THE RED COW 



patented as lawn mowers so that any one who used 

 my idea would be obliged to pay me a royalty that 

 might grow to such proportions that it would at- 

 tract the attention of the Minister of Finance. It 

 was a beautiful idea, for if I could only get all the 

 lawns in the country paying tribute to me there 

 would be no end to my income. But while I was 

 talking about it and telling people how they could 

 sit around wearing diamonds when I made my 

 fortune by my new idea the papers brought the news 

 that President Wilson had just bought a dozen 

 Shropshire sheep to clip the lawn at the White 

 House. This makes the great idea public property. 

 It is too late to get a patent on it now. Still there 

 is some satisfaction in remembering that great minds 

 run in the same channel. The busy President has 

 hit on the same trick as I have to get out of the 

 tiresome job of running the early-rising lawn mower. 



114. 



