Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1936-01-03
''Chirps" ~
from the
Democrats Pen

exchanges that find their way into the
sanctum sanctorum of the worcester
Democrat" you'll find there a very
interesting little story about young
Miss and mouse. The heading which
the editor put on that article was:
"Truth Stranger Than Fiction" That's
right; but the presumption in that old
adage is, it must be an honest-to-
goodness specimen of truth.
II any of you don't want to take
the trouble to look and see about the
story, I'll tell you; what it was: A
young Mt. Vernon lass, just past
sweet sixteen, was sitting enjoying
the comfo,t of warm fire mighty
fine articles of household goods these
days, I'm here to tell you. She is re-
ported to have, apparently, been mus
ing. She sat idly slipping her class
ring up, and down her finger. That
is, the article said it was her "class
ring; perhaps, it might have been
another kind of ring, in which case the
subject Of her revere may well be
determined. @
Anyhow, in the absorption of the
moment, she inadvertently slipped the
ring off her finger. It dropped from
her grasp, fell on the hearth, struck
q wee mousie which was probably
sharing the warmth of the room, and
broke it's neck, poor little thing!
Now, you know, it's wonder to me
there wasn't a double tragedy right
there. Looks to me as if that young
lady would have broken her neck try
ing to get away from that little ver-
min, if all they say about the terrify-
ing effect of the genus "mus" on the
genus "femina." I can hear her
scream now, dart panicky through the
door, or jump on a table, holding her
skirts about her ankles. Isn't that
the picture you paint of<it? Certain
ly.
But no, Sir, that young lady evil
IDENTIFY had studied biology, physiology
or some other "ology' at Washington
High, and the public is asked to be-
lieve she Immediately proceeded to a
post norton examination of the lit
tie rodent to ascertain the "causa
mortis" thereof. Now, can you Wis
ualize any sweet creature like the
owner of the ring getting that close
to a mouse-dead or alive? Truly,
truth is stranger than fiction, if she
did. How about fiction being strang-
.er than truth-sometimes.
Another thing, I'd like to know is,
who saw that ring hit that mouse?
I know well enough if that young
lady watched that gold circlet on its
way to it's death errand, and saw it
before it plopped back of the var
nint's neck, there's a thousand
chances to one she did not see the
close of the incident, and Pm confident
she cuoldn't have heard the crack Of
the mouse's cervical vertebrate. AS
aforesaid, she more likely let out a
whoop and left for parts unknown.
Well, I'm from Missouri. I'm a
doubling Thomas. I'd like to see an
X-ray of that mouse's spinal column,
before I'd testify to fracture. |
am more likely to believe it was dead
ages before the fall of the ring, and
maybe it had succumbed to bitter cold.
However,, it's the first time I ever
heard of a ring being used for a
mouse trap. I've heard of lots OF
people being trapped by ring, and
one of the evils of the day is the easy
way they can be 'untrapped" out Ne
vada way. And I can also say, it
were better that some died after the
ring ceremony than to live the life
they do.
Well, I want to say my brother OF
the Princess Anne paper, has some
thing now to wave in the face of its
"Newtown" contemporary if all are
facts as stated. We wouldn't think
of attempting to emulate such awful
tragedies. You know, there's an old
saying "a mouse can look at king,
but when it stops to look at ring-in
Somerset-then the death knell tolls
out upon the wintry air, or the win
ter's hearth, which would you say?
Another adage Curiosity killed a
cat" and maybe now new version
may be published, Curiosity killed a
rat" These are wondrous times, and
as the old lady said, wonders will
never stop ceasing."