| Show UtAh LITTLE JOHNNY Tho Stry of a Little Boy Who Lovcd IIls Mother Johnny Green was the son of a poor widow whose husband went one to feed the hogs one evening and never returned to the bosom of his dear family It was supposed sup-posed by some that he was abducted and held for ransom and by others that he wus devoured by a cow bat whichever way it was his wife was left with a mighty small farm and a mighty big mortgage drawing 10 per cent and she couldnt waste any time tying back her dresses or frizzing her hair Had it not been for little Johnny she would have given up in despair He cut all the wood brought water from the spring labored in the garden and when she sometimes broke down under her burden bur-den of grief he stood before her and man fully said Dont let her get the start of you dear mother Shut your teeth and hang on It will all come right and youll ride around in your own top buggy yet And then she was consoled and comforted comfort-ed And she patted him on the head and said how glad she was that he had been spared to her One day little Johnny found his mother weeping as if her heart would break and when he demanded the cause she confessed that SCOO interest was due on the mortgage that very day while she had only seventeen cents and a lottery ticket in the house Old Stonehart who held the mortgage mort-gage would no doubt be there before night to say Gimme them interest or skip What no sugarl Then consider yourself skup pedMother Mother do not worry pleaded the boy It will redden the end of your nose to cry and besides old Stoneheart cannot disturb us Theres a hen on My child you speak queerly What ia it Do not keep me in suspense There is the mortgage mother and here is the discharge of It in duo form from the county clerk Am I awake dreaming Child child What means thisl she cried Only a little surprise dear mother Last June Elder Davidson offered me a cent for every ten tater bugs Id kill on his vines and daring my spare hours when you thought I was felling frogs and playing play-ing marbles I killed seventeen billion bugs and got my cash on the nail Tomorrow we go over to the Red Clay farm which I now own and there will be four loads anew a-new furniture on hand before noon There comes my carriage and driver now and if you will put on these diamonds and lockup lock-up about five bushels of gold in the pantry well take a little whirl around the schoolhouse school-house to show off And wasut that real nice Detroit Free Press |
