The first 100 days and nights are the
hardest, but you get used to it after
awhile. It’s like everything else. As
a matter of fact I’m so used to it I
wouldn’t come out now if it wasn’t for
the newspaper boys.”
"Whaddaya mean?”
“They're a good crowd and I have
come out for them. They expect it of
me. Why if I didn’t come out on
Candlemas day they’d all have to
either make liars of themselves or lose
their jobs.”
“How so?”
“It’s the editors. They’re hard
boiled. They made a rule years ago
that the ground-hog had to come out
Candlemas day. Just like the rule
that whenever there’s a fire within a
mile of a big hotel all the guests must
flee in their nightgowns, and that
whenever a horse with the blindstag
gers runs away and falls down from
exhaustion he must be stopped by a
heroic policeman. The American
newspaper editors have ordered the
ground-hog to come out on February
2, and he’s gotta do it.”
“It’s pretty tough.”
“Yes,” agreed the Ground-hog.
“And the toughest part is that I have
to come out in time for the first edi
tions.
In the old days when papers got out
one edition it was o. k., but with some
of the big papers getting out their
evening editions at sunrise every
morning it’s an awful strain on ground
hogs in general. Still it’s the power of
the press and we’ve gotta respect it.
iikik me ground-hoc: broke down
completely. The correspondent tried
to cheer hinr\ up.
■‘Well, so long,” said the G. H.
