Very Sour Grapes.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 250, 28 March 1888, Page 9

Very Sour Grapes.

Tjikuk fcN\ sharper fellow- in ihe Maltese poit of Valetta. and there ueie certainly very few greater iogr.es, than old Jacopo Feioni, who was a boatman, a guide, an interpreter, and a fruit seller. Jaeopo's enemies used to ?ay that he found fruit, soiling the mo^t profitable of ail, and it was undoubtedly the one for which ho ap; eaied to be natuially fitted. His long, .skinny lingers seemed made on pm po.-e to slide into other people's pockets or throrgh hairopen dooisand Awndows ; and hi* one eye had the look of being- always on the watch for the chance of playing some cunning trick upon everyone whom he met. As one might expect, Jacopo had plenty of illwisheiv, who, having suffered from hi> rogueries, would have liked nothing better than to see him punished. But to trap such a sly old fellow was no easy matter. Now, it happened that one morning a British transport steamer came into Valeria harbour, bringing home a number of sick and wounded soldiers from the Black Sea, this being the time of the Ciimean war. Of course, *he was instantly surrounded with a swarm of shore boat*, and among the first to run alongside was our friend Jacopo Feroni, who never lost a chance of turning a penny or of stealing one. On her way westward, the transport had touched at one of the (-Jreek islands to take in some fruit for the sick men, and the head steward had bought a hu^o stock of grapes to refresh the invalids when they were thirsty. Unluckily, some oi the finest grapes were not quite ripe when he them, so he had kept them hanging in the «mn ever since, just inside the poi thole ot his pantry. " You'd better shift those grapes somewhere el^e. Harris," said the first. Oilicer, as the steamer glided into the harbour. "The gangway runs up juhfc outside, and some of those Maltese rascal* arc ceituin to spy the fruit and reach in fur it as they come up the ladder." "It'll be 'sour grapes' on 'em. if they do, sir,' answered the steward, with a grin. " 1 wouldn't put my hand into that basket, not if yon was to give me a shilling lor it." " Why, what is it ? Let me see." " Ble-s you, sir, don't you touch it, unless you want to give the doctor a iob," cried Mr Han is, catching his arm. "Look here !%I! %I He cautiously lifted the topmost bunch of grapes, and displayed a large rat-trap, with the spring set. "Not a bad idea," chuckled the officer, " your trap's nicely baited, and I'll be bound you'll =oon tind some game in it." And so it proved. The tempting fruit did not escape Master Jacopo's keen eye, and in a moment his long, lean, supple hand slipped like an eel through the porthole and into the basket, instantly a frightful yell was heard, which made everybody rush to the spot ; but when they saw Jacopo Feroni capering and screeching like a madman, with his arm thrust through the porthole, they easily guessed what had happened. "Hullo, old chap!" shouted a sailor, looking over the ship's side at him. " Has your fist grown too big for the porthole all of a sudden?" "Hadn't you better cut off your hand, Uncle Jacopo ?" cried a big Italian boatman from below. •' I'll lend you my knife with pleasure, if you haven't got one." " Squeeze your body in through the hole, if you can't get your hand out," hallooed a fruitseller, whoso basket had suffered more than once from Feroni's light fingers. The news of Jacopo s misfortune spread like wildfire. The deck above and the waters below were all alive with grinning faces, and the jeers and laughter grew louder and louder every moment, till it seemed to poor old Jacopo as if the wholo population of Malta had assembled to make merry over his punishment, which he had certainly well deserved. At last the head steward took pity on him. and opened the trap, when our luckless hero, binding up his bleeding fingers as well as he could, slunk away amid a roar of laughter that seemed to shake the very air. But the mishap taught him a very good lesson, and there was not much heard of his thieving after that. — " Cosmopolitan Magazine."