Читать книгу The Experiences of Uncle Jack: Being a Biography of Rev. Andrew Jackson Newgent онлайн

18 страница из 41

But alas! his rejoicing was soon to be turned into mourning. A few days later, clad in his new outfit, he went with his brothers to the woods to gather pecans. It was a warm autumn afternoon, and in climbing and clubbing the trees and picking up the nuts, the boys found it convenient to cast off unnecessary articles of clothing. As Jack had scarcely become accustomed to more than one garment, he could easily dispense with the breeches for the time. Accordingly they were removed and hung on a bush near by, and for a time forgotten in the fascination of nut hunting. When the party was ready to start home with the fruits of their toil, he was alarmed to find that his cherished breeches had disappeared. The boys searched diligently but found them not. When about ready to give up in despair, they chanced to observe, a short distance away, a mellow-eyed, crinkly-horned, brindle cow making a meal off the lad’s wearing apparel, or perhaps using it for dessert, as though it were a dainty morsel. And the last Jack saw of his first pair of breeches was the lone suspender dangling from the innocent old brindle’s mouth, the major part of them having been engulfed in her capacious maw. And to the sorrow of his heart, his wardrobe for another year was limited to the single piece of homespun.