Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

Page 18 text:

THE ADVENTURES OF A FIVE-CENT PIECE What a lovely young thing I once was! I don ' t mind saying that, when we all came from the Mint in the year 1907, I shone out bright- ly among my brothers. I had a beautiful head on one side of me, (quite the right place for it), and though my other side was covered with writing I was so shiny that it was hard to read. I had nice, deep, clear ridges all around my edge, and felt very happy to be in the world. I went first to a bank. It was a large cool building, and I stayed there for some time, in the vault, under lock and key, where I felt very safe and comfortable. Of course, once I started circulating I moved very fast, from pocket to purse, from hand to box, and I got so accustomed to being produced at the word ' ' change that I came to regard that as my name. I had a good deal of vanity, but it was not long before it was taken out of me. I liked, above all, to lie in a white kid glove and sparkle more brilliantly than any other piece of money. It was pleasant to be mistaken for a ten-cent piece to outshine a quarter, to be chosen in preference to a penny. What deceivers pennies are! They shine so brightly, so like gold, and are so vulgar when their polish is ofil Whereas silver can al- ways be touched up and made to look like new. I once saw a shining cent mistaken for a twenty dollar gold piece; — you should have heard that cent laugh! It was disgusting! But to come back to myself. After I had been holidaying in a purse for a very long time, I once found myself dumped out and surrounded by money with which I was not at all familiar. On enquiring I found that it was American money, and I simply could not stand it. There were the cents — so proud because they considered themselves more convenient to handle than Canadian cents! And the nickles! They were nothing but bullies. They actually considered me inferior to themselves, because I was smaller! When I was worth fully as much or more than any of them! I spent many a day in their horrible company, losing some of my pride at the same time. I must mention a few exciting experiences I had. One day a child placed me on a pin-point, by my ridged edge, and spun me until I was so dizzy that I fell off. She repeated this so many times that I was a wreck, and saw to it that my lovely ridges were worn off before she could get another such chance. Once a little boy put me in his mouth and (I suppose by accident) nearly swallowed me, so that I choked him till he nearly died. I then lived in various small places, travelling continually, until one day I had the pleasure of seeing the nickels leaving me gradually and from my new associates learned that I was once more in Canada. In a scuffle on a street I fell out of a little boy ' s pocket and quietly fell through a crack in a board walk. What was my horror to find that damp, worms, snails and bugs of all sorts attacked me, taking off what shine I had left, rusting me, and heavy weights bent me. 16

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IX. He then proceeded to devour Two of Ulysses ' men; He went out of the cave, and closed The rock door up again. X. Ulysses and his comrades were Entrapped within the cave, And so he pondered on a plan. Whereby he them might save. XI. And so he gave the giant wine. And when he fell asleep, He pushed a stake within his eye. Which made the giant leap. XII. The Cyclops then was blinded And he ran toward the door. He pushed it open and sat down Upon the sandy shore. XIII. Ulysses then thought of a way To save a comrade, so He tied them underneath the sheep, And then he let them go. XIV. Himself he tied right underneath The leader of the flock. And all the sheep went straight away Toward the door of rock. XV. The giant felt along their backs As they passed by his side. He never thought that underneath Ulysses ' men were tied. XVI. Ulysses and his comrades, were Quite free at last, so they Did hasten down to where the ship Was lying in the bay. XVII. Ulysses quickly went on board The sailors plied their oars. And then the ship sped safely on Toward their native shores. — E.M. IVa. 15

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I was a sad piece of silver — anyone would have taken me for tin But no! Greatly to my surprise, I suppose about a year later, a girl found me, and placed me in a collection of coins, thinking I was an antique. I am still here, happy and greatly honoured by my companions. — E.B. IV THE ADOPTED DOG He was not a mongrel although many said he was. It was only three months ago that his master had found him — a poor half- starved bundle of misery — on his front lawn, and had taken pity on him. The bull dog across the road barked and growled every time he passed. ' ' Oh, why doesn ' t he jump out and eat me up? thought poor Rex. Some weeks after, his master grew very poor and had to go away. He took Rex with him. One day when Mr. Carter was in the office a friend came in and offered him a position as engineer on a freight train. Mr. Carter gladly took it and for some weeks all went well. One day, when Rex was playing by the bridge at the edge of the river, a dreadful catastrophe happened. He was chasing a butterfly over the bridge when suddenly one of the boards fell into the river and was carried down-stream. Rex was greatly puzzled over this, because he himself had seen the bridge being built just a few days before. One after another the planks began to fall. A freight train was to pass that way in a quarter of an hour, with his master! Was he such a coward that he could let his master perish before his very eyes? He sprang up and ran along the road, his tail between his legs. He ran into the station. An old red rag was lyin g on the sofa. He grabbed it and tore off as fast as he could. He was just in time. In the distance he could hear the whistle of the train as it neared the station. Rex dragged the rug into the middle of the track. On came the train. Suddenly a window was thrown open and a voice called out. ' ' Get out of the way you foolish dog or you will get killed. Seeing that the dog did not attempt to move he slowed down. Go away I tell you, he screamed, then he added with an excalamation, Oh, my gracious, he has something red. It ' s my own Rex! Just then there was a splitting noise and something dropped in o the river. It was not a plank for it was struggling to get ashore. In a minute Rex was in the water. A few minutes later he dragged up the form of a man on to the bank. He did not know what hap- pened afterwards. The next thing he remembered was that he w as wrapped up in a nice soft eiderdown in front of a blazing fire. Then things gradually came back to him. Poor Rex, brave old doggie, his master was saying to him. He was certainly the hero of the hour. Everyone was petting him. 17