Show Lt I 1 MARTHA AND PETER Martha and Peter Poter lived on the bank banle of a river Peter was a miller and Martha was Martha was his wife Poor Peter had hada a hard time of ot it for Martha was a a. scold and always found fault with everything poor poor Peter did If he sat down to smoke his pipe Martha was sure to call him to get some wood or r a pall pail of water One day Peter came in from the mill tired from a hard days day's work and andI I sat down in front of the fire firo for a aI smoke I I Get right out of hero here with your wet boots 1 boots cried Martha seizing the I broom for she did not mind giving poor Peter Ieter a whack on the back when he did not move fast enough to suit her Peter jumped up and hurried to the door I 1 wish that broom would fly flyaway flyaway away with you ou old woman he said Bald Martha 1 swung the broom over her herI shoulder to give him an extra hard hardI I I whack when to her surprise the broom swung heri her around and around and and then suddenly flew flew up over the housetop taking Martha with It Up Up- and up went Martha still clinging cling cling- ing ipg to the broom over the trees and up in the clouds until she was out of sight of everything Old North Wind came along and gave her a sharp whack on the cheeks as he blew past Hello Martha he ho said Let me set you on the broom you can ride better and you have a a. along along long rid tide before you I can assure you you Martha for once in her life had no answer to make malie She felt herself lifted to the broom handle and then she clung on as she had seen witches do in pictures Up up she went until Martha heard someone say Right flight t in here Martha i I have been expecting you Martha looked around and there was old Mr Sun Man Map looking at her over the edge of a cloud Come over behind this cloud and clean my house for me he said Martha was just going to tell him to clean it himself but she felt herself bounce over the cloud and the ne next neat t thing she knew she was standing Inthe in inthe inthe the middle of a very large and dusty room The old Sun Man lan looked so sn smiling and jolly that anyone but Martha Maltha would have smiled too but Martha looked at the big room and said she wouldn't clean it for anybody She grabbed grabb d her broom just as she shedid shedid shedid did when Peter said something she shedid shedid shedid did not like but the Sun Man only smiled more broadly and around the tile room flew the tile broom with Martha clinging to it Ill clean the room said Martha l Stop this horrid broom Martha swept and dusted until she was tired out and sat down in a corner corner corner cor cor- ner to rest Come Martha l you Jou cannot rest I you never let Peter rest You know it is time for Mr Moon Man to shine and he wants you to clean his house Poor Martha could hardly get up she was so tired but Mr Sun Man opened the door and out flew the broom with Martha clinging to it She saw Mr Moon Man peeking through the clouds and he called her herto herto herto to stop Martha he said I want you to sweep away all the clouds so soI soI soI I can shine over all the land Martha took a look about All around her were were little clouds Marthas Martha's arms were tired and she knew she never never- could sweep away all the clouds if she tried Then she let go of the broom not caring what happened for she dared not tell Mr Moon Man she would not sweep away the clouds for him Down down Martha felt herself falling falling falling fall fall- ing and she wondered if Peter would see her and catch her or If she would fall Into the river and be drowned or orIf orif orif if she would fall down the chimney and fall into the fireplace And then she reached the ground with a bump Martha rubbed her eyes and looked around her There she saw sitting in her own kithen in her chair chaar by the fire place and the broom she had been holding had fallen on the floor and awakened her She had been dreamIng dreamIng dreaming dream- dream Ing all the time Peter opened the door Just then but to his surprise Martha did not chase him out Instead she pulled his chair closer to the fire and asked him if he was tired And after that when Peter came in from the mill if Martha II I started to tell him he must do something something some some- some some-I thing else she thought of the dream I and changed her mind saying he could I wait until he had rested I Peter ne never never er knew what changed Martha from a scold to a good wife and she did not tell him her dream for she was never quite sure whether it really was a a. dream or whether Peters Peter's wish that the broom would fly flyaway flyaway away with her came true Copyright 1917 1017 by bj the McClure Newspaper Syndicate New York CI City |