Show PRINCESSS JOKE Why Deacon Davis Was Late at Church by Margaret Spencer I knew a Maryland cat that really seemed to like to play jokes on people And one Sunday she arranged things so that Deacon Davis and his wife walked up the aisle of the church half an hour behind be-hind time And that was a town where it was considered to be Ia living disgrace dis-grace to be late at church Princess was a large shining black cat belonging tothe Davis family Her grandmother was born on that farm and Princess was allowed all the privileges priv-ileges of her old grandmother before her She was the happy young mother of three coalblack princesses and In their soft bed of wool in the childrens closet they seemed to enjoy life amazingly That Sunday morning Mrs Davis had started the children off to church with their big sister The house was in perfect per-fect order Her best black silk was already al-ready on and the deacon stood at the front door in his tall silk hat while the horse pawed in the yard T Come mother come shouted the deacon Still a great silence Another shout Come mother its I time we were off I Father will you step up stairs Como t I quick was the only reply to his call L II The deacon thinking sickness or death must have overtaken somebody stepped I lively to his chamber I Standing on a chair in the open closet i door was Mrs Davis I On the topmost shelf of that closet always I al-ways lay her velvet bonnet very handsome I hand-some one the velvet good the bonnet itself it-self large and suitable and folded inside the black lace veil of real thread I Mrs Davis looked down from the chair as the deacon entered a frown on her I face She said sharply Father get up here and look at this The deacon moved another chair to the closet door and stood beside her and looked on the upper shelf Two beautiful beauti-ful shining green eyes stared at him ou 7c t r e f t Sit p r 1 t k s d FILLED TO THE BRIM of the dark corner Two more eyes two more till eight bright eyes shone into his own Mrs Daviss black velvet bonnet was full to the brim There lay Princess curled into as small a space as possible with her three princesses wiggling around her I t Ive a great notion to give her a good whipping said Mrs Davis The deacon got down out of the chair and received into his hands one by one the cats as they were handed down to him by his wife A mild cuff did fall an Princess Prin-cess as she too purring in great beatification beatifica-tion was assisted out of tho bonnet Between brushing and dusting and straightening onto laughing and scolding scold-ing and wonderments as to how Princess ever got her kittens up there Deacon Davis and his wife were late to church |