Brite and Fair

by Henry A. Shute

August 3, 186—-i think Lizzie Tole is the pretyest girl i ever see in my life. it looks as if Beany wood get her. still i am hoaping.

August 4, 186—-i woodent have ennybody read this diry for 2 million dollars. i am very cairful about it. Beany is a prety good feller but there is sum things that no feller can stand. i gess Ed Tole likes me better than he does Beany but Lizzie dont. I wood ruther have it the other way. still i am hoaping. Beany may see sumbody he likes better. so may she. i hoap it will be me. i forgot to say that this was sunday. i tride to get father to let me stay at home to taik cair of the sheep but he woodent. he staid home himself to look after them. i dont think that is fair. they was a thunder shower this afternoon. it was after chirch of coarse. it was a ripper. it struck a tree up on Coart strete and split off a big lim. i have to wirk prety hard cutting grass for them sheep.

August 5, 186—-i have to wirk harder than enny feller i know. all Beany has to do is to split kinlins and lug in wood and get water from the well with the old chane and windlas and that is always fun becaus a feller always splashed the water all over him and sumtimes the chane brakes and they have to fish for it with hooks and sumtimes things get in the well and you cant use the water for a long time and then Beany has to come over to my house. once a cat got drownded in Beanys well. Beany cood see it floating round but me and Beany was mad and he sed he never wood come over to my house again or speak to me as long as he lived. so Beany dident say nothing to his family but kep on luging in pales of water. bimbye the water began to smel bad and taist feerful and Beanys father xamined the well after about a week more and found the old ded cat and there was a dredful time and Beany got a licking and had to come over to our house for water until his well was clened out. ennyway we had made up. gues what we got mad about. i treted Lizzie to gibs and Beany got mad and woodent speek to me or to her. then he bought a prize packige of candy and got a ring that was wirth a grate deel of money and gave it to her and now she goes with Beany and dont speek to me. i am never going with girls again. ennyway me and Beany are all rite again.

August 6, 186—-brite and fair. Pewt is wirking for his father painting the Academy fence. he says he gets one dollar and a quarter a day. gosh i wunder if he does. Beany says Pewt dont get fifty cents a year. Pewt woodent wirk if he dident get paid. he always has got money too. so i gess he gets sum pay. i almost never have enny money xcept when i let my boat and bisness is poar this summer. i doant beleve i have ernt 2 dollars this summer. i think father had aught to pay me fer all the wirk i do. i am tired of that old sheep. i wish a dog wood come in some day and kill it. we all like the lamn. it is geting so it can eat grass a little. evry day i ty the old sheep out in the grass. i wish it was ded. evry time it baas i have to give it sumthing. i wood like to give it sum poizon.

August 7, 186—-hot and thundery. Cele is reading the bible throug. she reads a chapter evry morning. she is terible religius. she is a grate reader of dime novels. she reads all mine. father lets me read them. he says he likes to read them himself. it is all indian fiting. Cele has read Nat Todd the Traper and Billy Bolegs and Scalploc Sam and Mountain Mike and One Eyd Pete and lots of them. she says she likes the bible best. i dont beleve it. she has got as far as the 2th palsam. once father made me lern a palsam. he gave me 10 cents. i have tride to forget it and it is most forgot. it goes like this.

day unto day utterith speach and nite unto nite showeth gnowledge.

there is no speach nor gnowledge where thy voice is not heard. that is all i can remember now. once i cood say it all but i dident know what it ment. i gnew what the 10 cents was for.

mother dont believe it wil do Cele eny good to read dime novels but father says it will help her atain a hapy medium.

August 8, 186—-mother dont like to have Cele read dime novils. father dont cair. i dont cair much so long as father dont stop me. of course Cele cood read mine after i had got throug them, but Cele wont do that. she is two good for this wirld. it is funny. Cele is as stuffy as a bull dog but she has got a new England consciense, so father says, and if mother tells her not to read dime novils she woodent do it to saive her life. but if Cele thougt it was rong to read dime novils mother and father cood lam time out of her but they coodent maik her read them. she thinks it is rite to read dime novils but if mother tells her not to she wont read them if you cut her rite hand off. that is Cele.

August 9, 186—-me and Cele are reading Wild Mag the Trappers Bride. she has got to the nineth palsam now. she gets the novil when i am cutting grass for that old sheep and i get it when she is reading the palsams. i bet i can remember the novil beter than she can the palsam. i bet she can two. Keene dont read eether. she is reading Weded but no Wife in the New York Legger. i think mother dont like that eether. tonite mother and father had it out. father sed he thougt it wood be all rite for Cele to read novils but if mother sed no it was going to be no and that is all there was about it. Keene coodent keep still and sed it aint nice to read dime novils and mother sed it is wirse to read Weded but no Wife in the Legger and father sed that is jest dam rite Joey, he calls mother Joey, and so Keene has got to stop reading that story. Cele cried and Keene was mad. i dident yip and nothing was sed about me. i know when to keep quiet as well as the nex one. this is one of them times. after we had went out i told Cele i wood read it and tell her all about it but she sed no it woodent be rite and she went off balling and wiping her eyes. she red 2 palsams today to make up. i am glad i havent got a New England consciense. it is a awful thing to have when they is enny fun going. i hoap i shal never have one.