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Show I A I New Year's I Discovery t t V V V i By j i I Katherine Edelman 5 5- ;f"wTr WAS a typical mid-west-S tern New Year's eve. Snow rtT was fallins ln soft' feattiery !7aiSjJ fla-KeSi turning the city into a panorama of beauty. Dorothy Cran- dell caught her breath sharply as she looked at the picture. Suddenly she slapped on her brakes; In her interest she had "almost run over a little fellow on the snow-covered park drive. Jumping out hastily, she inquired of the hoy If he was hurt. "No, ma'am." he answered, half apologetically. "I I'm sorry I was In the way. I ought to have been look-in', look-in', but but I was worryin' about ma." "Oh, It was all my fault," Dorothy answered, surprised sur-prised at herself. "And and I'm so glad you're not hurt. If you tell me where you're going, I'll be glad to take you there." "You see, ma'am," the little fellow tried hard to keep the quaver out of his voice, "my ma Is real 6lck and aDd 1 thought, maybe, I could shovel snow for some rich folks to help out." Dorothy Crandell was not In the habit of paying particular attention to ragged urchins. Born In the lap of luxury, she bad never taken any interest in-terest in those who have to wrest an existence from life. Now she was shaken out of her usual selfishness, and frightened, too, by the thought that she might have killed the boy. And, too. the maaliness of the little fellow, coupled with his solicitude for his mother, touched her strangely. Something awoke Dorothy's heart thai had never come to life before. Then she took the boy Into her car and drove back with him to the little lit-tle cottage down In the hollow where his mother lay ill. In the two hours that followed Dorothy Dor-othy Crandell made the discovery that she had been of very little real service ln the world before. For the first time in her life she felt the glow of happiness that comes from helping others. The grat 1 1 u d e and appreciation of the sick woman touched her beyond measure. Tears had welled up Into the faded eyes as she took the hill that Dorothy pressed into her hand at leaving. "As soon as Jim conies back from the hospital and we get on our feet again, I'll pay every cent of It hack," she said. "No no! you mustn't think of It," Dorothy answered back. This New Year's experience had awakened her to the discovery that life's greatest happiness lies in making others happy. (, 1929, Wefti'rn Newspaper Union.) |