| Show My Witch Like Appearance I 1 HAD chosen the loneliest spot on our farm just where the oak trees which grow along the edge of a small creek cast gruesome shadows across the water and along the bank A rank growth o of grass edged the stream and crowding close to the tree trunks intensified the deep shadows shadow and made the gnarled branches appear like lurking imps while here and there straggling rays of pale sunlight came stealing timidly through the leaves as as s if fearing by their presence to lessen the ghostliness of the place N Now ow the reason for my having chosen such a secluded nook was this I had prepared what I thought to be a very clever little speech and believing with Milton that soli solitude is sometimes best T society JI had gone into the fields to toM toi M- M i pra tic t to deliver delier it as s eloquently a as in In my opinion its merits ments deserved t and so had preferred this spot above all oth others rs because he here e I 1 tho thought I 1 should I. I be safe from any interruption I 1 was standing far back among the thet t dusky shadows testing the virtue of every gesture I 1 knew to make my speech If effective and at the same time making I f f use se of my powers of oratory oratory by declaim declaiming declaiming ft ing mg at the top of my voice VOIce when I 1 cha chanced ced to see a little girl crossing the field near my retreat I paid ino no particular particular par par- b E fi attention to the child until I 1 saw her stop abruptly look intently toward me run a few steps farther th then n turn H j and look again as though convincing herself that she was not mistaken and seeming undecided whether to r run n or stand rooted with terror to the spot All at once it occurred to Ao me that perHaps perhaps per- per haps Yaps I 1 had been the cause of this sudden fright so I 1 hurried after her calling loudly for her not to be frightened but all my efforts to quiet her f fear ar seemed only to quicken her p pace ce I 1 beckoned for her to stop but bu casting one long r. r terrified look behind her with hair and f bonnet strings bonnet strings streaming in the wind she scampered madly off across the field toward the nearest house farm-house jumped F the fence and was lost to my view x t 1 I regretted very much the fright I 1 had so innocently occasioned but consoling f myself with the thought that she would soon soon forget all about it resumed my practicing and became becane so d that th this s trifling occurrence was quickly for for- 1 gotten 1 I had just reached the last paragraph of my speech and was delivering it in ina a way that I 1 thought would make a fine finishing up p when suddenly a loud laugh from behind caused me to stop short and look around to to- see pe peering ering at atme atme me from between from between the leafy branches several fa faces es fairly b beaming with mirth and not the least noticeable among them the pale tear stained face of a little girl I 1 at once thought that a i party of of eaves-droppers eaves had been playing playing playing play play- ing a joke on me by listening to my rehearsal and had given the laugh taugh to ridicule my efforts Of course this vexed me not a little and I 1 somewhat angrily inquired red the cause of such an interruption but when it was explained I 1 forgot my discomfort and joined heartily in the merry laugh It seemed that I 1 had really given the little g girl rl quite a fright as she pass passed d through the field and not knowing who or what I 1 was she began to run She certainly possessed a very active imagination for for as the distance be between between tween her and the cause of her fright lengthened her speed increased until when she hel reached readIed the nearest farmhouse farmhouse farm farm- house she was completely exhausted and sobbing wildly Between hysterical cal sobs and shivers the startled in inmates inmates inmates in- in mates of the house managed to get from the child the reason of her fright She told them that she had seen an old witch with long horns a body all bent and twisted and a most fiendish wrinkled face with eyes as sharp as needles who was standing among the trees waving her long lean bony arms and hands high in air and screaming as l loudly as she could The poor child declared that if she had not run away this terrible creature would have caught and carried her heroff off to live with witches She also gave it as her opinion that the field was haunted and vowed that she never never would go there again At last however they prevailed upon her to act as guide for a searching party and at once set out to find if they could what had creat created d so much disturbance We have seen the result of their search She has never forgotten this incident nor do I 1 think she he ever will for even now and this occurred a long ong time ago when I 1 meet h her r she will blu blush h han hang 10 41 eri and seem ill at F ease until f h has pass passed d. d me by k i If v Virginia Virinia B Bush 1 i |
