The San Francisco call. [volume], May 29, 1910, Page 6, Image 6

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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6
HOW THE POOR PEASANT CURED THE TROUBLES OF OTHERS
A TALK imOM BOSNIA ItKTOI.I) HY
i.ouisi: sou VAN
ONCE a peasnnt went out to till. the
ground. Before going he' told his
4 wlfe to be-sure to 'bring' his din
n?r out to the field at noon. Punctually
a * l . 2 o'clock the, wife sent tho daughter
to take dinner out to her father. While
walking on the highroad In tho noon
flny heat she perceived a willow tree
and decided to rest a little in its shade.
While [she was resting the daughter
began to think about 'the new school
which sho was going to attend in" the
fall£/ ShV wondered; whether she 'would
like the teacher and, whether the teach
er would .like her. Then she began to
think how. dreadful <it would be if' sho
were to offend the teacher and to be ex
pelled,; from the [school. !*•-'\u25a0';; k '
•;_: At; that thought tears came to her
eyes.and-shecried and cried until she
forgot; entirely. about father and dinner
and .everything. :'At home the mother
waitedfor the glrlto come backhand as
she.neyer u came she;went after her/- She
found," the ..daughter [weeping bitterly
under^^theuwillow', tree.; When 'the
mother ; learned '[what caused her to cry
like' that' she, :too,',burst; In to[ tears.
;: : '.'Mother's ; little \ Lou jsa expelled \u25a0 from
schooll'.'ahecrled (Louisa' was the girl's
name);?;:,l'.Wouldh f t'.lt be awful! '\u25a0- Mother
couldn't bear 'it,'.' - and she cried Vnd
criedJ-' . \u25a0•„;'•.: : \u0084\u25a0.;"\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0' :•'\u25a0\u25a0.:/\u25a0 :.\u25a0':-\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 :\u25a0'\u25a0 .-.;..
Toward evening, the peasant started
for home. On the high road he met:the
twoJcrying yet;. "Why, for goodness.
sake,,didn:t you bring nic^ my dinner?"
he;asked.;So"they;told:hlm r why they
had" been -delayed } ail 'da.y< long. - : :
' ;- V Mercyi? upon' us,'» cried the [h'un gry
man. "Tomorrow I'll :go ,*-?an'd \u25a0 look
about;in<the;other[;vlllages r to see if
there a aret. elsewhere in i the World Vsuch
foolish"; persons as 'are ;to* 2 be found'; here
at 'home.". \u0084•\u25a0'.'• .-\u25a0"\u25a0 ',:'\u25a0'":\u25a0'.' \u25a0"-...'- \u25a0" 1 .-"'?- ".*••.••\u25a0\u25a0
: < Next • morning at : sunrise he > r started' *
romil home; s v He JwanderedU and "t wan- v
dered, v f and * toward '; noon *he came - to? a
ivillagejVwhere^peopleUwere: building U>
house. -Just; this very .-"moment"- they
were, trying «tb)flt7in J a: pale,) but; as Jiti^
swas^too short onej kept pulling It on'ohe
; end Kwhileianothervone, pulled; the "' pale
[oh the jother* side, to .stretch '
:it~thatNWay.:_ -;T: :['",- ;' \u25a0;\u25a0.\u25a0••[\u25a0\u25a0;'.'. ;. : v- -.r.. '\u25a0
."\u25a0-.! VWhat [are you 'dolrig[ Jiere?V. Tasked
.the: peasant.:; '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\i'. ; * . \u25a0' V : [ •-;-..•\u25a0
[They told him what they; were, try Ing
,toldo. ' ": •. ' . \ \u25a0\u25a0
VWhat["are you going, to give me. if [I -
The Way to School
;Five^minutesf;chasing';butterflies .
r^Wayj over,"* off ;the'!road;? ~C r - f; V ..
"Five? minutes Vwatchirig^Willie"; Price
['[: poHrlcksjwithfhis^pet. toad; \ >;[
Fi ve": minutes ihelpingiGlbbsle/get^V S ¥f
V ; Hls|pigibackf inVthe.'pen — ..'.-,
Ijwonderjlf jit's, schoolltime yet?
I. guess I'm, i late 7 agalnir v ? -'\u25a0 ,-,
, "% ; '-:-'?v'' : '- * M v : >'-'c* v; -':" ';>:'\u25a0'\u25a0-.\u25a0•- ' "'\u25a0'\u25a0\u25a0 '- "'" ' \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0
lVthink,l-l6st a-llttletlme^ ;, y
'iJ'.?Becaufleil4walked'sd*slow ;" ...
.Where iJohnnyliWatklnsilost, a dime »•'
or^two ago. , '
It's underneath '§ the -leaves: somewhere,
:\u25a0>'.\u25a0,\u25a0 And? Johnny "7 feels sojblue ;;\u25a0'. '\u25a0''\u0084\u25a0 {\u0084:'
That-Ijjust^stopped [a minute there "',
ir2Because v ,he ; asked';me : :to.T . - ; ;
Andtheri It iraineda little; bit,
'vAnd^DomlnlckjMcPhee", :: * ;•\u25a0;.*•;
Had f }his;straWihat,'iand had to sit.
; .
Or el&e;he'd T get; It' spoiled (and. KOt :
,;\u25a0": The'[t6p|all! swelled. A You' see, 1
A straw" hat Is i not safe; to wetr—
His ; kind, especially.
And ;after;.we[ had s saved; his : hat
"F^romj getting; spoiled if or/ him;
AVblef^woodpecker came'and sat '
-cjUp/onfa' rotten: limb; [
And- Johnnys said;, when .they're about,
\u25a0 ; Somebody ctold[thei. boys, :
You; see fa' lot; of come* out
To see what makes 1 the noise.
So:then;,we boys all stayed about
A'couplejof mlnutesJmore,?,
In . hopes , to \u25a0 see 'the \worms icome < out
* Which \u25a0 he [wasirapplng 1 for;
But 'after! he 1 went. b-r-r v and, b-r-r
A while,- he flew, away, \,tS*r*iSSwsSsS^l
And Johnny, said he guessed L there ! were
No worms at home, that 'day.
So:theh 4 we hurried up and fan
'As' fast > as ; we ' could vrun.V :
To: get' there Just as" school 1 began.
'And 1 Just, whenUt'sbegruri,
I had -to v run. 3 back 'to -the; tree -
To ; get' my: slate and! rule; ?"\u25a0;,''.\u25a0
AhdyetUhe teacher can: not'see.
Why boys are | late for, school! ,
VKnicker— We are" trying to figure out
the '*. derivation \u25a0', of the word -terrapin.
Can you' help ; _ us?
Bocker~Sure, : . There's
"terra,"', meaning land-— --^
Knicker-7-Yes; we figured that much
out ourselves. . ! •' ,
•Bocker— -Then, there is • the word
"pin"———;
Knloker— Yes; that's the point where
we all got stuck.
• .'When' I';money1 '; money talks lots of us need
an ear trumpet.
. . " \u25a0 1 | | A ( ' '
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MAY 29, 1910.— THE JUNIOR CALL.
show^you how .to; stretch the pale" the
shortest 'and 'easiest way?*' he asked: V
v :. they said.
A.Then thepeasaht [took .a, second pale.
Joined < it "; to .; the '('other,':, and , thus < the
trouble £was [ended. \u2666, When; he , had ;all
the -xnoneyjhelwantfcd'he: went >on.
'He* wandered; arid v;wandered; and In
another half daye he cameto; a village
where ; there ' were fa-'number; of. .people
who ' had ;: built Ya ; house" without
dows/ and las Hhe ?sun! could;; not -shine
Intotit.they kept carrying; thersunllght
in boxes Into) the • house. ThJ peasan t
marveled S: about [their strange acting
and*asked: " - \u0084-' \u25a0 ' :
: '.'What are you doing here™ . -
\u25a0i So ! they ] told -him /thelr^ trouble ; with
the house. '- Upon that the, peasant made
them? windows; for < thel' house ;< and -the
f sun cbuldjshine^lntbilt.
cci yed '\u25a0&" heap' of ' money < and \went on. -i,
'.:" -,He !'"; theri\'made[ for!, a third v village,
where he m^t by chance an old woman
HABITS OF THE FIELD MOUSE
; : y*->^ wan
[' V- J* derlng through ; the* woods'; or the
meadows> they ' come . upon r :tiny (
paths pleading here and there. These
\u25a0curious, . •littlo M pathways— like [ ; well
* beaten ; trails— are the^roadways of /the
\u25a0 wild! mice 1 which inhabit that 'part?, of
JHhe land. one will ibut follow these
:? paths' he' will •\u25a0 be led [through -deep,
"grasses, underflow hang
•lng shrubbery, .which; forms Jan arch
\u25a0v-wayi "above the r , little: travelers, [\ and
;;bver'. broad .prairies.'. And^lf ithe^chil-'
y[dren [wonder .why they "do, not overtake
\u25a0-'?- or^ meet ';' some tof )'\u25a0 the !- mice .who < have
:' made " these .paths -.* it is \u25a0'-. because \ they
v ha^ve J not. become acquainted, with 2 the
\u25a0 'habits ;; of ; the tiny? creatures. ;it Vis
only [after 'sundown or at nightfall that
' the a, mice '.come forth- to visit, or to
• hunt' for f00d. : .; .","••.'-'"\u25a0':
?vlThe[ field mouse :1s held as a. common
plague.'fand. was .^originally an, Inhab
itant of some ; fareastern coun try. ;- But
now.[he -is/t o: be ''found In' all;partsVof
the :| world, [ which goes ; to I sho w ; that;
like ;" man, he is ,> a ' traveler. [. The .wild
mouse- Is first cousin 'to>, the ; house
mouse * i ri"< so ' far as . they resemble ; each
other, greatly.* in f° r .m and habits,
though Jn ; some * respects • they [differ.
But closely /related they: are; ; and i it ' is
not 'uncommon- for; a house; mouse to
wander from civilization to . the wilds
ofithe'.wood.'wWle* on" the /other hand
wild/mice often 'take up ; their' abode
inT;a ! " barn, "thence- in a'". house . nearby.
Thus'' it will „\u25a0 be seen, that come
from 'the same family and are at least
first coiißlns. ; •J3BBBBjW^BBJi|ff \r
' As they became scattered throughout
the world ; the wild mice' took on differ
ent .characteristics « and ' physical ' mark
ings, Just a.s man has changed under
new conditions. and. climate.
The house mouse is familiar to all
children;; but; l wonder how many boys
and girls ever, stop. to think how, dainty
and \u25a0 pretty the > little creature is? His
coat is 'sleek and c loan ; his eyes bright
and intelligent; his teeth glistening and
white; his nose pink,- and his ears like
the word
waif. SE^BKriBSW • -
The Jumping mouse. Is formed much
like a kangaroo. ; Indeed; one writer, in
describing him, says he is a "miniature
kangaroo." . Ills hind legs are long and
slender and his forelegs short and
strong. His coat is dark brown on top
of his back, yellowish brown at the
sides and white underneath. His .paws
and ankles are white — white socks,
children would say. Ills tail is much
longer than that -of the house mouse,
being twice the length of his body. It
is gracefully tipped with white.
On .the H«h Road He Met the Two Crying Yet.'!
who had gone to a neighbor's to borrow
a handful of -salt.' " While reaching for
the salt into the salt box she, of course,
made; a* fist; to hold ithe'salt land so she
could m ot' get I her ; hand Tout \ because of
the clenched fist. The whole village ran
to , the ; house— f men," , women 'and. chil
dren—and all [cried and: shouted [for
theVold [ womani ; who , was in ", -great
straits and couldn't • get ; , her. hand free;
The : peasant, who [Just ; then \ passed ; by,
gave the woman a stroke with his whip
across v her,- arm ; ft she \u25a0 dropped '<\u25a0, theY salt
and the r ; hand ''\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 was saved: -There, [too,
, the- peasant r got enough of. -* money. ; l ,
[In the next village" he met some per
sons ontthelr [way -home fronv a wed
ding. ''MThe bride :wasi already , at; the
door, of her.[ house 'trying? to vget in,
which she [ could -not do. ; because '; the
door .[was- too ;-."..10w.'C- ; All cried [and
shouted In great ;and';told
the [bride to return to her parents,'
since she could- not; get r in the house in
.The wild mice 'differjh their choipe of
soil.; : Some, prefer -{dry .ground, while
others: choose' wet 4 ground. ;, They Vail
burrow, to \u25a0a : more i or; less ) degree. Some
build f elaborate > nests. The ; prairie .or
meadow-mouse iis ;a j great t gossip,^ chat
tering In a -,: fihe.V squeaky voice ..- in
cessantly.V.That',they • have (a language
alT'thelr Vown" 'can .not . be denied . by
thoseTwho have " made, a ; study, of | them.
They; are [fierce ; little ! fighters,; too,> and
wage [war against each j other, [stealing
from each other's storehouses -whenever
they 'can get- the
are 'thrifty to a* degree, .laying in food
in the'fallto last them during the hard
winter months. The "Jumping mouse "is
an- exception to [ this rule^ ' f or 2 he, like
the. chipmunk^and^woodchuck, has his
.torpid ; spells ,the /cold weather,
hiding -away "in ; his'cozy house 'in; the
ground; wrapped snugly in his tall,;; and
waiting till." the warmth, of spring calls
him to life and activity again." •[
The field mice live, in hollow stumps,
under fallen logs and under.the edges
of old straw stacks and iri^corn shocks.
Their-; food consists of [Juicy • roots,
green -grasses, tender plants, nuts an.l
grain,, which; they . find, after the crop
has- been ; garnered. .Grains, nuts and
roots supply! their winter's! food.
Thoreau, poet and naturalist, loved
all' living creatures,. and even the little
wild (mouse or the domestic . house
mouse .'.: came ;in for a share of his
sympathy and care. -The following is
quoted from, one of his books:
;The mice which haunted! my house
were' not the common ones, .which are
said to have* been introduced into the
country, but a wild native kind- not to
be found in the village. I sent one to
a distinguished naturalist and it .inter
ested him much. When I ; was building
one of these had its nest underneath
the house, and before I .had laid the
second floor and swept out the shav
ings It would, come out regularly at
lunchtlme to eat the crumbs '.'at my
feet. It probably' had never seen a
man before, and it, soon became quite
familiar an J .would run over my shoes
and up my clothes. It could readily
ascend the sides of the room by short
impulses, like a 'squirrel, which It re
sembled in its \u25a0 motions. At length,
when I leaned -by elbow on the bench
one day, it ran up my clothes and
along my sleeve, and around and
around tho table which held my din
ner, while I kept the latter close and
played at bopeep with it. And when
at last I held still a piece of cheese be
tween my thumb and finger, it came
arid nibbled at it, sitting in my hand,
and afterward cleaned its face like a
iiy and walked away."
any way. So the peasant; who lmd
watched all this, gave hor a push and
• the bride tumbled Into the house In n
moment. Again a great deal of money
was given him. :
In the next village Into which he
came two slaters in law were washing
at the brook. Near by a young plff
was playing about. The peasant
greeted the sisters with '"Uood morning,
daughters! Do you knoVkwhut brought
me here?"
1 "What "can it bo, father?" asked the
women. •'
"I came to this place to take the
pig to a wedding. Ills brother Is go
ing to be mnrrled," said the peasant.
Then both sisters hurried to array the
little pig In style for the wedding. The
one cried "Give your silk kerchief,
for I will give my hang about shawl";
and the other said.'"Andyou give your
• bracelet and I'll give my coral neck
lace." Thus they adorned to their best
the little pig and handed him to the
peasant to take him to tho wedding.
As soon.as he was out of the village
he took off the things from the lit
tlo'pig and let it run into the, field.
In the meantime the husbands of the
women returned home and the wives
told them .delightedly how beautifully,
they had dressed the little pig for the
wedding. The men shouted, "Instantly
up and after tho fellow; he must be
j cauglit at, once and made to return our
property." They mounted their horse
'and pursued the, peasant, who was
soon overtaken". . -';•-
: "Haven't you seen a; man pass by
who was driving a little pig?" they
asked. "Why; surely I have,*;., said the
peasant. "A moment ago he turned to
ward: the field. Look there!. There-is
the pig over yonder. Let -me hold your
horse while you run[into the field. If,
you are -quick you can easily catch it.*'
-Hurriedly they gave the horse to the
'peasant to take care of and ran into
the", field" after, the, pig. Of course the
peasant took .his care of the \ horse so
- seriously ."that he decided to take .It
h Ome _i_to -'take care ofit for good— and
the two men had the, pleasure of see
ing him ride off down the road while
they waited in the fields crying after
hlm'in vain.j .
. After lie had gone a little way he re
turned and gave back the horse to. its
i' owners. "Here/ he said, "Is your horse,
and/remember .; not to be so foolish an :
'\u25a0'\u25a0; other; time." ;[ ,-: • • '
' v /Then he went back to his own home
and said to his wife and daughter:
"After all,. I -find that; there are; other
persons In the world who are no more
; .[':wise than" those at home." -
The World's First Oil Trust
'It ;is 'strange to find that the first oil
trusti.of. the .world, w.as founded; in , far
away Asia. [The petroleum business of
Burma-has always "been a monopoly.' ; It
..was;in existence long before our Penn
sylvania oil was discovered, being' then
In the hands of 24 families, who', be
longed' 4 to \u25a0 two villages located" in the
Yenangyang 'oil country,' from" which,
mostof the petroleumstill comes. »;Gen-'
eratlbns ago these families-,; had taken
possession- of ; the oil'; fields and had so ,•
ilxed- It that , no "one outside their own
members^ could dig for petroleum or
own an oil well. ; The: families [were;
• known asi.Yoya," and,, their chiefs were
called , Twinsayo.v If a family had ' "no
descendants it : could sell only to- the
other, 1 members .of the combined fam
ilies; so 7 that the" corporation was de
cidedly close.
[The Yenangyang had their own rules
as to the 'digging and sale of the oil.
These continued in force .until' a little
over half- a century ago, when King
Mindon; Thlbaw's great predecessor, In
troduced the monopoly system by which
the oil was sold to him alone, the same
families , producing ; it.v :
; Many of those families are still tak
ing out': oil as (their . forefathers 'did.
Some have been bought out by the
trust, but others still compete, working
the old way. Their ; oil comes from
wells [which are seldom more than 2DO
feet deep. They break the rock by
dropping a pointed lump of iron, weigh
ing about 150 pounds/upon it again and
again, and then carrying the debris out
in buckets. '. *
When the. oil strata Is reached they
wait for the well to (ill and then raise
the oil , in buckets, which are filled by
men lowered in rope slings to the bot
tom. There is much, gaß in the wells
and the miners can stay^below but a
few minutes. In order to make the
most of th«ir time they blindfold their
eyes before descending, tearing off the
bandages when /they breach the bottom,
thus keeping their eyes In "focus for Im
mediate work. They use- hats of palm
leaf to protect their heads from the
stones and earthi which may. fall upon
them from the sides of the shafts.
Their product is sold to the trust, and
at suqh rates that' they can make but
little more than fair wages.
The Burmese oil company hus to pay
a royalty to the government, but it is
largely protected by the administration
and there is little chance for outside
competition, The best of its present oil
fields cover only about 100 square mile*
"Do you find that riding reduces
your weight any?" •
"Well, my dear, I'm continually fall
ingr off, but I don't B<>em to get any
thinner," — Browning's Magazine.