Show EASTERS EGG FROLIC A Story for Little Children By Sarah winter Kellogg I Across the street lives a little girl named Easter You can guess why she is so named She was born on Easter morning Last spring she gave a birthday party There were nine boys and nine girls invited in-vited and not one of the eighteen sent regrets re-grets When they were all in the parlor sitting around with hands in laps very demure as children usually are when they are getting get-ting ready to mako the whole house ring Easters older sister came in and said while Easter herself sat surprised I have hidden little Easter Eggs in these two rooms in all sorts of funny nests Now listen When Easter say readyas she must when I wave mj handkerchief you must all start egg hunting around in these parlors You mustnt run you mustnt crowd each other and you must be as quiet as possible pos-sible Each one is to have all the eggs that he finds and the one who finds the most is to have a present and the one who gets the smallest number 13 to have something to console him Easter dopsnt know where any of the eggs are hidden Now Ill give you baskets to I gather your eggs in Such beau tirel little basketsnineteen she then passed around Now then All rise Tommy I stand up please Remember when you hear ready you are all to go looking for the eggs Attention Now Easter > Easiers sisterwaved her handkerchief I Easter called out bravely II Ready At the signal word tnechildren started I some timidly others rushingly Ive found one So have I I aont see I anyl Where are they all Oh heros a nestful Im getting lost The eggs were found in surprising places in vases in the piano pinned in curtains in a dolls pocket behind pictures pic-tures under cushions in table drawers As the search went on words grew louder the calls more eager the laugh ing merrier But the children didnt break or overturn things becauee valuable valu-able and delicate things had been put out of the way All the little folks kept in good temper though small boy Tommy in kilts cried some partly from disappointment j > disappoint-ment and partly because Myron Dart pushed him I But at length the findings were few and I far between and the interest began to I flag the two who believed they had good i i chances for the prize began to call for counts Easters sister did the counting writing writ-ing on a card the findings of each child The room was breathless as she said Tommy bas the smallest number he has one egg At this announcement Tommy began to i veil demanded his hat that he might go home and tell his mamma Easier who stood next to Tommy in the line said II Why yes Tommy has more I than one I I HOh but Easter cheated cried Myron Dart who stood on Tommys other side She has just put eggs out of her basket into Tommya I have sawn her do it Youd better give Tommy some of your eggs instead of telling on Easter Ruth Clark said with a flush J I i All this time Easters sister was trying to get in some words between Tommys I shrieks But see here Tommy we are going a t U i i i to give you a present to make up for yon I I not getting many eggs71 TK 1 The yelling suddenly ceased an I Tommy wiped his two eyes with his two fists Ai fistshe announcement continued Ruth T Clark and Chucky Potter have the most eggs and they have exactly the samo f number Theyll have to draw straws H I Give the prize to Ruth I sbant t i mind said fat goodnatured Chucky But I mind Kuth said 0 Catch ma taking half your prize Chucky Potter HI will tell yon said Easters sister t who had been adding the figures on the I card There are three eggs not yet j b found Well not call the game finished f until they are found I propose that Ruth II and Chucky make a search for these Any that wish may join in the hunt enlisting en-listing under Ruth and Chucky as lead I I j 1 d11l f I 1I i d9 I i I 4 I OH UJKDY KB HE HA HA I ers only there must be as many helpers t for one leader as the other There were six volunteers for each leader What a hunt they made They looked into everything that would hold the little eggs which by the way were not real eggs at all but manufactured ones of bisque they searched behind the furniture and under the rugs and the Navajo Indian blankets that Easters Uncle Major had sent from New Mexico 0 Weve just looked everywhere one said II Another added Yes we have and they arent anywhere in these parlors even if she did say that they were o But they are in these parlors said Easters sister You see that I can hear L yet Kath noting this queer speech looked sharply at the speaker and directly site cried out in great excitement 1 see ono of the eggs its in your ear Running forward she stood on tiptoe and picked the guilty egg from the sisters sis-ters ear while all the children came crowding around laughing and saying things that the printer couldnt put inhere in-here without using up all his exclamation exclama-tion points Then they looked in the sisters other ear rummaged her hair demanded that she should show the palms of her hands and open her laughing mouth But they found no other egg f about her Then there was another search about the room but it was spiritless so sure were the egg hunters that there would be no findings Oh just give the prize to Ruth said Chucky Oand lets play blind mana buffBut But where can those other eggs be said Ruth her curiosity well upI up-I have a large handkerchief for blinding blind-ing persisted Cbucky feeling in his pocket 0 Well I do declare he cried out Heres an egg in my pocket Yon put it there I know you did The sister did not deny the charge 1flf H fr 1 A C SNOW STARTS FOR BEAR CREEK Again von and Ruth have a tie Now push ahead and find the other egg Theres just one more Among the bisque eggs there is one of candy A prize is i going to be given to that one of yon whoL can pick out the candy egg without having hav-ing tasted it Ruth went around feeling in all the pockets and looking in everybodys ears Chucky poked about not interested At length Ruth said I give up Ive looked everywhere in these rooms I cannot find that last egg And seventeen other children said that they had looked everywhere and that they couldnt find it Then Easters sister went around looking in every place where she had hidden an egg CI cant find it either She looked f peroiexed w Perhaps you made mistake in countf ling ingLho sister was making as if to recount Dont count them over Chucky advised ad-vised There wasnt any mistake Do you know where that last egg is J Yes said Chucky fc Where called a dozen voices S 01 know Chucky said with a nod and wink The children clamored to be told begging beg-ging and scolding Chucky held the crowd off for a time and then made a concession con-cession Its inside of somebody 11 What do you mean I Its swallowed Swallowed Who swallowed it I i A boy j Who what boy 1 One of the boys in this room I Will you baheve that Chucky didnt know anything whatever about the missing miss-ing egg He was talking just to tease the folks He swallowed it himself and that gives him the prize said Ruth Clark Chucky swallowed the other esgT > Cuuclcy didnt swallow the cand canat < t iti JI egg Tommy cried out with angry tears i and stamping his small foot He xdidnt swallow it swallowedjt myself I I M 1 did I did I did but first I chewed it along a-long time like my grandmother told mo r I I11l1stI didnt bolt it i How did you know it was a candy i I ge asked the sister i Why I looked at it What makes you I auk 1111 so many questions And Tommy knitted his little brows and made ready i to cry I j I I The sister decided that Tommy was to I I have the candy prize as well as the booby Ruth and Chucky drew straws for the first prize and Ruth won ita beautiful i filigree nest I Im glad I didnt get it said Umcky Ourbaby would have smashed it Mamma lets him have anything in the house that he wants And then they played blind mans buff |