Show I J 1 1 T T ll 1 1 J f THE LOST BROWNIE In a little gray house on a little gray grayhill grayhill I hill lived a little gray woman all alone She was not very old but she had thouY thoU ht t of herself so much and of not else in the to world that she had bec become a an ugly dried up creature with never a smile and never a kind word or crust for another Of course it was a sad life But the dame did not realize It If a person person person per per- son stopped to chat she hurried Into the house afraid the visitor might wish a cup of water and if a poor man came begging to her door she drove him away with a st stick ck So day by day she grew more withered and ugly till people almost regarded her as a witch But she was not she not she was only a silly selfish young woman who was drying up her life Ute by her thought of un- un kindness ss One day as she was watering her plants she saw a dear little brownie picking a crumb from her table She I sprang at the little man with her broom uplifted and hit him on the heel As she did so the tiny golden shoe fell from his foot to the floor The dame I picked it up Oh Oh give me my shoe back moaned the brownie weeping I cannot cannot cannot can can- not return home without it they it-they they will not let me in If it is lost Ha ha replied the dame that is le Is' Is fine I can keep you here and you can cando cando cando do my work I 1 will not pay you a penny I will keep the shoe And she hid it down deep in the bottom of an iron chest then tied the key around her neck The poor brownie was now a pris pris- oner He had to get up at dawn and work all day with little to eat and many hard words for the dame seemed to get meaner every hour Very thin and pale he grew His gown fell In shabby folds about his bones and his sad eyes were always filled with tears And more ugly each day grew the dame No No matter how hard she and the brownie looked bad the weeds filled the garden and bats began to build in the eaves of the cot cot- tage Each day the house grew more desolate and each hour the tiny brownie worked till he almost fainted One day the dame was cutting up a abig abig abig big weed when the ax slipped and cut cuther cuther cuther her foot The kind brownie ran to her washed the blood from her leg legand legand legand and gently bound up the wound Then he brought her a cup of tea and a stick sUck so she could limp to her bel bed As she lay there she caught a glimpse of the good little mans man's face How pale it looked and the eyes shone In great dark hollows hollows' For the first time in her life she felt sorry for him his his kindness had at last touched her heart With shame she reflected on her cruelty Brownie she called here is is iskey th key to my chest chesti unlock it It find in the bottom your shoe and bring It t to me Trembling with Joy the little man unlocked the chest and soon had the shoe in his possession But he did not keep it Handing it to the dame he waited You have served d me long and faithfully faithfully faith faith- fully she said with a sob in her voice And you have had poor treatment treat treat- ment But I see now how unkind I have been Can you forgive me Take your shoe and return home I 1 Iam Iam am sick and helpless but I 1 cannot bear the thought of having you a prisoner any longer Go at once The brownie put on the shoe and with a glad cry vanished while the dame turned over to take a nap knowing knowing knowing know know- ing that she had no one to help her herand herand herand and was helpless in the bargain I deserve to suffer she said to herself I have kept that little fellow from his home for a long time Oh how wicked I 1 have been I can see in the mirror that my life has made me ugly in face as It has in soul And she shivered at the image of ot herself herself herself her her- self in the glass But no sooner had she fallen asleep than there was a a. soft noise in the room A band of brownies led by the little man came trooping In and set setto setto setto to work so quietly that they never disturbed disturbed disturbed dis dis- the sleeper The floors were scrubbed and covered covered covered cov cov- ered with a bright carpet the walls painted and filled with beautiful pictures pictures pic plc- tures the yard was set with roses of every hue and in the garden a dozen brownies planted every kind of seed In the kitchen the room was swept the stove polished and the cupboard filled with fold chickens were put In Inthe Inthe Inthe the poultry house and in the to meadow a sheep a cow and a horse Then on the stove there was placed a fine dinner dinner dinner din din- ner to bake Then just before they left the brownies each placed a hand handon on the wounded ankle and rubbed It gently till tm the smart healed When the dame woke up she could scarcely believe her eyes her eyes her shabby old house was a thing of beauty full of light and pretty things The sheep bleated the horse neighed at the gate and the cow lowed from the field while from the kitchen came the delicious smell of a fine dinner She put her foot to the floor floor it it was well Full 1 of happiness she looked In the mirror and saw her ugly face race was changed its selfish fading So that she was no longer the mean cross dame but for the future she was known to her neighbors and to the brownies as the good dame of ot the pretty pretty pretty pret pret- ty house Copyright 1918 IBIS by the do th N S New ew York Yak City |