The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1924-11-07
Dreams and
Reality

By MYRA CURTIS LANE
O. 1928. Western Newspaper union.)

the door of her cottage.
Dear me, it's beginning to rain
and the children will get their fee
wetl" she murmured. II do wisl
Kenneth and Elsie wouldn't dawdle 81
on their way home from SCHOOL,"
She looked anxfously up and dow
the street, went back into the cottage
and began picking up the blocks ant
puzzles that strewed the floor.
"They never will learn to tidy uI
after they've finished playing" she
said. II ought to have put these
things away this morning, but two
busy pairs Of hands and feet keep one
pretty well occupied. And now / sup
pose I'll have to get their tea, and
this evening there will be those stock
ings to finish knitting"
She prepared the meal-bread and
butter. thick bread but literally
spread, and a cereal, and opened a
pot of jam.
"Oh. dear, the grocer has sent me
gooseberry, and l promised Kenneth
he won't be disappointed"
A few minutes later she was flying
down the stairs.
why, children, how late you are.
Why did you take so long coming
home from school? Stopped to play
with the Price children? Now, my
dears, I've told you often and often
that you must come straight home
from school. or slse-or else Uncle
John won't bring you any presents
when he comes. Now get upstairs;
teas waiting"
Upstairs she filled two little mugs
with milk, adding a dash of weak tea.
She put spoonful Of jam on each
plate. "Now you eat up every bit
of your crusts," she said, cor your
hair won't curl"
She hustled to and fro until the
meal was over.
"Now I suppose you've got to have
your stories" she said. Mercy, chill
dren, I'll be glad when you've learned
to read, so that you can read stories
at nights for yourselves How ever
am I to get your stockings finished
when I've got to read to you.
"Well, what shall it be-Grimms
or Andersen's Fairy Tales? If you
were a little older I'd read you Rob-
inson Crusoe, but you wouldn't be
quite big enough to understand yet
what 1t was all about. How would
you like mother to tell you true
story instead. son would?
"All right You get on mothers lap,
Kenneth. Now, Elsie, you aren't go
Ing to be jealous of your little
brother, are you? Well, 1 suppose
you'll have both to come then. My,
you are load! You're getting too
big for mother to hold!
well, this is true story: Once
upon time there was a little girl
who grew up very slowly. She never
quite wanted to be grown up. She
liked to stay at home with her
mother and help her with the house
work. She didn't like playing outside
the house very much.
well, this little girl used to have |
dreams of her own from the time she |
was very small She used to dream |
that some day a man would come |
along who would fall in love with her
and ask her to marry him. Then they
would be married, and they would
live in a house of their own, and love
each other very much. And they
would have two children, little girl
called Elsie and a little boy called
Kenneth.
"Yes, told you it was true story,
all the time about these two dream
of hers, and plan every min
ute of the day all the things she
would do for them. And at last the
fairy prince did come along and fall
In love with her and ask her to marry
him.
"They were very much in love with
each other. and they were to be mar
ried when June came. But by the
time June arrived the fairy prince
hnO w s " W cot Oh DuoiACoo. <AAQ LuCIc
was dreadful accident to the train
And he-he was killed, children.
"And after that years went by, and
at last another man came by and saw
The little girl and was very sorry for
her and wanted to marry her. But,
hough she was tempted, she didn't
marry him. You see, the fairy prince
vas still sort Of reality to her, and
The knew she preferred living with
him, and with her dream children to
he other man, and perhaps some real
children who weren't her children in
Iuite the same way"
Louise Winters got out of the chair.
The weight upon her knees had
eemed quite real Now she realized
hat she was just an old maid, and
ute alone in her little cottage She
ighed. But somehow she felt that
/ was not altogether a dream
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