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Show I "OUR NEW YEAR'S EUIT." (BY RALPH BROOKES.) It was New Year's, and all my aunts and uncles had come front town to spend the da. They always said it was such a treat to get in the country, and they liked to come and always did on New Year's. On Christmas we went to their house. This was a cold snowy morning, and us boys was all sittin' 'round the fire, wonderin' what to do, when Aunt Mil- lie said: "Boys, how would you like to skate up the river to the pine woods j and get some green boughs for the j house? It will seem so much more like New Year's with decorations." Now there was Fred and George and Ned and me, and we just looked at each other and jumped tor our skates. That was what we had been" aching I to do. ! In a few minutes away we went up j the river. The ice was good, and we I felt pretty happy about the turkey and I the mince pies we was a-goin' to have j for dinner. We skated about a mile and a half I and then went in the woods. Ned j climbed the tree and cut off the i branches, and we tied them all up with a rope we had brought, so as to carry them easv. and then we went farther in the woods to explore. Ned, my cousin, cous-in, who was ahead, stopped all of a sudden and said, "What's that?" "Looks like smoke," said I. "P'r'aps it's Indians," said Fred, ray cousin from town; "let's go home." "Pooh! Indians," said my Brother George, "we don't have Indians here." We walked on a little and soon saw through the pine trees a little log hut, with the smoke a-pouring out of the, chimney. "Let's go and peek in," said George. "All right," said I. I knew it was real mean, but we crept up, real quiet-like, and peeped through the cracks. There wasn't any windows. And what do you s'pose we saw? A man, a woman and a little feller, a oaoy, just Dig 'nough to walk, all. sittin' sit-tin' by an old . stove a-tryin' to keep ! warm. j And what do you s'pose they had for ; a New Year's . dinner. Just guess! j Some dry bread, without any butter, I and three potatoes one apiece for 'em. The table had a red cloth, all holes, and tin plates and cups. When the little feller saw what was on his plate he just cried and looked so hungry. Then the woman looked at the man and begun to cry. We stopped a-lookin' then, and all seemed to think the same. thing at once, for we all said, "Let's fetch 'em a New Year's dinner." din-ner." "Yes, let's," said Fred, who had kept pretty still, bein' afraid they was Indians. In-dians. j Well, now, you just ought to have seen us run. We took up the boughs and away we went home like the wind". We was all out of breath when we got there and all tried to talk at once, and they couldn't make a word out of what we said. So, finally I said, "Now, see here, boys. I'm the biggest and let me tell It." So they kept pretty still till I come to the part about the little chap and then they all chimed in again. Then my mother says, "Well, boys, what is it your want to do?" "Take 'em a New Year's dinner," we said all at once. Then mother sat and didn't say anything any-thing for a minute, and then all at once she s'prised us by sayin'. "Bovs. I'm afraid there isn't enough for so many." Then George began to cry that wafj just like George, and said, "Oh, mother, if you'd a-seen how that little feller looked!" Then mother said, kind a quiet-like, fookin' at us boys, "Would you be w01t ing to give them your share of the dinner?" din-ner?" That was terrible! We looked at each other and kind a-swallowed a-swallowed down the lumps in our throats. We'd been a-thinkin' about that dinner all morning, and could smell the turkey and all the good things. At last I spoke up and spoke real loud, "I will." Then Ned said, "Me, too." And Fred and George said, "Yes let's do." Then mother smiled and went out into the kitchen, and in a minute poked her head in the door and said: "Shall I put in your share of the pudding, too?" Now, that was worse than ail, but we said -real loud and strong, "Yes, ma'am." In a few minutes the basket was all ready, and we put on our skates again, and away we went. We rapped at the door and the woman wo-man looked so glad when she saw the basket, and when we said "It's a New lears dinner," she just threw her apron over her head and cried, t Then the man came to the door an6 said, "Come in," and so we did. They opened the basket and put the things on the table, and you ought just to have seen them smile and the little chap dance up and down. Oh, it was worth all the dinners in the world to see how happy he was. Then we took the basket and the woman thanked us all and said we was "nice boys," and then we skated homd again and told 'em all about it. Dinner was all over when we got back, and mother said, "Boys, there is some mush and milk on the kitchen table ta-ble and some oranges." Well, now you ought to have seen us pitch in. We was awfully hungry. You just skate up the river on Mew Year's day and see if ycu don't get hungry. Then when we was all through mother came out and told us how glad she was that we'd been good, unselfish boys, and kissed us all and said it made us happier to give up something cf our own for some one else. And that was how we had our fun on New Year's. . |
