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Two Fools and Their Follies
(Melies)
By GUY SHAW
"1\ /f0RNIN,> Missus Pike!" called 1 VI out Jim> ^ne general errand boy of the little rural town of Barton, Texas, as he trudged shamblingly up the path which led to Farmer Pike's barn door, lashing the long grass with his willow whip as he went; while the cows, for whom the whip was originally intended, grazed contentedly in the dusty, unhygienic grass by the roadside.
"Mornin' to yer. I brunged yer this here journal to look at. It come to the post-office a year ago, addressed to somebody we ain't never heard tell on, and Sam put it in the pile that was to go to the dead-letter office. Last night we was clearin' things out a bit, and I snitched this fer yer, 'cause I knowed you'd like it, bein' as it had picture ladies in it, and I'd heard yer tellin' Widow Jones the other day, when yer was down to the store, buyin' calico, that yer was wantin ' a new alpacky dress, and was wonderin' how to have it made. *So when I seed this here book in the pile, thinks I, this '11 please Missus Pike a lot more 'n it will them dead-office fellers, so I kep' it out and brung it along on m' way to pasture."
If Jim had been an agent, trying to sell furniture polish, he couldn 't have found a surer wray of enlisting the friendly interest of his prospective customer. Mrs. Pike was known as the strongest woman in the town — strong of disposition, strong of tongue and strong of muscle. She was equal to any emergency, from a mouse to a horse-thief. Her reputation was prairie-wide, and equally ruthless. Not a farmer or rancher round about but knew from sad experience the power of her tongue, or her fingers — according to his misdemeanor — and one had but to glance at the thin lips and puckered brow to know what kind of a life Farmer Pike led.
But, with all her strength, she had one weakness — love of dress; and as she took the fly-specked, old fashionbook from Jim 's grimy grasp the thin lips stretched themselves into a smile, and, altho she didn't thank the boy, she forgot to chide him for leaving the gate open.
Jim trotted off, whistling cheerily, He had had the good fortune to please the dame before, and he knew the signs. Besides, Farmer Pike's fruit was ripening, and Jim was wise. To the uninitiated, the sudden " cherriesare-ripe" politeness which attacks small boys at certain seasons of the year is amazing, but to the enlightened— we know!
Full of excitement, Mrs. Pike rushed into the kitchen, unearthed her spectacles from the pile of old letters and almanacs on the shelf beside the stove, and quickly adjusted them.
For a moment she let her eyes rest happily on the foreign name of the
WITH ALL HER STRENGTH, SHE HAD ONE WEAKNESS — LOVE OF DRESS
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