Page 94 - 1931 Hartridge

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1 he child changed his pace into a leisurely amble, for from the ex­ perience of the past H\’e minutes he might have credited himself with a mile’s journey, and, of course, his nurse could now be nowhere near. With this sudden gain of independence had come eagerness to see, hear, and un­ derstand everything which was happening in his small world. He paused a moment as a little brown bird sang in a branch above, but it flew away as he approached. A baby rabbit scrambled out from under a bramblebush
and scuttled away in flight. He was puzzled that these little beasts with which he would like to he friends should flee from him, who meant no
Page Ninety
Independence
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unnoticed and had been lost amid a maze of trees and bushes, filled his X mind. However, it was soon crowded out by the presence of many sights
and events which, although for the most part not entirely new, were ren­ dered exciting and enticing by his new liberty.
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harm. These thoughts, however, w'ere but fleeting, reflected for a moment X and then gone. 1 he path wound on as he continued, every minute it re­
FAT little figure with baggy leggings, a big wooly sweater, and fluffy white cap and mittens accentuating its pudginess, shouted with an air of ultra-importance down the winding path of a park. At last he was free from that omnipotent hand of “nurse,” and the fact that this achievement was the final of a series of attempts increased the feeling of victory. As he walked, the fresh picture of that miraculous escape a moment before
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when, with the uncannily successful craft of childhood, he had scurried off
vealed some new sight, magnified almost to a wonder in the child’s mind. He felt no fear. The world seemed beautiful and full of novelties; his mind worked only in the present. The fact that he had always been warned against strangers did not discourage him now from stopping to play with a friendly man and another little child. He eagerly acceptecl a juicy lolly- pop from them, and, with all recollections of any past experiences entirely eclipsed, he became absorbed in childish sport with this new-found friend.
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