Leominster High School - Magnet Yearbook (Leominster, MA)

Page 20 text:

14 THE MAGNET get something to eat. When Billy and his grandmother and grandfather reached home, they began to think that the world was not coming to an end, and how foolish they had been. But they could not understand how the egg got there. | One day Billy’s grandmother went to the old chest for something, and the first thing she saw was the two eggs lying in the corner. She called Billy to see if he knew anything about the eggs. Poor Billy had to say, “Ves.” He was asked to tell the whole story about the eggs, which he did, after a moment’s hesitation. ‘You just wait until your grandfather comes in,’ said William’s grandmother. And poor Billy waited. CLARA L. PATON, ’12. My Experience Hunting Hedgehogs Y last summer’s vacation was spent with my friend Lena, on my uncle’s farm in New Hampshire. From the green fields, the shady woods and the large orchards, I brought home many pleasant remembrances. | Of these, I shall forget many as the time goes by; but the one that I am going to tell you will probably never pass out of my mind. It was a cool August morning when Uncle sent Cousin Paul into the shed to get some wood. He went, but soon we heard him cry, “Papa, come here, quick! quick!!”’ Lena and I went out with Uncle and there we saw poor Paul, trembling all over, pointing to the shed. We looked in and there we beheld a black animal about thirty inches long. Uncle seemed to know what it was, for he took a heavy stick and went for it. He aimed for its head and soon the creature was dead. Stepping nearer, we saw that the hedgehog—for that is what it was—had quills about three inches long. Cou- sin Paul, and also his smaller brother, Raymond, had forgotten their fear and cried, ‘‘We must have the funeral now!’ So Uncle agreed to conduct the funeral, and Lena and I promised to sing. A string was now tied to poor Mr. Hedgehog’s foot, and the boys dragged him along to his burial place. This was the first time I had ever seen a hedgehog. On the evening of the same day, after the boys had been put to bed, Uncle asked us girls to go out for a walk. Lena was very much interested in a book and did not wish to go, so I went alone with him. It was a beau- tiful night; the moon was shining, and it was very light out. Enjoying the cool, clear night air, we followed the path that leads to the orchard. Sud- denly, Uncle stopped and said, “Listen.’’ I did so, and I heard a strange noise that seemed to come from the direction of the sweet apple tree. We stepped as quietly as we could up to the tree, and there Uncle pointed to a branch, where I could dimly distinguish something black. Then he whis- pered, “That’s a hedgehog. He’s eating our apples. I am sorry I haven’t a gun in the house; but you go and get me a club like the one I used this

Page 19 text:

THE MAGNET 13 That Egg A True Story HIS story happened in the year 1844, at the time when the Second Adventists were preparing for the end of the world. At that time William Hedges, a lad of nine years, was living with his grandparents, who made their home along the Connecticut River. Billy, as he was called, had heard the villagers talk about how the world was coming to an end and of their preparations. Now he thought it would be great sport to go to church, dressed in a white robe; but his grandmother and grandfather thought this belief was ridiculous, so there seemed no chance for Billy to join. One night Billy lay in bed, trying to think of a scheme to make his grandparents join the Adventists. After thinking as hard as possible, an idea popped into his mind. He then said, “I have it.” With these words on his lips he fell asleep. Billy was an exceedingly early riser, but the next morning he awoke an hour before his usual time. He slipped on his clothes and crept softly down the back stairs, so that he would not awaken the other members of the family. He then went to the hen-house and secured three of the best eggs he could find and brought them into the kitchen, where he melted a candle and poured the hot tallow in letters over the egg. When the tal- low had hardened, he placed the egg in a bowl of vinegar. On removing the egg, he found it had changed color, so when the tallow was taken off it left an embossed effect on the egg. Having finished his experiment, he held the egg up and read what he had written. It did not suit him, so he tried it again. This time he wrote it in pencil first, then put the hot tal- low over the pencil lines. Now, when he held it up, he read in clear letters, “End of the world, October, 1844.” Billy took the egg and placed it under old Speckle, the hen, and has- tened back to the house. On entering the kitchen he heard some one com- ing, so he put the two eggs, one of which he had experimented with, in the top drawer of an old chest. Just as he shut the drawer his grandmother came in. She had decided to have eggs for breakfast, so the first thing to do was to go out and get them. When she returned she showed Billy a most peculiar looking egg with the words, “End of the world, October, 1844,” written on it. “What does this mean? Has the Lord sent it?” she asked. That morning at breakfast she showed it to her husband, who was sur- prised and thought it must be from the Lord. After breakfast they thought it over, and finally came tothe conclusion that the Adventists were right, after all. Billy’s grandmother started to make their robes, as the date which was set came in two days. At the appointed hour, all the Adventists gathered inthe church. They waited and waited, until it was morning; then they decided to go home and

Page 21 text:

THE MAGNET 15 morning, while I stay and watch the fellow.” I did as I was told, and got two clubs, one for him, and one for myself. Then Uncle climbed up the tree, gave the hedgehog a whack on his nose, and he came down right near where I was standing. I was not slow in using my stick, and so the thief had to suffer death. After we had killed this fellow, we began to examine the other sweet apple trees near by, and in the branches of one I noticed a black spot, sim- ilar to the one I had seen before. I called Uncle’s attention to it, and it looked to him, also, like another hedgehog. This one was sitting so near the end of a limb that Uncle could not have reached him, if he had climbed the tree. This tree was standing near a stonewall, so I climbed up on the wall, caught hold of the limb and bent it down. It came so far down that Uncle could almost reach the hedgehog with his stick. He asked me to bend it a little farther; but in doing so I got quite frightened, for the limb broke and down it went, with the hedgehog on it. By the time I got down from the wall, Uncle had done his part, and we were rid of another apple thief. It is queer how still these hedgehogs keep. They do not make the least attempt to run away or bite, their only defence being the awful quills which have tiny hooks on the ends. With these they try to repel the attacks of dogs and other animals. When we returned to the house, we found Lena asleep in her chair, for it was past midnight. We told her about our great adventure and she was sorry she had not gone with us. The next morning Paul and Raymond had a great time preparing for the double funeral. However, this was not the last one they had, for Uncle and I killed about five more before I left the Hilltop Farm. MARIE DRAHEIM. Advice to Freshmen F you see a big, dignified-looking student coming down the center of the hall, and you are in his way, jump to one side immediately, for this student is a Senior, or possibly a Junior—for they sometimes act as Seniors—and you will be run over unless you move lively. When you are passing through the halls and hear some upper classmen talking loudly, do not think that you may talk above a whisper, for children are to be seen and not heard, except at football games; then make all the noise you can. When you meet a teacher in the hall, do not look frightened and pass at as great a distance as possible. These teachers are not very terrible; they will not bite, and it is often best to cultivate their acquaintance in a respect- ful way.