Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

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7 THE QUIVER The elf disappeared, the silver boat vanished, and Sally Ann found herself back on her little cot. The last rays of the setting sun made her blink, but she smiled at Nursey Dear, who was saying. “What a nice nap you had, Sally Ann.” ? “Yes,” answered Sally Ann, “and what a nice story to tell Camille s teddy-bear.” Hathaway. ’22. THE BROWN COATI OF MEXICO One of the popular households pets of the Mexicans, the brown coati, is, in many respects a remarkable creature. The coati is about the size of his cousin, the raccoon; but his fur is shorter, owing to the warmer climate of his habitat. The nose is more pointed and is gifted with wonderful power of movement; the tail is flatter and less bushy, and is longer than the rest of the body; the teeth and claws are about three-fourths of an inch in length. The coati walks with a bow-legged, flat-heeled stride resembling that of a bear, and the combination of his long nose, his two wickedlooking eyes, and his peculiar bow-legged strut gives him a cocksure, comical air—though it is a formidable one also. In a cage or runway, he paces.about all day long, walking round and round, back and forth, in and out of his shelter, exploring corners and crevices, and never getting anywhere. A coati will eat any kind of meat, and is especially fond of tab.e scraps, candy, fruits, and flavoring-extracts. Among the more egregious articles of his diet are frogs, flies, spiders, and earthworms. In one case it was found that he had consumed all the cold cream on the dressing table of a feminine member of the household. The coati in his natural state is a tree dweller. He can leap from branch to branch with an agility equal to that of the squirrel, and his long claws facilitate climbing and clinging. Coatis live in tribes and concentrate their attacks on solitary animals with such fury that none but the higher animals, such as the jaguar and lynx, can resist them. In spite of their fierceness, coatis are easily domesticated, especially by kindness. They are kept in Mexico as pets. However, they must always be kept tied, as they are especially fond of fresh dog or cat meat, and like to get it themselves. The coati has a very small variety of sounds with which to express himself. Whenever he is spoken to, or when food is held out to him. or while he is investigating anything, he gives vent to his

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6 THE QUIVER The fifth member of the quiet, patient group was flaxen-haired Bobby—Bobby, who was almost well and who would soon be going back to the dear “Land of Mothers and Daddies and School.” He was reading nursery rhymes in a monotonous, sing-song voice, while Sally Ann lay half listening. Nursey Dear came around then to smooth pillows and to lay her cool hand on hot foreheads. When she moved away, all was quiet again. Camille lay looking at her teddy-bear, Jenny renn was not drawing, but lay back in her chair resting. Captain Jim fondled his sail-boat, and Bobby read on and on. Then, a playful, little breeze fluttered the ivy screen on the porch as if to call Sally Ann’s attention to the setting sun on the rippling waters of Blue Lake. But while she watched, the sun turned into a silver moon, and right away things began to happen. For what did Sally Ann see, but a tiny water-elf sitting on one of the ivy leaves which framed the view. He was an odd, little sprite, clothed in a pale green suit. Around his neck a huge, white ruff set off a happy, dark face. He waved gaily to the children, calling, “Follow me.” So casts and crutches and cots faded away, and all the children floated up out through the circular opening in the ivy screen, along the moonbeams, right into Luna herself, who proved to be a beautiful fairy boat. Nursey Dear, who had turned into a lovely silver fairy, floated along, too. It was Captain Jim, though, who steered the craft through the blue sky. while the other children sang songs and picked stars. “Why,” said Sally Ann to herself, “this is just like the time I picked pond lilies at Uncle Joe’s.” “Isn’t it all beautiful?” gurgled Jenny Wrenn happily, “What lovely pictures I can draw about it!” But Camille only sat still and smiled, and just hugged her teddy-bear with two loving arms. “It seems so good to hold Tedda again,” she sighed. So for hours and hours they drifted happily through the blue sky. carefree and gay, until suddenly the elf jumped up and cried, “Oh dear! Oh dear! What shall I do? I promised to bring the moon back before sunset and the stars are out now! Oh dear! What shall I do-------•?” Then the elf’s wail seemed to gather itself together and, growing more distinct, seemed to come from the direction of Bobby’s wheelchair. Finally it dissolved into a monotonous chant of nursery rhymes.

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8 THE QUIVER feelings by means of a short, sharp snicker, given with a rising inflection, which always reminds me of a question-mark. He invariably utters a series of sharp, quick, belligerent snicks when he is angry or when he see a dog or cat. He has an unmerciful antipathy for these, and 1 remember one case of a dog which ran into the coati’s kennel when 1 opened the door and threw in a piece of meat. That dog was fortunate to get out of the scrape as easily as he did. W ith one quick flash of his long claws, the animal had removed a strip eight inches long by an inch and a half wide from that imprudent dog’s back. With a few more movements, he would have digested him. A person described the attack on a dog by a coati. The incident happened in either Boston or Springfield, when a coati escaped and chose a medium-sized dog for its first meal. He said that the coati jumped upon the dog’s back, held itself there by hanging to the dog’s ears with its claws, and proceeded to chew off the back of his unfortunate victim’s neck. No one dared approach him until he had satisfactorily gorged himself. This fierce denizen of the Mexican wilds may be really tamed by one method only, and that is kindness. Force only subdues this animal—it has a revengeful spirit, which unkind treatment cannot subdue. The coati is more mischievous than a monkey. He has an instinct for destruction that knows no bounds. If he is allowed loose and alone in a house for half an hour, he will contrive to smash dishes, break glassware, pull all the tablecloths and whatever is on them to the floor, and eat all the digestible materials which appeal to his rather indiscriminating palate. If anyone is in the house at the time, however, he will curl up and apparently go to sleep. Mike is the name of my pet coati. One day. the family being out, I brought Mike in and allowed him to wander about the room while I read. His exploring about the cabinet disturbing mv peace of mind, and my vocal warning convincing him that his presence about the cabinet was undesired, he immediately betook himself to his pillow, and I forgot the incident. I rose about an hour later and left the room for less than a minute; and when I returned, he was up on the very top shelf of that cabinet with his inquisitive head in a bowl of stewed prunes! The moment I opened the door, he took a flying leap to the floor and curled up on his cushion, fast asleep. LEO DESROSIERS, ’21.