How Crickets Brought Good Luck

---

1. My friend Henry went into a Baker's shop one day
to buy a little cake which he had fancied. He intended
to send it to a sick child whose appetite was gone,and who could not be coaxed to eat common food. Henry thought
that such a pretty cake might tempt even the sick.

2. While he was waiting for his change,a little boy,
came into the bakers shop. "My mother sent me for a
loaf of bread." said he to the baker's wife. The Woman
took from the shelf of four pound loaves the best one that
she could find,and put it into the boys arms.

3. My friend Henry then first noticed the thin and
thoughtful face of the little fellow.
"Have you any money ?" asked the baker's wife.

4. The boys eyes grew sad. "No ma'am," said he,hug-
ging the loaf closer to his thin jacket. "But Mother told
me to say that she would come speak to you about it to-morrow.

5. "Run along," answered the good woman, kindly;
"carry your bread home, child."
"Thank You ma'am," said the poor little fellow.

6. My friend now came forward for his money. He
had put his cake into is pocket and about to go,
when he saw the child, with the big loaf in his arms, Still
standing in the doorway. He was surprised,for he had
supposed that the lad was half-way home.
"What are you doing there?" asked te bakers wife,
who, too, had thought him fairly off. "Don't you like
the bread?"

7. "Oh, yes,ma'am," answered the child.
"Well, then , carry it to your mother, my little friend.
If you stay any longer she will think you are playing by
the way, and you will get a scolding."

8. The child did not seem to hear. Te Baker's wife
then went up to im and gave him a friendly tap on the
shoulder "What are you tinking about?" she asked.
"I was wondering wat that is I ear singing," he
answered.

9. "There is nothing singing," she said.
"yes, indeed, there is!" cried the little fellow. "Can
you not hear it?" It goes queak, queak, queak, queak!"

10. My friend and the woman both listened, but tey
could hear nothing, unless it was the song of te crickets
--frequent guests in bakers houses.
"It is a little bird," said te child; "or perhaps the
bread sings when it bakes,as apples often do."

11. "No indeed," said the baker's wife, "those are
crickets which you hear. They sing because we are light-
ing the oven, and they like to see the fire."
"Crickets!" cried the child. "Are tey really crickets?"
Then he added, blushing at his bold request," I would like
it very much if you would give me a cricket."

12. "Give you a cricket!" said te bakers wife smileing.
"What in the world would you do with a cricket? I
Would gladly give you all there are in the house, to get
rid of them ; they run about so."
13. "O ma'am,give me one, only one, if you please,"
said the lad,claspingg his thin hands under the fine loaf.
and perhaps if we had one at home,mother would not
have so much trouble, and would not cry anymore."

14. "Why does your mother cry?" asked my friend,
who could no longer avoid joining the conversation.
" Because there are so many bills,sir," said the little
fellow. "father is dead, and mother works very hard,
but she canot pay them all."

15. My friend took the child, and with him the great
loaf, into his arms,and I reall believe he kissed them
both. Meanwhile, the bakers wife, who did not dare to
touch a cricket herself, had gone into the bakehouse. Se
persuaded her husband to catch four of the insects and put
them into a box with holes in the cover through which
they might breathe. She gave the box to the child,
who went away perfectly happy.

16. The bakers wife and my friend stood for a moment
silently watchiing him as he trudged down the lane.
"poor little fellow," said they both together. Then the
woman took down her account-book, and, finding the
page on which the mother's accoun was kept, she made
a great dash all down te page, and, then wrote at the
bottom,PAID>
money he had in his pockets, and now he begged the good
woman to send it at once to the mother of the little
cricket-boy. She took the money and enclosed it with her
bill, recipted, and a note saying tat er son would one
day be a joy and a pride to her. All these tings they
gave to te baker's boy, and told im to make haste.

18. The child, with his big loaf, his four crickets, and
his short little legs could not run very fast, and wen he
reached home he found his mother, for the first time in
many weeks, with her work laid aside, and a smile of
happiness on her face. He really believed that it was his
four black crickets which had worked the miracle,and I
do not know but that he was right.

Created with the Internettrash HTML Editor