Rollo at Work Read online

  Too Heavy.]

  Over went the wheelbarrow, and about half of the chips were poured outupon the ground again.

  "O dear me!" said Rollo; "I wish this wheelbarrow was not so heavy."

  He sat down on the side of the wheelbarrow for a time in despair. He had agreat mind to give up work for that day. He thought he had done enough; hewas tired. But, then, when he reflected that he had only got in threesmall baskets of chips, and that his father would see that it was reallytrue, as he had supposed, that Rollo could not work, he felt a littleashamed to stop.

  So he tipped the wheelbarrow back, which he could easily do now that theload was half out, and thought he would wheel those along, and take therest next time.

  By great exertions he contrived to stagger along a little way with thisload, until presently the wheel settled into a little low place in thepath, and he could not move it any farther. This worried and troubled himagain. He tried to draw the wheelbarrow back, as he had often seen Jonasdo in similar cases, but in vain. It would not move back or forwards. Thenhe went round to the wheel, and pulled upon that; but it would not do. Thewheel held its place immovably.

  Rollo sat down on the grass a minute or two, wishing that he had nottouched the wheelbarrow. It was unwise for him to have left his basket,his regular and proper mode of carrying the chips, to try experiments withthe wheelbarrow, which he was not at all accustomed to. And now the propercourse for him to have taken, would have been to leave the wheelbarrowwhere it was, go and get the basket, take out the chips from thewheelbarrow, and carry them, a basket full at a time, to the bin, thentake the wheelbarrow to its place, and go on with his work in the way hebegan.

  But Rollo, like all other boys who have not learned to work, was moreinclined to get somebody to help him do what was beyond his own strength,than to go quietly on alone in doing what he himself was able to do. So heleft the wheelbarrow, and went into the house to try to find somebody tohelp him.

  He came first into the kitchen, where Mary was at work getting dinner, andhe asked her to come out and help him get his wheelbarrow out of a hole.Mary said she could not come then, but, if he would wait a few minutes,she would. Rollo could not wait, but went off in pursuit of his mother.

  "Mother," said he, as he opened the door into her chamber, "could not youcome out and help me get my wheelbarrow along?"

  "What wheelbarrow?" said his mother.

  "Why, the great wheelbarrow. I am wheeling chips in it, and I cannot getit along."

  "I thought you were picking up chips in the basket I got for you."

  "Yes, mother, I did a little while; but I thought I could get them alongfaster with the wheelbarrow."

  "And, instead of that, it seems you cannot get them along at all."

  "Why, mother, it is only one little place. It is in a little hole. If Icould only get it out of that little hole, it would go very well."

  "But it seems to me you are not a very profitable workman, Rollo, afterall. You wanted me very much to go and get you a small basket, because thecommon basket was too large and heavy; so I left my work, and went and gotit for you. But you soon lay it aside, and go, of your own accord, and getsomething heavier than the common chip-basket, a great deal. And now Imust leave my work and go down and wheel it along for you."

  "Only this once, mother. If you can get it out of this hole for me, I willbe careful not to let it get in again."

  "Well," said his mother at length, "I will go. Though the common way withwagoners, when they get their loads into difficulty, is to throw a partoff until they lighten it sufficiently, and then go on. I will go thistime; but if you get into difficulty again, you must get out yourself."

  So Rollo and his mother went down together, and she took hold of thewheelbarrow, and soon got it out. She advised Rollo not to use thewheelbarrow, but to return to his basket, but yet wished him to do just ashe thought best himself.

  When she had returned to the house, Rollo went on with his load, slowlyand with great difficulty. He succeeded, however, in working it alonguntil he came to the edge of the platform which was before the shed door,where he was to carry in his chips. Here, of course, he was at a completestand, as he could not get the wheel up such a high step; so he sat downon the edge of the platform, not knowing what to do next.

  He could not go to his mother, for she had told him that she could nothelp him again; so, on the whole, he concluded that he would not pick upchips any more; he would pile the wood. He recollected that his father hadtold him that he might either pick up chips or pile wood; and the last, hethought, would be much easier.

  "I shall not have any thing to carry or to wheel at all," said he tohimself, "and so I shall not have any of these difficulties."

  So he left his wheelbarrow where it was, at the edge of the platform,intending to ask Jonas to get it up for him when he should come home. Hewent into the shed, and began to pile up the wood.

  It was some very short, small wood, prepared for a stove in his mother'schamber, and he knew where his father wanted to have it piled--backagainst the side of the shed, near where the wood was lying Jonas hadthrown it down there in a heap as he had sawed and split it.

  Hirrup! Hirrup!

  He began to lay the wood regularly upon the ground where his pile was tobe, and for a few minutes went on very prosperously. But presently heheard a great trampling in the street, and ran out to see what it was, andfound that it was a large herd of cattle driving by--oxen and cows, andlarge and small calves. They filled the whole road as they walked slowlyalong, and Rollo climbed up upon the fence, by the side of the gate, tolook at them. He was much amused to see so large a herd, and he watchedall their motions. Some stopped to eat by the road side; some tried to runoff down the lane, but were driven back by boys with long whips, who ranafter them. Others would stand still in the middle of the road and bellow,and here and there two or three would be seen pushing one another withtheir horns, or running up upon a bank by the road side.

  Presently Rollo heard a commotion among the cattle at a little distance,and, looking that way, saw that Jonas was in among them, with a stick,driving the about, and calling out, HIRRUP! HIRRUP! At first he could notthink what he was doing; but presently he saw that their own cow had gotin among the others, and Jonas was trying to get her out.

  Some of the men who were driving the herd helped him, and they succeeded,at length, in getting her away by herself, by the side of the road. Therest of the cattle moved slowly on, and when they were fairly by, Jonascalled out to Rollo to open the gate and then run away.

  Rollo did, accordingly, open the gate and run up the yard, and presentlyhe saw the cow coming in, with Jonas after her.

  "Jonas," said Rollo, "how came our cow in among all those?"

  "She got out of the pasture somehow," said Jonas, in reply, "and I must goand drive her back. How do you get along with your chips?"

  "O, not very well. I want you to help me get the wheelbarrow up on theplatform."

  "The wheelbarrow!" said Jonas. "Are you doing it with the wheelbarrow?"

  "No. I am not picking up chips now at all. I am piling wood. I _did_ havethe wheelbarrow."

  In the mean time, the cow walked along through the yard and out of thegate into the field, and Jonas said he must go on immediately after her,to drive her back into the pasture, and put up the fence, and so he couldnot stop to help Rollo about the chips; but he would just look in and seeif he was piling the wood right.

  He accordingly just stepped a moment to the shed door, and looked atRollo's work. "That will do very well," said he; "only you must put thebiggest ends of the sticks outwards, or it will all tumble down."

  So saying, he turned away, and walked off fast after the cow.

  An Overturn.

  Rollo stood looking at him for some time, wishing that he was going too.But he knew that he must not go without his mother's leave, and that, ifhe should go in to ask her, Jonas would have gone so far that he shouldnot be able to overtake him. So he went back to his wood
-pile.

  He piled a little more, and as he piled he wondered what Jonas meant bytelling him to put the largest ends outwards. He took up a stick which hada knot on one end, which made that end much the largest, and laid it onboth ways, first with the knot back against the side of the shed, and thenwith the knot in front, towards himself. He did not see but that the sticklay as steadily in one position as in the other.

  "Jonas was mistaken," said he. "It is a great deal better to put the bigends back. Then they are out of sight; all the old knots are hid, and thepile looks handsomer in front."

  So he went on, putting the sticks upon the pile with the biggest ends backagainst the shed. By this means the back side of the pile began soon to bethe highest, and the wood slanted forward, so that, when it was up nearlyas high as his head, it leaned forward so as to be quite unsteady. Rollocould not imagine what made his pile act so. He thought he would put onone stick more, and then leave it. But, as he was putting on this stick,he found that the whole pile was very unsteady. He put his hand upon it,and shook it a little, to see if it was going to fall, when he found itwas coming down right upon him, and had just time to spring back before itfell.

  He did not get clear, however; for, as he stepped suddenly back, hetumbled over the wood which was lying on the ground, and fell overbackwards; and a large part of the pile came down upon him.

  He screamed out with fright and pain, for he bruised himself a little infalling; though the wood which fell upon him was so small and light thatit did not do much serious injury.

  Rollo stopped crying pretty soon, and went into the house; and thatevening, when his father came home, he went to him, and said,

  "Father, you were right, after all; I _don't_ know how to work any betterthan Elky."

  THE TWO LITTLE WHEELBARROWS.

  Rides.

  Rollo often used to ride out with his father and mother. When he was quitea small boy, he did not know how to manage so as to get frequent rides. Heused to keep talking, himself, a great deal, and interrupting his fatherand mother, when they wanted to talk; and if he was tired, he wouldcomplain, and ask them, again and again, when they should get home. Thenhe was often thirsty, and would tease his father and mother for water, inplaces where there was no water to be got, and then fret because he wasobliged to wait a little while. In consequence of this, his father andmother did not take him very often. When they wanted a quiet, still,pleasant ride, they had to leave Rollo behind. A great many children actjust as Rollo did, and thus deprive themselves of a great many verypleasant rides.

  Rollo observed, however, that his uncle almost always took Lucy with himwhen he went to ride. And one day, when he was playing in the yard whereJonas was at work setting out trees, he saw his uncle riding by, withanother person in the chaise, and Lucy sitting between them on a littlelow seat. Lucy smiled and nodded as she went by; and when she had gone,Rollo said,

  "There goes Lucy, taking a ride. Uncle almost always takes her, when hegoes any where. I wonder why father does not take me as often."

  "I know why," said Jonas.

  "What is the reason?" said Rollo.

  "Because you are troublesome, and Lucy is not. If I was a boy like you, Ishould manage so as almost always to ride with my father."

  "Why, what should you do?" said Rollo.

  "Why, in the first place, I should never find fault with my seat. I shouldsit exactly where they put me, without any complaint. Then I should nottalk much, and I should _never_ interrupt them when they were talking. IfI saw any thing on the road that I wanted to ask about, I should waituntil I had a good opportunity to do it without disturbing theirconversation; and then, if I wanted any thing to eat or drink, I shouldnot ask for it, unless I was in a place where they could easily get it forme. Thus I should not be any trouble to them, and so they would let me goalmost always."

  Rollo was silent. He began to recollect how much trouble he had given hisparents, when riding with them, without thinking of it at the time. He didnot say any thing to Jonas about it, but he secretly resolved to tryJonas's experiment the very next time he went to ride.

  He did so, and in a very short time his father and mother both perceivedthat there was, some how or other, a great change in his manners. He hadceased to be troublesome, and had become quite a pleasant travellingcompanion. And the effect was exactly as Jonas had foretold. His fatherand mother liked very much to have such a still, pleasant little boysitting between them; and at last they began almost to think they couldnot have a pleasant ride themselves, unless Rollo was with them.

  They used to put a little cricket in, upon the bottom of the chaise, forRollo to sit upon; but this was not very convenient, and so one dayRollo's father said that, now Rollo had become so pleasant a boy to ridewith them, he would have a little seat made on purpose for him. "In fact,"said he, "I will take the chaise down to the corporal's to-night, and seeif he cannot do it for me."

  "And may I go with you?" said Rollo.

  "Yes," said his father, "you may."

  Rollo was always very much pleased when his father let him go to thecorporal's.

  The Corporal's.

  But perhaps the reader will like to know who this corporal was that Rollowas so desirous of going to see. He was an old soldier, who had becomedisabled in the wars, so that he could not go out to do very hard work,but was very ingenious in making and mending things, and he had a littleshop down by the mill, where he used to work.

  Rollo often went there with Jonas, to carry a chair to be mended, or toget a lock or latch put in order; and sometimes to buy a basket, or arake, or some simple thing that the corporal knew how to make. A corporal,you must know, is a kind of an officer in a company. This man had beensuch an officer; and so they always called him the corporal. I never knewwhat his other name was.

  That evening Rollo and his father set off in the chaise to go to thecorporal's. It was not very far. They rode along by some very pleasantfarm-houses, and came at length to the house where Georgie lived. Theythen went down the hill; but, just before they came to the bridge, theyturned off among the trees, into a secluded road, which led along the bankof the stream. After going on a short distance, they came out into a kindof opening among the trees, where a mill came into view, by the side ofthe stream; and opposite to it, across the road, under the trees, was thecorporal's little shop.

  The trees hung over the shop, and behind it there was a high rocky hillalmost covered with forest trees. Between the shop and the mill they couldsee the road winding along a little way still farther up the stream, untilit was lost in the woods.

  The Corporal's]

  As soon as Rollo came in sight of the shop, he saw a little wheelbarrowstanding up by the side of the door. It was just large enough for him, andhe called out for his father to look at it.

  "It is a very pretty little wheelbarrow," said his father.

  "I wish you would buy it for me. How much do you suppose the corporal asksfor it?"

  "We will talk with him about it," said his father.

  So saying, they drove up to the side of the road near the mill, andfastened the horse at a post. Then Rollo clambered down out of the chaise,and he and his father walked into the shop.

  They found the corporal busily at work mending a chair-bottom. Rollo stoodby, much pleased to see him weave in the flags, while his father explainedto the corporal that he wanted a small seat made in front, in his chaise.

  "I do not know whether you can do it, or not," said he.

  "What sort of a seat do you want?"

  "I thought," said he, "that you might make a little seat, with two legs toit in front, and then fasten the back side of it to the front of thechaise-box."

  "Yes," said the corporal, "that will do I think; but I must have a littleblacksmith work to fasten the seat properly behind, so that you can slipit out when you are not using it. Let us go and see."

  So the corporal rose to go out and see the chaise, and as they passed bythe wheelbarrow at the door, as they went out, Rollo asked hi
m what wasthe price of that little wheelbarrow.

  "That is not for sale, my little man. That is engaged. But I can make youone, if your father likes. I ask three quarters of a dollar for them."

  Rollo looked at it very wishfully, and the corporal told him that he mighttry it if he chose. "Wheel it about," said he, "while your father and Iare looking at the chaise."

  So Rollo trundled the wheelbarrow up and down the road with greatpleasure. It was light, and it moved easily. He wished he had such a one.It would not tip over, he said, like that great heavy one at home; hethought he could wheel it even if it was full of stones. He ran down withit to the shore of the stream, where there were plenty of stones lying,intending to load it up, and try it. But when he got there, he recollectedthat he had not had liberty to put any thing in it; and so he determinedat once that he would not.

  Just then his father called him. So he wheeled the wheelbarrow back to itsplace, and told the corporal that he liked it very much. He wanted hisfather to engage one for him then, but he did not ask him. He thoughtthat, as he had already expressed a wish for one, it would be better notto say any thing about it again, but to wait and let his father do as hepleased.