37S .0Oo ~
O. What denominations We
PILGRIM Tercentsuary STAMP al
a. The postofice DEPARTING.
that the Pilgrim leroeL'ts 80
stamps were issued as oneS'
and fYeA
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28
Frederick Haskin's Letter
Militarisrrs IN the Nursery.
tspecn Correspondents Of ne ArvusJ

, not destructive. Il should dor.,
the child in some wav. hp+ No,
essariiy in an obviously educsti.-,'
way. So simple a thing AZ IA IA
of paints will develop contr,, ".
| muscles and use of eolors
Balls and balloons are
structive toys. Ny baby N.Y., Soa
with balloon tied 70 her v s'a!s
the cradle. She learned tn +.
! eolors and 10 recognize Than
these colored balls. Later
learned to remember facts 60. 20
iingles, bouncing the bali A. 81 i
sang them. ~ Sl'
Dolls and doll houses too
constructive. They teach q.
the elements of housekeepi7s > >.
sewing, just as the TOW soIss =.
! teach the boy the principIes m - -.
fare. A new doll, not vet \, -
market, has phonograpb ro, ~.
inside. This has the endless ~
bilities of the phonograps - ~
teaching the child. ''
"A further extension ofrbi, ID.
TO toy animals is also 49, ~,
planned. The head of the New W. W.,
Geological Park is, I believe poir.
to make records of the e1act a,
NAL cries. so that instead os =.
COW, bird. and lion all making ,ir-'
lar MECHANICAL squawks. The H..
lion will roar and the hiuebir5 NJ
give its own trill This is a ,o-
structiye development of toy M.
ing"
Typewriter as Toy.
Mrs. StOner's favorite inv "a.
children and adults alike ia h.
typewriter. She holds that a CHI
of two can be taught reading ~.
spelling on. typewriter, and thai
grown person can improve a chro,.
ically poor memory By typtr,
things to be remembered.
Il agree with Edison Mn
Stoner said, that what is wo-.
learning is worth keeping. He san
that he never knew great e1err
tive who had q bad memory. II,
club woman would only imprs
the facts in her speeches by TWIN,
them. she would not torture d,
audience by speaking with her nos
in a sheaf of papers.
The typewriter makes nimbl
fingers. too One little girl b5s
two helpless fingers after an d.
tack of infantile paralysis. ",
cured her by use of a typewritsr
Mrs. Stoner speaks from ezper
ence when she points out the uss
of toys. for she educated be-
daughter largely by ingenious us
of playthings. Mrs. Stoner becars
known as an educator when bsr'
daughter Winlfred began to attrsc
attention. From the time the bat
was born. Mrs. Stoner gave her en-
tire time, and Centered all her d.
terest on educating her by natuB
education methods. Toys played a.
important part
The dolls Travelled to forsiE
countries and the customs, fuTI
ture. and clothing of the COu1tr
were reproduced to make the gan
realistic.
Bydrawing with c0iOred srayou
a comic man composed entirel
of circles. and others made OF tr .
angles and squares. the child lean
ed some of the simple principles
geometry.
Jingles were A favorite devic
with Mrs. StOner. Altogether sls
estimates she has made 10000 q
them. Her daughter learned m11
of her history, grammar and scislF
by jingles set to familiar tunes.
That her daughter. who is no'
10, is a prodigy. or even was, Mrs.
Stoner denies She claims that 81.
tried TO educate her to be an
round supernomraI person, an al
lete as well as d student
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28


That the toy soldier in the nursery
is a powerful influence for war is
the opinion Of Mrs. Winifred Sack
vile Stoner, the well known edu
Gator.
Mrs. Stoner holds the opinion
that what the average child in q
country is playing with is an in
dex of the way the country is head
ing-whether toward peaceful
progress or another war. Scrap
ping battleships, she says, will not
insure peace if the children of the
coming generation grow up with
the belligerent ideas that destruc-
tive toys are bound to instill.
Right now she points out
children are doing terrible things
Some French children stabbed
their mother to death recently
And from other countries stories OF
child criminals have been coming
Why? All through the war chill
dren have seen and heard about
destruction. and, besides, have had
so many destructive toys.
All through history the charac-
tiers and careers of men have been
shaped by their playthings. Ma
poleon played with toy cannon
Hannibal, as a little boy, held a
swore vengeance against the Ro-
mans. Frederick the Great had
weapons for toys.
"On the other hand, the boy Mo
Fart played with a violin, and I'll
tian played in the woods, painting
with juice of berries"
Further light on the importance
of the apparent ytriviaI toy sol
der was shed several years before
the recent war by Mrs. F. n. Jack
son in her book on toys.
She quotes many instances of
the toy soldiers of princes of sew
eral centuries ago Thus, Louis
XIV paid 5000 francs for IAN army
of cardboard soldiers finely paint
ed, for His Majesty, the King. to
give to Monseigneur le Dauphin.
This miniature army consisted of
20 squadrons of cavalry, 10 battal-
ions of infantry. They were later
on replaced by the little silver
army made by Merlin. the silver
smith, in the 18th century, from
artistic models. Not only we're the
men and horses made, but also
guns and other machines of war"
These silver men-at-arms and
their toy cannon were later melted
for their silver when the king be
gan to play with human soldiers
and cannon and needed money for
his wars.
Nearly all kings have played
with soldiers and guns when they
were children. Now that kings are
almost obsolete, what the modern
princeling plays with is not espe-
cially important. The toys of the
average child are what count.
Mrs. Stoner thinks that parents
are mainly responsible for a child s
interests. Children would not be
SO eager to play with toy pistols
and soldiers if their parents did not
when they are very small begin to
encourage them by gifts of such
toys.
Thus the soldier idea is impIant-
ed. To be a soldier, the child in
sists on having gun. And when
he grows up with the desire to ex-
change the toy gun for a soldiers
bayonet, the distracted mother
walls that her boy always seemed
to take the weapons.
This is the disastrous effect, we
are told, of the destructive toy. The
influence of the constructive toy is
found by Mrs. Stoner to be as
strong in another direction.
ITO be constructive" she SAYS,
"a toy must be more than merely
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

Please advise what should be
done when a baby has Spasms.
Should the baby be placed in a
warm bath if it reyives before the
bath is ready? What causes
spasms2 -(Mrs. +. E To
Answer-Piace the baby in j
very warm bath as quickly as pos
sib1e, even thought the spasm is
over before the bath is ready. Call
the doctor. An infant has spasms
or commissions with the onset CT
vsrious illnesses which, in adults,
Legin with chilliness or chill only.
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

Thinking men make the best soldiers. anu
yet Frederick the Great declared tnat Ii SUI
diers were thinking men they wouId not oe
hghting men.e 1t remained TOT great amer
lean soldier to alter the epigram: Let Us have
neace.p The thinking world is turning to that
thought
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

PERHAPS we shall yet shine in the movies.
Who knows? For witness the case of HouSe
Peters, who made his stage debut in a Sunday
school entertainment.
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28
CIR Unn1hatnnr
HERE LIES MANS ANCIENT KNEsEY.
| Dull GAZE.
/ WHO p1asrERs THE UNLovED cUss.
hEWA6E!
G. COLUMBUS, JR.

C. COLUMBUS, JR.
Although he's only hve years old
He's full of enterprise;
He is a navigator bold
With most observing eyes.
From early morn till sun has set
He dearly loves TO roam:
And never does the lad forget
To bring his treasures home
The dumps" his fav-rite stamping ground
Where worthless" things are thrown:
They bring him pleasure most profound
He claims them as his own.
Old leather belts, poor broken toys
He finds them by the score,
And. finding them, finds greater joys
Than e'er he knew before.
I wonder if he was designed
To deal in junk some day?
/ wonder if he's so inclined?
Bgosh, things point that way -.
Now, son, | wouldn't treat you rough
I'm hardened to your shocks
But don't you think it rather tough
To bring US chickenpox?
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
Another Family Doctor Gone to
Sod

AANs-sCA
Seed.
am giving my II year old girl
milk of magnesia for bed wett1ng.
Will it cure her? l took her to the
family doctor three years ago, but
he said she would outgrow it,
MRS. F. J. L.
Answer-No. That notion of out
growing disease has been outgrown
by the medical profession. Glad to
send you advice about the proper
r1anagement of bed wetting If you
will repeat your request and IN
close a stamped envelope address
ed to yourself.
The Right idea for a Mother.
This is the second time | have
written you for advice. Your an
sver to my first letter proved more
valuable to me than the advice of
q physician to whom | paid STo for
attendance in confinement. My
baby is very healthy. How soon
nav the band be removed? Am |
doing myself harm by going with
cut corsets? I do not wear even
girdle, and my well-meaning
friends proph ssy all sorts of sad
fates for me. I weigh 115 pounds
end have been called ''vulgarly
healthy" I nave several medals
won in swimming, and [ swim at
! least once a week the year around.
[ also do a series of exercises at
home night and morning to keep
myself in good physical condition.
Mrs ". X. Ed
Answer-The belly band should
he discarded as soon as the navel
dressing is discontinued. You are
wise to omit corsets and other
splints and supports, and keep your
cwn muscles in proper condition 10
support you. You will preserve
both health and figure by such a
course.
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28
Argus Information Bureau


osnnny
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

EVEN though We have long. hard winter
Little Len has small cause for vorrv.
BRUNDAGE will make things hot for him
r. E. MIG.
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28
HEALTH TALKS
Rv William Rradu M d
Noted Physician and Author.

Aside from all the good mystery
aId detective stories | could get
hold of, at 81 I'd read again Cor,
naro's 1.-The Art of Living Long.
Cornaro had some license to speak
on the subject, being 102 when he
slipped away. And l hope III De
we'll confirmed in the habit OF tear
ing off three or four miles OF oxy-
gen on the hoof every day when l
am 81, so that 1 shall become no
namby-pampy sitting beshawled by
the FIRE watching the clock for med
icine time.
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

ENCLOSING our Inflated diary of t'other
day Peter observes: AT times even your write
hand knoweth not what your left hand doeth.
Peter said more, but we have consideration for
the feelings of our readers-not to mention our
own. Peter is the steenth person to chide US
about that unfortunate caption. We had no
idea so many persons read this column.
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

Written on the Lid Of Candy Box.
Women are much like other sweets:
Some contain unsupported sherry
Or cherry, perhaps;
Soft and yielding are they,
And very nice.
Others give resistanceA
The square, hard kind.
] find the ones in tinfoil
Are very like the rest -
The slabs of pure chocolate
Are wholesome, of course. but
The kind / like the best
Contain hidden spice
And have nut on top.
Whatever be your taste
| think it deplorable to bite one
And put it back
In the box
Dwight Taylor in The Coming Tower
The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-28

about that unfortunate caption. we mad no
idea so many persons read this column.
Very Small for His Age, What.
From The August
Louis DeSmet 35S Eighth street, Mo-
line, WHO sold hooch to a 16year-old
boy in a pop bottle
ONE would conjecture that the Rochelle
0llD News is a clean newspaper 1t is pub
lihsed by Lux Bros & Heath. But what is
your opinion of the oregon City tOreD Enter
prise. upon learning that II. f Hoss has just
assumed full charge of the plant? one
boss newspaper, probably.