That afternoon he went out into the garden to consider what he should do,and he found his father there, staking out some ground.
"Father," said he, "whereabouts should you give me the ground for mygarden?"
"Why, that depends," said his father, "on the plan you determine upon. Ifyou are going to make play of it, I must give you ground in a back corner,where the irregularity, and the weeds, will be out of sight. But if youconclude to have a real garden, and to work industriously a little whileevery day upon it, I should give it to you there, just beyond thepear-tree."
Rollo looked at the two places, but he could not make up his mind. Thatevening he asked Jonas about it, and Jonas advised him to ask his fatherto let him have both. "Then," said he, "you can work on your real gardenas long as there is any necessary work to be done, and then you could goand play about the other with James or Lucy, when they are here."
Rollo went off immediately, and asked his father. His father said therewould be some difficulties about that; but he would think of it, and seeif there was any way to avoid them.
The next morning, when he came in to breakfast, he had a paper in hishand, and he told Rollo he had concluded to let him have the two gardens,on certain conditions, which he had written down. He opened the paper, andread as follows:--
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"_Conditions on which I let Rollo have two pieces of land to cultivate_;the one to be called his _working-garden_, and the other his_playing-garden_.
"1. In cultivating his working-garden, he is to take Jonas's advice, andto follow it faithfully in every respect.
"2. He is not to go and work upon his playing-garden, at any time, whenthere is any work that ought to be done on his working-garden.
"3. If he lets his working-garden get out of order, and I give him noticeof it; then, if it is not put perfectly in order again within three daysafter receiving the notice, he is to forfeit the garden, and all that isgrowing upon it.
"4. Whatever he raises, he may sell to me, at fair prices, at the end ofthe season."
Planting.
Rollo accepted the conditions, and asked his father to stake out the twopieces of ground for him, as soon as he could; and his father did so thatday. The piece for the working-garden was much the largest. There was arow of currant-bushes near it, and his father said he might consider allthose opposite his piece of ground as included in it, and belonging tohim.
So Rollo asked Jonas what he had better do first, and Jonas told him thatthe first thing was to dig his ground all over, pretty deep; and, as itwas difficult to begin it, Jonas said he would begin it for him. So Jonasbegan, and dug along one side, and instructed Rollo how to throw up thespadefuls of earth out of the way, so that the next spadeful would come upeasier.
Jonas, in this way, made a kind of a trench all along the side of Rollo'sground; and he told Rollo to be careful to throw every spadeful wellforward, so as to keep the trench open and free, and then it would be easyfor him to dig.
Jonas then left him, and told him that there was work enough for him forthree or four days, to dig up his ground well.
Rollo went to work, very patiently, for the first day, and persevered anhour in digging up his ground. Then he left his work for that day; and thenext morning, when the regular hour which he had allotted to work arrived,he found he had not much inclination to return to it. He accordingly askedhis father whether it would not be a good plan to plant what he hadalready dug, before he dug any more.
"What is Jonas's advice?" said his father.
"Why, he told me I had better dig it all up first; but I thought that, ifI planted part first, those things would be growing while I am digging upthe rest of the ground."
"But you must do, you know, as Jonas advises; that is the condition. Nextyear, perhaps, you will be old enough to act according to your ownjudgment; but this year you must follow guidance."
Rollo recollected the condition, and he had nothing to say against it; buthe looked dissatisfied.
"Don't you think that is reasonable, Rollo?" said his father.
"Why; I don't know," said Rollo.
"This very case shows that it is reasonable. Here you want to plant a partbefore you have got the ground prepared. The real reason is because youare tired of digging; not because you are really of opinion that thatwould be a better plan. You have not the means of judging whether it is,or is not, now, time to begin to put in seeds."
Rollo could not help seeing that that was his real motive; and he promisedhis father that he would go on, though it was tiresome. It was not thehard labor of the digging that fatigued him, for, by following Jonas'sdirections, he found it easy work; but it was the sameness of it. Helonged for something new.
He persevered, however, and it was a valuable lesson to him; for when hehad got it all done, he was so satisfied with thinking that it was fairlycompleted, and in thinking that now it was all ready together, and that hecould form a plan for the whole at once, that he determined that foreverafter, when he had any unpleasant piece of work to do, he would go onpatiently through it, even if it was tiresome.
With Jonas's help, Rollo planned his garden beautifully. He put doublerows of peas and beans all around, so that when they should grow up, theywould enclose his garden like a fence or hedge, and make it look snug andpleasant within. Then, he had a row of corn, for he thought he should likesome green corn himself to roast. Then, he had one bed of beets and somehills of muskmelons, and in one corner he planted some flower seeds, sothat he could have some flowers to put into his mother's glasses, for themantel-piece.
Rollo took great interest in laying out and planting his ground, and inwatching the garden when the seeds first came up; for all this was easyand pleasant work. In the intervals, he used to play on hispleasure-ground, planting and digging, and setting out, just as hepleased.
Sometimes he, and James, and Lucy, would go out in the woods with hislittle wheelbarrow, and dig up roots of flowers and little trees there,and bring them in, and set them out here and there. But he did not proceedregularly with this ground. He did not dig it all up first, and then forma regular plan for the whole; and the consequence was, that it soon becamevery irregular. He would want to make a path one day where he had set outa little tree, perhaps, a few days before; and it often happened that,when he was making a little trench to sow one kind of seeds, out came awhole parcel of others that he had put in before, and forgotten.
Then, when the seeds came up in his playing-garden, they came up here andthere, irregularly; but, in his working-garden, all looked orderly andbeautiful.
One evening, just before sundown, Rollo brought out his father and motherto look at his two gardens. The difference between them was very great;and Rollo, as he ran along before his father, said that he thought theworking plan of making a garden was a great deal better than the playingplan.
"That depends upon what your object is."
"How so?" said Rollo.
"Why, which do you think you have had the most amusement from, thus far?"
"Why, I have had most amusement, I suppose, in the little garden in thecorner."
"Yes," said his father, "undoubtedly. But the other appears altogether thebest now, and will produce altogether more in the end. So, if your objectis useful results, you must manage systematically, regularly, andpatiently; but if you only want amusement as you go along, you had betterdo every day just as you happen to feel inclined."
"Well, father, which do you think is best for a boy?"
"For quite small boys, a garden for play is best. They have not patienceor industry enough for any other."
"Do you think I have patience or industry enough?"
"You have done very well, so far; but the trying time is to come."
"Why, father?"
"Because the novelty of the beginning is over, and now you will have agood deal of hoeing and weeding to do for a month to come. I am not surebut that you will forfeit your land yet."
"But you are to give me three days' notice, you know."
"That is true; but we shall see."
The Trying Time.
The trying time did come, true enough; for, in June and July, Rollo foundit hard to take proper care of his garden. If he had worked resolutely anhour, once or twice a week, it would have been enough; but he becameinterested in other plays, and, when Jonas reminded him that the weedswere growing, he would go in and hoe a few minutes, and then go away toplay.
At last, one day his father gave him notice that his garden was gettingout of order, and, unless it was entirely restored in three days, it mustbe forfeited.
Rollo was not much alarmed, for he thought he should have ample time to doit before the three days should have expired.
It was just at night that Rollo received his notice. He worked a littlethe next morning; but his heart was not in it much, and he left it beforehe had made much progress. The weeds were well rooted and strong, and hefound it much harder to get them up than he expected. The next day, he dida little more, and, near the latter part of the afternoon, Jonas saw himrunning about after butterflies in the yard, and asked him if he had gothis work all done.
"No," said he; "but I think I have got more than half done, and I canfinish it very early to-morrow."
"To-morrow!" said Jonas. "To-morrow is Sunday, and you cannot work then."
"Is it?" said Rollo, with much surprise and alarm; "I didn't know that.What shall I do? Do you suppose my father will count Sunday?"
"Yes," said Jonas, "I presume he will. He said, three _days_, withoutmentioning any thing about Sunday."
Rollo ran for his hoe. He had become much attached to his ground, and wasvery unwilling to lose it; but he knew that his father would rigorouslyinsist on his forfeiting it, if he failed to keep the conditions. So hewent to work as hard as he could.
It was then almost sundown. He hoed away, and pulled up the weeds, asindustriously as possible, until the sun went down. He then kept on untilit was so dark that he could not see any longer, and then, finding thatthere was considerable more to be done, and that he could not work anylonger, he sat down on the side of his little wheelbarrow, and burst intotears.
He knew, however, that it would do no good to cry, and so, after a time,he dried his eyes, and went in. He could not help hoping that his fatherwould not count the Sunday; and "If I can only have Monday," said he tohimself, "it will all be well."
He went in to ask his father, but found that he had gone away, and wouldnot come home until quite late. He begged his mother to let him sit upuntil he came home, so that he could ask him, and, as she saw that he wasso anxious and unhappy about it, she consented. Rollo sat at the windowwatching, and, as soon as he heard his father drive up to the door, hewent out, and, while he was getting out of the chaise, he said to him, ina trembling, faltering voice,
"Father, do you count Sunday as one of my three days?"
"No, my son."
Rollo clapped his hands, and said, "O, how glad!" and ran back. He toldhis mother that he was very much obliged to her for letting him sit up,and now he was ready to go to bed.
He went to his room, undressed himself, and, in a few minutes, his fathercame in to get his light.
"Father," said Rollo, "I am very much obliged to you for not countingSunday."
"It is not out of any indulgence to you, Rollo; I have no right to countSunday."
"No right, father? Why, you said three days."
"Yes; but in such agreements as that, three working days are always meant;so that, strictly, according to the agreement, I do not think I have anyright to count Sunday. If I had, I should have felt obliged to count it."
"Why, father?"
"Because I want you, when you grow up to be a man, to be _bound_ by youragreements. Men will hold you to your agreements when you are a man, and Iwant you to be accustomed to it while you are a boy. I should rather giveup twice as much land as your garden, than take yours away from you now;but I must do it if you do not get it in good order before the time isout."
"But, father, I shall, for I shall have time enough on Monday."
"True; but some accident may prevent it. Suppose you should be sick."
"If I was sick, should you count it?"
"Certainly. You ought not to let your garden get out of order; and, if youdo it, you run the risk of all accidents that may prevent your workingduring the three days."
Rollo bade his father good night, and he went to sleep, thinking what anarrow escape he had had. He felt sure that he should save it now, for hedid not think there was the least danger of his being sick on Monday.
A Narrow Escape.
Monday morning came, and, when he awoke, his first movement was, to jumpout of bed, exclaiming,
"Well, I am not sick this morning, am I?"
He had scarcely spoken the words, however, before his ear caught the soundof rain, and, looking out of the window, he saw, to his utterconsternation, that it was pouring steadily down, and, from the wind andthe gray uniformity of the clouds, there was every appearance of a settledstorm.
"What shall I do?" said Rollo. "What shall I do? Why did I not finish iton Saturday?"
He dressed himself, went down stairs, and looked out at the clouds. Therewas no prospect of any thing but rain. He ate his breakfast, and then wentout, and looked again. Rain, still. He studied and recited his morninglessons, and then again looked out. Rain, rain. He could not help hopingit would clear up before night; but, as it continued so steadily, he beganto be seriously afraid that, after all, he should lose his garden.
He spent the day very anxiously and unhappily. He knew, from what hisfather had said, that he could not hope to have another day allowed, andthat all would depend on his being able to do the work before night.
At last, about the middle of the afternoon, Rollo came into the room wherehis father and mother were sitting, and told his father that it did notrain a great deal then, and asked him if he might not go out and finishhis weeding; he did not care, he said, if he did get wet.
"But your getting wet will not injure you alone--it will spoil yourclothes."
"Besides, you will take cold," said his mother.
"Perhaps he would not take cold, if he were to put on dry clothes as soonas he leaves working," said his father; "but wetting his clothes would putyou to a good deal of trouble. No; I'd rather you would not go, on thewhole, Rollo."
Rollo turned away with tears in his eyes, and went out into the kitchen.He sat down on a bench in the shed where Jonas was working, and looked outtowards the garden. Jonas pitied him, and would gladly have gone and donethe work for him; but he knew that his father would not allow that. Atlast, a sudden thought struck him.
"Rollo," said he, "you might perhaps find some old clothes in the garret,which it would not hurt to get wet."
Rollo jumped up, and said, "Let us go and see."
They went up garret, and found, hanging up, quite a quantity of oldclothes. Some belonged to Jonas, some to himself, and they selected theworst ones they could find, and carried them down into the shed.
Then Rollo went and called his mother to come out, and he asked her if shethought it would hurt those old clothes to get wet. She laughed, and saidno; and said she would go and ask his father to let him go out with them.
In a few minutes, she came back, and said that his father consented, butthat he must go himself, and put on the old clothes, without troubling hismother, and then, when he came back, he must rub himself dry with a towel,and put on his common dress, and put the wet ones somewhere in the shed todry; and when they were dry, put them all back carefully in their places.
Work in the Rain.]
Rollo ran up to his room, and rigged himself out, as well as he could,putting one of Jonas's great coats over him, and wearing an oldbroad-brimmed straw hat on his head. Thus equipped, he took his hoe, andsallied forth in the rain.
At first he thought it was good fun; but, in about half an hour, he beganto be tired, and to feel very unco
mfortable. The rain spattered in hisface, and leaked down the back of his neck; and then the ground was wetand slippery; and once or twice he almost gave up in despair.
He persevered, however, and before dark he got it done. He raked off allthe weeds, and smoothed the ground over carefully, for he knew his fatherwould come out to examine it as soon as the storm was over. Then he wentin, rubbed himself dry, changed his clothes, and went and took his seat bythe kitchen fire.
His father came out a few minutes after, and said, "Well, Rollo, have yougot through?"
"Yes, sir," said Rollo.
"Well, I am _very_ glad of it. I was afraid you would have lost yourgarden. As it is, perhaps it will do you good."
"How?" said Rollo. "What good?"
"It will teach you, I hope, that it is dangerous to neglect or postponedoing one's duty. We cannot always depend on repairing the mischief. Whenthe proper opportunity is once lost, it may never return."
Rollo said nothing, but he thought he should remember the lesson as longas he lived.
He remembered it for the rest of that summer, at any rate, and did not runany more risks. He kept his ground very neat, and his father did not haveto give him notice again. His corn grew finely, and he had many a goodroasting ear from it; and his flowers helped ornament the parlormantel-piece all the summer; and the green peas, and the beans, and themuskmelons, and the other vegetables, which his father took and paid for,amounted to more than two dollars.