Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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OU 'I otitis 57 pronounced them Ubird and wife and they seated themselves to enjoy the appetizing seeds and worms that constituted the wedding break- fast. Cock Robin was to propose a toast to his bride, when suddenly he uttered a little shriek and fell backward. jenny was at his side im- mediately and found a tiny arrow protruding from under his left wing. She promptly fainted and was carried from the nest. The remaining birds, trying to shed some light on the mystery, asked one another, l'Vho killed Cock Robin 7' No one knew until they asked a little sparrow. who said, I killed Cock Robin with my bow and arrow. So one of the birds dug a little grave and there they buried Cock Robin on his wedding day. ll. H. YI7. A MY STERIOUS DISAPPEARAN CE. One of the visitors who had enjoyed his past vacations at Harbor Point decided to purchase a lot and build a summer home at this beautiful resort. Owing to the popularity of the place. the only available lot was one near the end of the Point, on which stood a little old green cot- tage, the home of one of the fishermen who had lived there in the early days. Nr. Beverly Ran- dolph bought the lot, considering himself for- tunate to secure some property in this delightful place. One of the inhabitants of Harbor Springs, the village across the bay, who was looking for a small home, hearing that Mr. Randolph was planning to have the little house torn down, asked Mr. Randolph to sell the little cottage to him. He promised that he would have it moved from the property in the early spring, before the carpenters would commence building Mr. Randolph's new house. Mr. Randolph gladly sold the old cottage for a small sum of money. The following March, the townsman prepared to carry out his plan of moving the house across the frozen bay from Harbor Point to the oppo- site shore. This idea of his was rather an orig- inal one, and using the ice was a much shorter route than the long winding road which led from the Point to the village. One bright frosty after- noon, when the sunbeams were sparkling on the snow-laden pines, and making the ice in the bay as clear and smooth as a great mirror, a team of horses with its driver, rollers, all the necessary implements, and a number of men, were hired to begin the work. The men were very merry although they had a hard day's work to accom- plish, but before the. task was finished they sur- mised that it was going to take them longer than they expected. So at dusk they left the smgll green cottage standing on the ice, intending to return early the following day to complete the work. Therefore, the next morning, when the sun was peeping above the horizon, the workmen as- sembled, all commenting upon the sudden change in the weather. During the night the tempera- ture had risen many degrees, the air had become warmer, and a soft wind had unexpectedly sprung up from the south. All this had made the ice crack and begin to disintegrate. One of the men who was a trifle in advance, following a bend in the road, and thinking of the little house which they had left on the sur- face of the ice, happened to cast his eyes toward the bay, and to the surprise of his companions, suddenly exclaimed: The house has disaap- pearedl For a moment they were dismayed, wondering what had become of it. for no evi- dence could be seen on the surface. They de- cided to investigate. Two of the men crawled cautiously out on the ice, and when they reached the place where they had left the house the even- ing before, they found a large opening. They peered over the edge and saw a few green- painted boards swiftly Floating in the current out to sea. This was proof enough that the little house was irretrievably lost, Instead of the cottage being numbered among the homes in Harbor Springs, it became a watery summer house for the mermaids of Lake Michigan. ,I7. MISS TOD'S NEPHEW. johnny was a bright little lad of six years, with dark hair and brown eyes that always twin- kled very mischievously. Because of an epi- demic of measles in the city. he had been sent to visit his aunt. Miss Tod. He had been in the countrv a week now and the novelty had be- gun to wear away. He had painted the cow green. had pulled almost all the feathers out of the chickens, had put toads in his aunt's bed. and could now think of nothing else to do. One night he awoke just as the clock was striking twelve, and as he had a most uncom- decided to could find fortable feeling in his stomach. he creep downstairs and see what he to eat. So he slipped out of bed, tip-toed across the room. and opened the door, My, but it was dark and scary out there in the halll He hnally came to the top of the stairs and as he was afraid the steps would creak as they always did when fat Aunt lane stepped on them, he slid down the banisters. After stubbing his toe against every

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-o OUT- F DIRE observer would have noticed that she ceased to question him and gave him an extra piece ot bread. The Miss Logans had never been in the habit of eating much for tea so they soon linished their meal. Hobby had not had nearly enough but his dear mother had told him never to ask for more when the others had linished, so he timidly an- nounced that he was through. lluring the meal his eyelids had drooped lower and lower. but not too low to notice the delicious uncut cocoa- nut cake on the side board. lrlowever his aunts forgot to oller him any and he would not have asked for it for worlds. Hobby perched himself on a high uncomfort- able chair while his aunts cleared off the table. lle tried to keep awake hut he was very tired and in a few seconds was fast asleep. Miss lleborah wanted to carry him to bed, but Miss Lucretia interposed with a lirm, No, Deborah, that child is a XYinthrop and a Logan and he shall not he pampered if l have a say in the matter. lfvidently she had, for Hobby was gently awakened by Miss Deborah and led away to hed. ,Xs soon as his head touched the hard, un- comfortable pillow, he fell asleep. Miss Deborah tiptoed down stairs and announced that llobhy was in dreamland. l suspect. Lucretia, she added, that our grandnephew will be a credit to us. He's a right brave young one. Not many youngsters his age could come clear to l'lymouthlmury from New Orleans without an older person. No, responded Miss Lucretia, UI don't sup- pose so. All children aren't lYinthrops and Logans. lle is. tMiss Luerctia's faith in her ancestors could have removed mountains, had she cared to tryl. Late that night alter the two old ladies had retired, Miss Lucretia was awakened hy a loud crash! llurglarsl she exclaimed, Clinic to get the family silver! Then a terrible thought came to her mind. Perhaps it was not a burglar but some one to kidnap liobbyl Like as not, she whispered to herself. .Xny one 'round here knows he's the only child of real lluritan descent! Armed with a poker and a warming pan she crept down the hall, the door of lJobby's room was open and as Miss Lucretia thrust her head in, she all but fainted. The room was empty! There was no doubt left in her mind now: she knew positively that some one had stolen her precious grandnephew. lIolihy's room was at the head of the stairs and as Miss Lucretia stood at the door she heard a groan in thi- hall ht-low. l do believe, she ejaculated, that that villain must have clubbed Deborah, into the bargain. And Miss Lucretia descended the stairs in a manner that was by no means slow. As she reached the bottom of the stair case she heard another crash, this time not so loud and followed by a muffled scream. Miss Lucretia lirml' ffrasped her weapons and room. through the windows, a strange sight. On the broken china, sat Bobby tea pot in one hand and 5 s dashed into the dining The moon, shining furnished the light for lloor, surrounded by grasping a huge silver energetically rubbing his knee with the other. My soul, exclaimed Miss Lucretia, drop- ping her tire arms and sitting down on the near- est chair, tif it seemed rather soft at the time she did not noticel, what on earth are you doing here? llarading 'round at this time of night and breaking folk's dishes? XYhy responded Hobby, you see l was hungry an' l 'membered the cake and came down to get some. lt was sort of dark and I dropped the plate. NYhen l was a' pickin' it up, l knocked the teapot off the side board an' bumped my knee on the leg of the table. XYhere's the cake demanded his aunt, not noticing it and wondering if he had eaten it. 'tXYhy, I guess you're sittin' on it, he answered innocently, l put it on that chair. Miss Lucretia rose from her chair in less time than it takes to tell it. lrler bathrobe was cocoa- nut cake from one end to the other. She gazed at it, too indignant to speak. At this moment Miss Deborah walked into the room. The sight was too much for her sense of humor, and she laughed until the tears canie. lt's no laughing matter, said Miss Lucretia grimly. This child certainly shall be punished. The very ideal lhiring the cleaning up process, Bobby dis- creetly returned to lied and after a while Miss Lucretia was sutticiently calmed to be induced to lie down. As Miss Deborah blew out the candle and shut the door, Miss Lucretia called after her, l'm sure l don't know what we're coming to. XYhcn XYinthrops and Logans act this way, there's not much hope for the rest of the people. XYith this gloomy prediction for the ruin of the country, Miss Lucretia fell asleep. and peace reigned again in the Logan homestead. C. C. ,17. COCK ROBIN. Cock Robin and jenny Xklren were engaged to be married that very day. The old minister 5

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gs our-DIRE piece of furniture in the hall and diningroom, he at last bumped into the door of the pantry. He lighted a candle and peered around. Xthat was that over there? Oh! it was only a chair! And what were those things over there? Um! They were pies! He could hardly wait to get one of those pits in his hands and especially into his mouth. llut he saw more things than pie! There was a big jar of pickles and another jar of jam. lliith one of these in each hand he climbed upon the wide pantry shelf beside the pies, and sat down. In tive minutes he had eaten a blueberry pie and some jam and was beginning on an apple pie. lint he began to eat more slowly and more slowly. and the bites grew smaller and smaller after his second pie and all the jam had been finished. His head began to nod and after a while he fell fast asleep with the jar of pickles in one chubby hand. jam all over his face. and one foot actually resting on the top of a delicious peach piel Xyhen he was eventually discovered by his aunt the next morning, he was still sound asleep and it is needless to state the punishment that he received. For some peculiar reason, unknown to all but the aunt, he refused to eat pie or jam for months afterwards. M. Mcli. '17. A HUMOROUS EXPERIENCE .ON A CAMPING TRIP. Xlie had been on the road since early morning, riding and walking by turns, stopping only to eat our lunch. lt was late afternoon now and we were tired. hot and very dusty, so when we came in view ot the lake it was a welcome sight. After the horses had been nnsaddled and taken care of, we hauled our packs out of the wagon and car- ried them to a pretty pine wood, not far from the lake, where we intended to spend the night. tif course the lirst thing we did was to go in swim- ming and the water felt very refreshing indeed. The counselors had been cooking the supper while we were in swimming, so by the time we were dressed again it was ready. Hur suppers on camping trips usually consisted of tomato soup, baked beans, bat-oii or sausages, and fruit and crackers, and how good everything tasted! We were so tired that after the dishes were washed and our packs nnrolled, we were quite ready to The pine needles made a xtix soft bed and we all slept soundly despite crawl into our blankets. the laughing and talking of a few huniorously and crmnversationally disposed people. The next morning after breakfast, we were busy washing dishes and generally trying to make ourselves useful by getting in the way, when a large, black cow came ambling along. No one cared much or paid much attention to it, as cows are usually harmless creatures and common ad- ditions to the landscape in that part of the coun- try. This cow, however, appeared to be very so- ciable and walked right up to ns to where a towel was hanging on a tree, and began to chew the end tif it. Soon it was half way down the cow's throat, with only one end hanging out of her month. lYe then realized that the cow was actu- ally eating it and some one rushed to pull the towel away, but it had entirely disappeared before anyone got to it. The animal then calmly pro- ceeded to chew up a can of Dutch Cleanser while the Dutch Cleanser spurted in all directions. By this time we were really getting worried and every one ran to grab her own possessions for fear the cow would eat them. We finally chased the animal away bnt'as a parting remembrance she took a canvas knapsack, and as she disap- peared we saw the knapsack disappearing down her throat. XVe have had a hard time getting people to believe the story of this remarkable cow but we hope we have convinced the reader that this is a credible tale. Meanwhile we will return to finish our trip. Nothing of an exciting nature hap- pened on the way home except it poured rain. and we arrived at camp that evening in rather a moist condition, but glowing with accounts of our good time. H. G. VI7. A FROG HE WOULD A-WOOING GO. It was a glorious bright summer afternoon and the young frog, who had just acquired a start in business, was very much excited over his toilet, for this was the day on which he was going to woo his lady, whether his mother would let him or not. Having done all that he could to improve his appearance, he marched off with his opera-hat tilted janntily on one side of his head. On the way he met a friendly rat and they walked on to- gether. When they came to Monse's Hall, they knocked loudly on the door and the frog called out, Pray Miss Mouse. are you within ? Be- fore he could say more, they were ushered into the little monse's home by that hospitable crea- ture. It was not long before she had a feast laid out on the table, but while they were drinking and making merry Mrs. Cat and her kittens came tumbling in. Immediately on seeing the rat, the cat seized him and dragged him about the room, the kittens pulled down little Miss Mouse. Such S