Fair Day

“There was a young man of Dundee who was chased—come in and see him ladies and gentlemen, how he hangs there in the tree. A great spectacle for only two pins.” Thus a lusty voice proclaimed, but was almost overwhelmed by another close by crying: “Only three pins for a throw ladies and gentlemen, and just see what you get if you win; a nice long stick of sassafras root.” From another corner someone called, “Little Miss Muffet and the big black spider, come and see them for only one pin.” Then someone chanted: “Hot cross buns, hot cross buns, one for a pin, two for a pin, hot cross buns.” From a little farther away came another shout: “Take your chance, ladies and gentlemen, plug the old apple, just like William Tell.”

What did all this confusion mean? Why our gang was holding its fair, which we held every summer in the wooded vacant lots on our street. This event seemed very important to us, and was really quite a social success; we got along for one whole day with only three or four disagreements, and other youngsters came from adjoining neighborhoods to spend the day with us.

On one side of the street stood the booths, cleverly contrived among the trees and decorated with most anything. Directly opposite, in another vacant lot, was the hotel, where guests were to take their noon day meal, each child bringing his lunch from home in a paper bag.

The whole place swarmed with boys and girls on this particular sunshiny morning. Everyone apparently wanted to see everything at once, and the noise, oh dear.

About ten o’clock Mary and I started to make the rounds, after being relieved in our booth by Eula and Claudie. We discovered some funny things. In the first place, the young man of Dundee was Buddy, one of the younger boys, sitting in the top of a black-oak tree, with a branch of the tree poked through his overall straps. “Say,” he complained, “I am tired of this job. Is it dinner time yet? I am terribly hungry.”

Then of course we had to take our chance at winning a piece of sassafras root. What do you suppose Kelly handed us to throw? Green crab apples. And what do you suppose we had to hit? Little sycamore balls suspended by twine from the lower branches of a tree. Mary won her ‘chew’ but I missed the goal by several inches.

After that we saw Little Miss Muffet but felt that we had paid too much as she was only an old rag doll sitting on a cushion, with a spider dangling near.

By this time our appetites were growing keen, so we decided we would each spend two pins for hot cross buns, and what were they? Only soda crackers.

We arrived at our own stand just in time to see Johnnie’s arrow fly straight into the center of a juicy summer sweet apple, set on an empty tomato can. So, of course Claudie had to hand him the apple.

At noon, while we all hungrily ate our lunches, Willie remarked: “I’d like to know where that green apple went. I had eight this morning and now there are only seven.”

“Sure I don’t know,” said Buddy in an unusually loud voice. No one thought much more about the one green apple as we noisily discussed the happenings of the morning.

During the afternoon Mary and I tried the bag swing, Ferris wheel, then we tried our luck pegging tops in my brother’s booth. That was real fun and I earned a top as I did not have much trouble making a hit.

At five o’clock our visitors departed homeward, so we began gathering together our belongings, preparatory to following their example. As I was looking into my sack of sweet apples to see if there were enough left to go around, Willie came running up saying: “There are only two of these green crabs left, and I had eight. I do not care about them especially, but was just wondering who was foolish enough to eat them,” he continued in his dignified way.

“Maybe no one ate them, maybe someone threw them away,” suggested Mary.

“All the bunch come to our house after supper to make ice cream,” I called, loud enough for all to hear.

So ‘twixt the dark and the twilight’ they came, with clothes more or less tattered and soiled from the day’s activities, but with faces and hands scrupulously scrubbed. From the small packages set on the kitchen table, mother soon had the mixture mixed and in the freezer. The boys took turns cracking the ice and turning the crank, while we girls piled in the ice and salt.

Before we had told three ghost stories, mother said, “Lets try it,” and lifted out the paddle and handed it to Buddy. Then a heaped up ‘oatmeal dish’ of cream was handed to each of the others and the story telling ceased for the time being.

When Buddy had finished ‘licking’ the paddle, he wanted a dishfull too. After only half of this was eaten, the little boy began taking smaller bites, and these soon dwindled to mere sips which, after a few moments, amounted to nothing at all. Taking notice of this strange occurrence and the expression on Buddy’s face, daddy asked “Why, Buddy, is that all you can eat ?”

“Guess I’m kinda sick,” faltered the lad.

“What have you eaten during the day?” persisted the questioner.

“Nothin’, only my lunch at noon and some soda crackers.”

“About a dozen,” interrupted his sister.

“Go on, boy,” ordered the man.

“Guess I chewed up about two or three sassafras roots,” continued the sufferer, as he folded his arms across his ‘tummy’ and leaned forward. “Ouch” he cried.

“Yes, go on,” he was impatiently commanded.

“Well, course I had my supper awhile ago,” the boy continued hesitantly, “and I was pretty hungry, so I ate quite a lot. Then, oh yes, I had two apples this morning, and some more this afternoon.”

“Were the apples ripe?” was the next question.

“No, they were green as grass, I guess.”

“How many did you eat ?” he was then asked.

“Only five,” the sufferer replied with a groan. “I just took a bite out of the last one.”

“So that is where Willie’s green apples went. He thought I ate them,” exclaimed Claudie.

“I believe this child is sick enough to have the doctor, and I am sure his mother will think so too. So while I carry him home, you run down to Dr. Jim’s house, brother, and ask him to go to Buddy’s house,” said daddy.

As this stern but kindly man, beloved by all the youngsters, started down the street with Buddy in his arms, I thought to myself: “Our wonderful day almost ruined because a boy had to be so foolishly greedy. Of course a girl would not do such a thing.”