148 Old Days on the Farm 



of vinegar next season. That's what he intended 

 that cider would become in the sweet by-and-by. 



SYMPTOMS GAVE IT AWAY 



One morning, at school, after a visit to the cider 

 barrel one of my chums was taken ill with severe 

 pains in his stomach. The teacher named himself 

 a committee of investigation. If you Ve read Joel 

 Chandler Harris's story of Brer Rabbit and the 

 Tar Baby you'll remember that Brer Rabbit be- 

 gan his diagnosis of the Tar Baby's sickness with 

 the question: 



** Where does yo' symptums seem ter sagaci- 

 tate? " 



But that wasn't the way with our teacher. 

 With a look of real sternness on his face he 

 came direct to the point with the query: **Now, 

 Jo, what have you been overloading yourself 

 with?" 



Of course, Joe had to furnish a verbal copy of 

 the family breakfast menu and much to the con- 

 sternation of several of us, also told about our 

 visit to the cider barrel. Well, to put it briefly we 

 didn't have an opportunity to insert wheat straw 

 into the bunghoie of that particular barrel any 

 more. But we consoled ourselves with the knowl- 

 edge that we 'd pretty well exhausted its sweetness 

 anyway. 



