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Our Boys and Girls
A CRACKED NEW YEAR RESOLUTION.
"Make me one, too, Will." Ned watched his
brother while lie lettered a large card with
New Year resolutions. They were written in
gold, with a great many flourishes.
Will held it up admiringly. "Make me one,
please," Ned repeated.
"You don't need any. You don't have to
get up at six o'clock every morning and study
an hour before breakfast; you can cuddle down
and snooze till mother calls you. Besides, you'd
break them all to smash before night," he add
ed.
"No, I wouldn't. You try me, and see if
I do," said Ned. He brought a card and gave
it to his brother.
"What shall I put on it?" asked Will.
"Oh, something about remembering. I want
to remember that I promised to shovel off Aunt
Tyson's porch and make her a path to the
gate every time it snows this winter. I wish it
would hurry up and snow again, for she gives
me ten cents every time. I've got thirty al
ready."
"That's a lot. What are you going to do
with it ? buy an automobile?" Will asked,
teasingly.
"I'm going to buy Tommy Dixon a sled, so
he and his sister can coast."
"There! How does that suit you?" Will
printed in large gold letters, with an elaborate
border of holly leaves and berries : "Resolved,
That I will not forget to shovel off Aunt Ty
son's porch and make her a nice path to the
gate every time it snows this winter, because
she is too old to do it herself, and because I
promised. Ned Darling."
"Oh, that is just grand! Now there isn't
any danger of my forgetting," Ned said, glee
fully.
"Shan't I put anything more ? something
about putting your sled away nights and hang
ing up your cap, for instance?"
But Ned shook his head.
"I'd better not try to remember too much
at once," he said.
It snowed again Friday night, and next
morning it lay in gi'eat heaps and drifts. Ned
ran for the snowshovel, but Will was already
using it to make paths about the house. While
he was waiting, Charlie cartie along with his
new sled.
"Get your sled and come on down to the
hill, Ned; the big boys have got it all cleared
off already," he said. And Ned ran for his
sled. It was fine coasting, and the sled flew
down the hill like the wind. The time flew by,
too, and presently a bell rang.
k "Twelve oclock!" called Charlie Logan,
^rting for home.
BtUo, Ned ! Seems to me I heard some
Tning crack, didn't I?" called a familiar voice,
and there stood Will.
Will laughed. "No, it wasn't your sled. I
guess Aunt Tyson must have heard it, too, be
cause I saw her looking anxiously out the door
as I came by," he explained.
"Oh!" It was all Ned said, but he took his
sled and ran hastily away. He stopped at Tom
my Dixon's, and Tommy came out to meet
him.
"Don't you want to take my sled this after
noon? The hill is as smooth as glass," he said.
"Don't you want it?" asked Tommy eagerly,
but Ned shook his head.
"Oil, thank you;" cried Tommy, delightedly.
After dinner Ned took the snowshovel and
went to Aunt Tyson's.
"I thought you had forgotten me, Ned," she
said.
"I did, pretty near; but I'm going to make
up for it," he told her.
lie could hear the boys and girls over on
the hill, but he kept bravely at work until
the snow was cleared away and a nice, wide
path made around the house. Aunt Tyson said
he had earned double wages, and gave him
twenty cents.
"It wasn't trnly broke, Will ? just cracked
a little; and I've mended it 'most as good as
ever. I'm going to watch it closer after this,
too," he told Will that night, as he took pains
to hang up the card where he would be sure
to see it as soon as he woke up every morn
ing.
Ned did not forget again, and before the New
Year was a month old he had earned money
enough for the new sled, which Tommy accept
ed joyfully. ? Ex.
FRED'S SENTINEL.
Fred had been reading for a long time, it
seemed to Elsie ; and she did wish that he would
stop and play with her instead. She could not
understand what he found so interesting in
those big books without pictures.
Suddenly he looked up and asked: "Papa,
what is a sentinel?"
"Well, Fred," said papa, "I usually find that
the best starting point for such a question is
the dictionary, and here is what it says: 'Sen
tinel, one who watches or guards; specifically
a soldier set to guard an army camp, or other
place from surprise, to observe the approach
of danger, and give notice of it.' "
"Oh, yes, I know," said Fred. "A sentinel
is a soldier with a blue uniform and a bayonet."
And his eyes sparkled as he spoke.
"Well," said papa, "a soldier lftay be and
often is a sentinel ; but there are sentinels who
are not soldiers, and, come to think of it, I
believe there is one out in the yard now."
"Oh, where?" asked Fred and Elsie in the
same breath, looking out of the window eager
ly
"Put on your hats and come with me," said
papa. "But wait; first you must be sure of
your definition. WThat would a sentinel be do
ing?" Papa smiled down into their eager
faces.
"Watching," said Fred, who was quick to
catch a meaning.
"Very good," said papa. "And now we will
go and look for one."
Fred looked doubtful; he was a little afraid
his papa was joking; and Elsie, with her mind
full of soldiers, held very close to papa's hand.
They went out through the garden and close
to the barnyard fence.' "Now," said papa,
very quietly, "see who can find the sentinel
first."
Fred and Elsie looked about. There was
nothing alive in sight but the geese, and they
were fast asleep. Then they noticed that one
great white goose was not asleep, but was
standing awkwardly upon one leg, looking here
and there.
"Oh!" exclaimed Fred, "I know" ? But
before he had finished the sentence there was
a loud "Quack, quack!" from the big white
goose, and instantly the whole flock were wide
awake and noisily flapping tlieir wings.
Then how papa and Elsie and Fred laughed !
"lie was a sentinel sure enough," said Fred,
"for he not only watched, but he gave the
nlarm. Do geese always have a sentinel on
guard when they sleep?"
"Yes," said papa. "They never sleep with
out one of their number on guard."
"Well," said Fred, with another laugh,
"they're not such geese as we take them for,
after all, are they?" ? Lutheran.
THE PRETTIEST FREESIA.
Celia Brooks walked along the street through
the snow of a January morning. She had gone
to carry home some sewing to the large house
on the hill, and as a reward she had received
a box of beautiful flowers from the lady who
lived there.
On the way Celia stopped at a little store to
buy a few things, and while waiting for her
packages to be wrapped up, she opened the
box for another look at her precious flowers.
One by one she held up the individual stalks.
There were six of them. On each grew several
trumpet-shaped blossoms, pure white save for a
small yellow blotch, and with a sweet, delicate
perfume.
"Freesias, Mrs. Morris called them," she re
marked to herself. "My, but they're handsome!
Just think of her giving them to me. But
then she has so many flowers she doesn't
mind."
' ' Hello, Celia ! "What 've you got ? ' ' she heard i
a voice call out. Turning she saw behind her
Addie Jones, who lived in the tenement house
next to her own home.
Celia showed her one of the flower stalks.
"They're freesias." She pronounced the
name proudly. "There, my things are ready.
I've got to go." She closed the box quickly ^
to shut the blossoms from Addie 's sight.
She started on towards home but Addie fol
lowed and kept by her side.
"Say, Celia, won't you give me one?" she
asked at length. "I never had any pretty
flowers like that."
"I never did, either," Celia answered. Yet
something in Addie 's tone produced a change
in her feelings.
"I s'pose if sho had six and wouldn't give
me any I'd think she was stingy," she re
flected. "Yes, I'll give you one," she called
to Addie, "but you'll have to wait till you
get home. I can't take it out here in the
cold."
When they had gone some distance farther
they met two other children who lived in their
neighborhood.
" Celia 's got some white flowers," an
nounced Addie. "The prettiest one you ever
saw, and sweet! Why, I b'lieve you can smell
'em right through the box. And she's going
to give me one."
"Let's see!" the others cried.
"I can't," Celia answered.' "They'll freeze
in this cold air."
"All of you come into my house," sug
gested Addie.
% "O, yes, we will," agreed the other two.
"What shall I do?" Celia was thinking.
"I'll have to give them all one and they were
meant for me. But I promised Addie, so I've
got to go."
Just before they reached Addie 's home two
other girls joined them.
" Celia 's got some flowers she's going to
show us," cried the first three. "Come in with
us."
Celia 's heart sank. Would she have to give
away all her flowers?