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Show 2 Our first mule was Bill William.Papa bought him when he was a year old. He had been someomes pet until he got naughty and they didn't like h&m any more. V«*e children were afraid of him.One summer Angle had been wadding in the creek and started to cross the laeadow,earring our shoes in our hands. Bill must have seen us(he was Jlfchree yrs old then) When we saw he was in the field we dropped our shoes and ran for the fence. Bill ran too. Vrtien he came to the shoes he smelled them,picked one of them (Angle s§> UP in his teeth and danced around on his hind legs. Angle couldn't stand than,so she pulled a long strip of bark off the post and went to get her shoe] He was afraid of us then and ran away. The winter before,! think,Bill was in the barnyard. He was behind the barn and we thot he was tied up in the barn. It was pretty cold and there were very large snowdrifts. One was on the east side of the granary, sanclear into the roof. Angle and I were playing with our sleds and found a lovely slide: so we climbed up the snowbank and on up to the peak of the roof. An^ie got on the sled for the first ride,and just as she o&tmt was well started Bill caught up with her as he ran down the hill after her: but when the sled reached the ditch she jumped off and scrmbled into it with the sled on top. Bill smelled at the sled but she wouldn't come out so after awhile he went away. Then she climbed over the fence,just a few feet further-and had to walk all the way ar&und the big hoglot to set back to the house. Another wicked trick of Bill's was to catch a young pig by the'tail and lift his feet off the ground. He would flap his long ears and seem to enjoy its squeals. One day Lillie.a red and. white spotted cow that I called mine was out beside the granary with her hew calf. The hired man couldn't see her when he turned Bill into the yard; but it didn't take Bill lone1 to find them. Then such a racket! Papa had gone in to wash for supper and he came running. LTTTie was bawling and I was(on the other side of the fence)screaming:for Bill,carrying the little calf by the skin of its back,was dancins all over the barnyard. I don't remember which child meddled with tone gun. Several of us were playing in the bedroom. We sot out Mama's fur (mink) cape that had been her grandmothers,(it wasn't"much more that a collar) and the quilted hood with a fur edse,so niee and warm; and other things to play with for dressuo Meanwhile a small child went into the end of the closet.where Papa kept his double barreled shotgun, standing in the corner and in playing v/ith it cocked the trisser. Angle knew that would never do--we were forbidden to touch the g;un--so she carefully put it back as it was. The resultant discharge nearly deafened us,and our frishtened parents dashed upstairs to see if anyone was hurt. As the sun leaned in the corner the load went up thru the wall and out thru the celling and roof above the stairway. The stairway at least was plastered for I remember plaster falling on the stair. The bedrooms were not plasteredytaatil shortly before we moved to town. One day Ada and I were throwing down hay to the horses. Armfulls didn't count up very fast;so we sot behimd a big bunch and pushed. A huge roll went over the edge of the mow,down to the barn floor. Papa called , ^hats plenty",so we walked back into the iaofclow left--and there was before us,under the slanting roofbrace,a nest with four black and white kittens. Y/e'were delighted and carried them to the house in our aprons,but Mama told us they were too young and we must take them back. Geo. and I were X$<f>lfHit&f Very Proud at being trusted to take a note to M-s.Morgan. .Down the road was our bunch of horses, stamping and switching flies by the sate. I was especially attracted by Fairy's colt,then 2 or 3 mo old. Geo besged me to come on;so I started but in my pride at being unafraid paused by her heels for a final pat. She didn't appreciate my attentions, for a swift kick left me flat on my back in the dest.The edge of her hoof cut my chin and the flat of her foot on my mouth and nose made me think my whole face was knocked in. Of course we both howled and Ada came and took ^ us home. After my injuries were cared for the older girls went on the ftrrand |