THE BAD BOY.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3767, 11 August 1883, Page 4

THE BAD BOY.

HE GOES INTO MOURNING.

"Why don't you take an ice pick and clean tho dirt out from under your finger nails," said tho grocery man to tho bad boy, as ho came in the store and stroked tho cat tho Avrimg Avay, as sho lay in tho sun on the counter, on a quire of mauilla paper.

" Can't remove tho dirt for thirty days. It is an emblem of mourning. Had a funeral at our house yesterday," and tho boy took a pickle out of a tub and put it in the cat's mouth, aud shut her teeth together on it, and then Avent to the slioav case, while the grocery man, Ai-hoso back had beon turned during the pickle exercise, thought by the Avay the cat jumped into th-. dried apple barrel and began to paw aud scratch Avith all four of hor feet, and yowl, that she Avas going to have a fit. "1 hadn't heard about it," said the grocery man, as ho took the cat by the nock and tossed her out in tho back shod into an old oyster box full of saivdust, ivith a parting injunction that if she Avas going to have fits she'd better go out where thero Avas pleuty of fresh air. "Death is always a sad thing to contemplate. One day avo aro full of health, and joy, and cold victuals, and the next avc are scrcAved doAvn in a box, a few Avords arc said over our remains, a few tears are shed, and there is a race to see ivho shall got back from the cemetery first, and though ivo may think avo are an important factor in the Avorld's progress, and sometimes feel as though it Avould be unable to put up margins and have to stop tho deal, the Avorld goes right along, and it must annoy people who dio, to realise that thoy don't count for game. Tho greatest man in tho Avorld is only a nine spot Avhen he is dead, because somebody else takes the tricks the dead man ought to havo taken. But, s.iy, AA'ho is dead at your house ' Our rooster. Take care, don't you hit mc with that canvassed ham,' said the boy as tho grocery man looked mad to learn that there was nobody dead but a rooster, ivljcn ho had preached such a sermon on the subject. ' Yes, how soon avc are forgotten ivhcu avo aro gone. Now, you Avould have thought that rooster's hen Avould havo remained faithful to him for a week at.least. I have watched them all tho spring, and I never saw a more perfect picture of doA'otion than that botAveon the bantam rooster and his hen. They wero constantly together, and there atom nothing too good for hor. Ho would dig up angle ivornis and call her, and when she came up on a gallop aud saw tho great big ivorm on tho ground, sho ivould look so proud of her rooster, and he Avould straighten .up and look as though ho ivas saying to her, ' I'm a daisy,' and then she would look at him as if sho ivould like to bite him, and just as shoivas going to pick up tho worm he ivould snatch it and swallow it himself, and chuckle and ivalk around and bo full of business, as though Avondering why she didn't take the Avorm after he had dug it f other, and then the hen would look disappointed at first, and then she ivould look resigned, as much as to say, ' 'Worms arc too rich for my blood anyway, and tho poor dead rooster needs them moro than I do, because he has to do all tho crowing, and she ivould go off and find a grasshopper and eat it on tho sly for fear ho Avould see hor and complain because she didn't divido. 0, I have never seen anything that seemed to me so human as tho relations between that rooster and' hen. Ho seemed to try to do everything for hor. Uo would make her stop cackling Avhen sho laid an egg, aud he ivould try to cackle, and crow over it as though ho had laid it, aud sho ivould got off iv a corner and cluck in a modest, retiring maimer, as though she Avished to convey the idea to the servant girls in the kitchen that the rooster had to do all the hard Avork, and sho Avas only £i useless appendage, fit only for society and company for him. But I was disgusted ivith him the Avhen the poor hen was sotting. Tho first Avcok that she sat on tho oggs ho seemed to get along first rate, because he had a couple of flower beds to dig up, Avhich a press of business had caused him to neglect before, and a couple of neighbors gardens to destroy, so ho seemed to bo glad to have his hen retire to her boudoir aud set, but after he had been shooed out of the gardens and flower beds ho seemed to be nervous, and evidently wanted to bo petted, and ho ivould go near the hen and sho ivould seem to toll him to go and take a ivalk around the block, because she hadn't time to leai r e her business, and if she didn't attend to it thoy would have a lot of spoiled eggs on their hand, and no family to bring up. Ho Avould scold, and seem to toll her that it Avas all foolishness, and for his part he didn't want to hear a lot of chickens squawking around. Ho Avould seem to argue Avith her that a brood of chickens Avould bo a dead give aiviiy on them both, and they Avould at once Le classed as old i'olk.s, Avhile. if they avci-o alone in tho Avoiicl thoy Avould bo spring chickens, and could go iv young society, but the hen Avoulcl scold back, and tell him ho ought to be ashamed of himself to talk that Avay, and he Avould go olf mad, and sulk around a spell, and then go to a neighbor's henhouse and sometimes ho wouldn't como back till the next day. The lion would be sorry sho had spoken so cross, and ivould seem pained at his going aAvay and Avould look anxiously for his return, and when he came back after being out in the rain all night, sho ivould solicitious after his health, and tell him ho ought to ivrap something around him, but ho acted as though he didn't care for his health, and ho Avould go out again and get chilled through. Finally tho lion came olf the nest Avith ten chickens, and the rooster seemed very proud, and when anybody came out to look at them ho Avould crow, and seemed to say they were all his chickens, though tho hen ivas a long time hatching them, and if it had been him that was setting on them ho Avould havo hatched them out in a iveok, or died a trying. But tho exposure told on him, and he ivent into a decline, and one morning avo found him dead. Do you know, I never sco a hen that seemed to realize a calamity as she did. Sho looked pale, and her eyes looked red, and sho scorned to bo utterly crushed. If tho chickens, Avhicli Avere so young they could not realize that they Avere little orphans, became noisy, and got to pulling and hauling- over a Avorm, and conducted themselves in an unseemly manner, she would talk to them in hen lang-uag-e, with tears in her eyes, and it ivas a picture of woe. But tho next day a neighboring rooster got to looking through the fence from the alley, and trying to liirt Avith her. At first sho ivas indignant, and seemed to tell him ho ought to go about his business, and leave her alone, but tho dude kept clucking, and pretty soon the ividoAved hen edged up towards tho fence, and asked him to come in, but tho hole in the fence Avas too small for him, and then the chickens ivent out in the alloy, and the hen followed them out. I shall always think sho told the chickens to go out, so she Avould have an excuse to go after them, and flirt ivith the rooster, and I think it is a perfect shame. She is out in the alley half tho time, and I could cuff her. It seems to mo Avrong to so soon forgot a deceased roOster, but I suppose v hen can't be any moro than human. Say, you don't want to buy a good dead rooster do you ? You could pick it and sell it to somebody that owes you, for a spring chicken."

"' No, I don't Avant any deceased poultry, that died of grief, and you better go home nnd Avatch your hen, or youAvillbo bereaved some more,' and tho grocery man Avent out in tho shed to see if the cat Avas over its fit, and Ayhon ho camo buck the boy was gone,

and after a Avhile the grocery man saiv a crowd in front of the store and he Avent out and found tho dead rooster lying on the vegetable stand, ivith a pnper pinned on its' breast on which ivas a sign, "This raster d'vle of colix. For sale chap to hording house only.'' Ho took tho dead rooster and threw it out in ihe street, and looked up and down the street for tho bad boy, aud went in and hid a raw hide whore lie could reach it handy.—Peck's Sun.