Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Volume XXIX, Number 32, 9 ʻAukake 1890 — Our English Column. [ARTICLE]

Our English Column.

u /ft Ycuth Prrtare fr Sfanhwd~ UNCLE i'HILS UESK. I)o any cf my Hawaiian friends know what an "a!:egorv" H ? Tbere are nther w&rds in Engjish »hkh mean about thc satnc thirg, as thc words and 4 'fjb'e". Nearly all of you know what a fabie is, as you have many cf thcrn :n your «hool readers. Hcre is an i!leg'~ry whieh ncarh al! of you wiil under*und, and it will show you lbe meanmji of iwo very iroportant words of the Eng'ish lang.:age. I-wi.-H \xi> l-* ii ī~ The*e b'»ys I-wUh ar,d I-will, were lillle rouf>in«, who lived with their grandmother in a prcttv, quict • They were ktn in blood, but it <.ould he secn ?hcy werc very different in thcir wavs o( domg things. Here »■> an exarop)c. (>nc snowy momin# :bey set by the f}rc-fthce, warm»ng and rub bing lhcir fw%ers, far it was very cold. "I wish 1 rould warm' - one of the boy.s said, "I nevcr >aw «iurh rold wcathcr I wish the *tntcr was over, or th.n the a»r wautd a litt!e more milri and ft's no j;reat fun one* t<>c« and nose nippcd with the < oUI in thts wav." His i <>tisin was looking a little blue, too, and lus treth began to show signs of f Hut he answered quickly, "\"es, u'-. j»rttty this fire does'nt burn well. I warmed up

somc wa\ or anotiicr." And s.i\mg this, I-will ran out in the snow, took an a\e and < hopp€d up a h>t of \v«.>cd, m> tliat hc nnght sit all that storniy hnli«|.«y l<y a >jood, bbzing fjrc. llut hc f 'iind hinisclf so warm attcr < thc wood, that, after hc had » 3rrird in w:tny armi-fu) of it, his rhctrk>; giowt.<l, and liis c>cs j4listened, as if hc had l»ccn working in the summcr, out in thc sun. I wmh was glad to sce thc great pile of hcapcd on the (ire, hut he could not eii) >y it mueh, for when a door or a window wa> opcncd suddenly hi? tccth wcnt to chattering a^iin. "I wish these horrid lessons were learncd and done. wjth" said one of thcse little Kehool-l>oys, one night when the lcssons for thc ncxt d.iy were mueh hardcr than usual. "It's a shame to a hoy such a lot of lessyns as that to learn, and we'll be kept in just the same ii we don't know every word."

Hut l wish iouKI not havc mcant all ihat hc sAiti, be» .iusc, instcad of follow thc examplo of I-will, who was stuciying very hard, ht* s.»t swinging his lcgs <..n thc * hair, anil thcn teasing the » »t, ane) c.i.sting ;>our looJts at the !»re. I will answcr* d him; 4< Yes you're ahoui that; >ui>J is the name when you talk ,ibout thcse lc»sons, but about thcm don't help any. Nobody is j;oing to rxcusc us if we don't know thctn. l'H know them if it takes me ti!l midnight." l will did it, but 1 wish £ot a failure ncxt d.»y, lur he had dcsircd with his lips, but with ncithcr his hcart nor his head. In thosc »chool days it hapj>ened that a boy from thc city who was visit ncar by, eame at recess one noon timc, and brought with him a line kite to llv. It was made of manv colortd papcrs and plcascd the cye» of all the country boys. I-wish longed fv>r it as it tloatcd off like a g.iy banner in the air. Hc "wouUl give ene." "Make one, you <an make it'\ said little I*will; "that is what I intend to do".

"Make it' indoed I couldn't", was the answcr. "I shall never bave one if it depcnds upon that. I onl> wish I fniftht' T . By thc limie this moumful sentence was finished I-will had run to the ncarcst shop, bought his colored papers, and was back bcfore the schoo) bell rang. That cvening, by grandmother's cheerful tireside, and atter lessons were got, I will made his kite T whieh was rather bcttcr than the one the city boy had. Kcr I-wiU's had a hole with strings going across, whieh madc a sound hke a harp. as it went up imo the air. Another day he mad« a k»te for I-wish, and then for some othcr boys, and I will was the hero of tte school. bccause he was the boy who could make kitcs. When these two boys t>ccamc men 1 wiU was always ahcad of I-wish, who would oltcn sigh and say ,% I wish I was a rich man, with plenty 0f money to do with, then I would fit up the old home and make a good house of it." I will answered him, don t want any other man's moncy, but I lovc a pretty home as you do, and I shall aoon make this old shanty shake to the sound of the haromcr, and the gardtn ahall blossom out in ro»c*." And he did He went to work and cleared out wecds and vooted up stumpa. He mended the house, he put on (resh, elean paint instde aod

By and by a firoil> helped him keep oīee iherc. He made thc fields fertile, *od sold !o»ds aod lotds! o(grairL ! For I wish, pooe fcllow, things grew wone instead of bener. The ton*er he «ished, tbe inore hb pcoperty wem n decay. The weeds took posscs«cn of hi* f»c\ds, and the damp r and moold rolled down the wall of hb house. He they wouMo'l," ontil the sherifiT eame and soM oflfthe propcrty that rcmaioed, and poor I wisb died in tbc poor bouse.