Rollo at Work

  Jonas said he should be very glad to do it, for he thought he could buyhim some things that would help him very much in his work. Jonas carriedthe money into the city the next time he went, and bought him a small honeto sharpen his knife, a fine-toothed saw, and a bottle of black varnish,with a little brush, to put it on with. He brought these things home, andgave them to Georgie's father; and he carried them into the house, and putthem in a drawer.

  That evening, when Georgie was at supper, his father slyly put the thingsthat Jonas had bought on his table, so that when he went back, aftersupper, he found them there. He was very much surprised and pleased. Heexamined them all very particularly, and was especially glad to have theblack varnish, for now he could varnish his work, and make it look muchmore handsome. The little boxes that he made, after this, of a brightblack outside, and lined neatly with paper within, were thought by theboys to be elegant.

  He could now earn money faster, and, as his father insisted on having allhis earnings expended for articles for Georgie's own use, and Jonas usedto help him about expending it, he got, at last, quite a variety ofimplements and articles. He had some wire, and a little pair of pliers forbending it in all shapes, and a hammer and little nails. He had also apaint-box and brushes, and paper of various colors, for lining boxes, andmaking portfolios and pocket-books; and he had varnishes, red, green,blue, and black. All these he kept in his drawers and shelves, and made agreat many ingenious things with them.

  So Georgie was a great friend of both Rollo and Jonas, and they often usedto come and see him, and play with him; and that was the reason that Rolloknew his voice so well, when he called to him from the landing, when Rollowas standing on the bridge, as described in the beginning of this story.

  Two Good Friends.

  Rollo ran along to the end of the bridge, clambered down to the water'sedge, went along the shore among the trees and shrubbery, until he came tothe seat where Georgie was sitting. Georgie asked him to sit down, andstay with him; but Rollo said he must go directly home; and so Georgietook his crutches, and they began to walk slowly together up the gardenwalk.

  "Where have you been, Rollo?" said Georgie.

  "I have been to see my cousin James, to ask him to go to the city with usto-morrow."

  "Are you going to the city?"

  "Yes; uncle George gave James and I a half a dollar apiece, the other day;and mother is going to carry us into the city to-morrow to buy somethingwith it."

  "Is Jonas going with you?"

  "Yes," said Rollo. "He is going to drive. We are going in our carryall."

  "I wish you would take some money for me, then, and get Jonas to buy mesomething with it."

  "Well, I will," said Rollo. "What shall he buy for you?"

  "O, he may buy any thing he chooses."

  "Yes, but if you do not tell him what to buy, he may buy something youhave got already."

  "O, Jonas knows every thing I have got as well as I do."

  Just then they came up near the house, and Georgie asked Rollo to look upat the golden pippin tree, and see how full it was.

  "That is my branch," said he.

  He pointed to a large branch which came out on one side, and which hungdown loaded with fruit. It would have broken down, perhaps, if there hadnot been a crotched pole put under it, to prop it up.

  "But all the apples on your branch are not golden pippins," said Rollo."There are some on it that are red. What beautiful red apples!"

  "Yes," said Georgie. "Father grafted that for me, to make it bearrosy-boys. I call the red ones my rosy-boys."

  "Grafted?" said Rollo; "how did he graft it?"

  "O," said Georgie, "I do not know exactly. He cut off a little branch froma rosy-boy tree, and stuck it on somehow, and it grew, and bears rosy-boysstill."

  Rollo thought this was very curious; Georgie told him he would give him anapple, and that he might have his choice--a pippin or a rosy-boy.

  Rollo hesitated, and looked at them, first at one, and then at another;but he could not decide. The rosy-boys had the brightest and mostbeautiful color, but then the pippins looked so rich and mellow, that hecould not choose very easily; and so Georgie laughed, find told him hewould settle the difficulty by giving him one of each.

  "So come here," said he, "Rollo, and let me lean on you, while I knockthem down."

  So Rollo came and stood near him, while Georgie leaned on him, and withhis crutch gave a gentle tap to one of each of his kinds of apples, andthey fell down upon the soft grass, safe and sound.

  Georgie's Apples.]

  They then went into the house, and Georgie gave Rollo his money, wrappedup in a small piece of paper; and then Rollo, bidding him good by, wentout of the little white gate, and walked along home.

  The next morning, soon after breakfast, Jonas drove the carryall up to thefront door, and Rollo and his mother walked out to it. Rollo's mother tookthe back seat, and Rollo and Jonas sat in front, and they drove along.

  They called at the house where James lived, and found him waiting for themon the front steps, with his half dollar in his hand.

  He ran into the house to tell his mother that the carryall had come, andto bid her good morning, and then he came out to the gate.

  "James," said Rollo, "you may sit on the front seat with Jonas, if youwant to."

  James said he should like to very much; and so Rollo stepped over behind,and sat with his mother. This was kind and polite; for boys all like thefront seat when they are riding, and Rollo therefore did right to offer itto his cousin.

  A Lecture On Playthings.

  After a short time, they came to a smooth and pleasant road, with treesand farm-houses on each side; and as the horse was trotting along quietly,Rollo asked his mother if she could not tell them a story.

  "I cannot tell you a story very well, this morning, but I can give you alecture on playthings, if you wish."

  "Very well, mother, we should like that," said the boys.

  They did not know very well what a lecture was, but they thought that anything which their mother would propose would be interesting.

  "Do you know what a lecture is?" said she.

  "Not exactly," said Rollo.

  "Why, I should explain to you about playthings,--the various kinds, theiruse, the way to keep them, and to derive the most pleasure from them, &c.Giving you this information will not be as _interesting_ to you as to heara story; but it will be more _useful_, if you attend carefully, andendeavor to remember what I say."

  The boys thought they should like the lecture, and promised to attend.Rollo said he would remember it all; and so his mother began.

  "The value of a plaything does not consist in itself, but in the pleasureit awakens in your mind. Do you understand that?"

  "Not very well," said Rollo.

  "If you should give a round stick to a baby on the floor, and let himstrike the floor with it, he would be pleased. You would see by his looksthat it gave him great pleasure. Now, where would this pleasure be,--inthe stick, or in the floor, or in the baby?"

  "Why, in the baby," said Rollo, laughing.

  "Yes; and would it be in his body, or in his mind?"

  "In his face," said James.

  "In his eyes," said Rollo.

  "You would see the _signs of it_ in his face and in his eyes, but thefeeling of pleasure would be in his mind. Now, I suppose you understandwhat I said, that the value of the plaything consists in the pleasure itcan awaken in the mind."

  "Yes, mother," said Rollo.

  "There is your jumping man," said she; "is that a good plaything?"

  "Yes," said Rollo, "my _kicker_. But I don't care much about it. I don'tknow where it is now."

  "What was it?" said James. "_I_ never saw it."

  "It was a pasteboard man," said his mother; "and there was a stringbehind, fixed so that, by pulling it, you could make his arms and legs flyabout."

  "Yes," said Rollo, "I called him my _kicker_."

  "You liked it very much, when you first had
it."

  "Yes," said Rollo, "but I don't think it is very pretty now."

  "That shows what I said was true. When you first had it, it was new, andthe sight of it gave you pleasure; but the pleasure consisted in thenovelty and drollery of it, and after a little while, when you becamefamiliar with it, it ceased to give you pleasure, and then you did notvalue it. I found it the other day lying on the ground in the yard, andtook it up and put it away carefully in a drawer."

  "But if the value is all gone, what good does it do to save it?" saidRollo.

  "The value to _you_ is gone, because you have become familiar with it, andso it has lost its power to awaken feelings of pleasure in you. But it hasstill power to give pleasure to other children, who have not seen it, andI kept it for them."

  "I should like to see it, very much," said James. "I never saw such aone."

  "I will show it to you some time. Now, this is one kind ofplaything,--those which please by their _novelty_ only. It is notgenerally best to buy such playthings, for you very soon get familiar withthem, and then they cease to give you pleasure, and are almost worthless."

  "Only we ought to keep them, if we have them, to show to other boys," saidRollo.

  "Yes," said his mother. "You ought never to throw them away, or leave themon the floor, or on the ground."

  "O, the little fool," said Rollo suddenly.

  His mother and James looked up, wondering what Rollo meant. He was lookingout at the side of the carryall, at something about the wheel.

  "What is it," said his mother.

  "Why, here is a large fly trying to light on the wheel, and every time hislegs touch it, it knocks them away. See! See!"

  "Yes, but you must not attend to him now. You must listen to my lecture.You promised to give your attention to me."

  So James and Rollo turned away from the window, and began to listen again.

  "I have told you now," said she, "of one kind of playthings--those thatgive pleasure from their _novelty_ only. There is another kind--those thatgive you pleasure by their _use_;--such as a doll, for example."

  "How, mother? Is a doll of any _use_?"

  "Yes, in one sense; that is, the girl who has it, _uses_ it continually.Perhaps she admired the _looks_ of it, the first day it was given to her;but then, after that, she can _use_ it in so many ways, that it continuesto afford her pleasure for a long time. She can dress and undress it, putit to bed, make it sit up for company, and do a great many other thingswith it. When she gets tired of playing with it one day, she puts it away,and the next day she thinks of something new to do with it, which shenever thought of before. Now, which should you think the pleasure youshould obtain from a ball, would arise from, its _novelty_, or its _use_?"

  "Its _use_," said the boys.

  "Yes," said the mother. "The first sight of a ball would not give you anyvery special pleasure. Its value would consist in the pleasure you wouldtake in playing with it.

  "Now, it is generally best to buy such playthings as you can use a greatmany times, and in a great many ways; such as a top, a ball, a knife, awheelbarrow. But things that please you only by their _novelty_, will soonlose all their power to give you pleasure, and be good for nothing to you.Such, for instance, as jumping men, and witches, and funny little images.Children are very often deceived in buying their playthings; for thosethings which please by their novelty only, usually please them very muchfor a few minutes, while they are in the shop, and see them for the firsttime; while those things which would last a long time, do not give themmuch pleasure at first.

  "There is another kind of playthings I want to tell you about a little,and then my lecture will be done. I mean playthings which give _you_pleasure, but give _other persons_ pain. A drum and a whistle, forexample, are disagreeable to other persons; and children, therefore, oughtnot to choose them, unless they have a place to go to, to play with them,which will be out of hearing. I have known boys to buy masks to frightenother children with, and bows and arrows, which sometimes are the means ofputting out children's eyes. So you must consider, when you are choosingplaythings, first, whether the pleasure they will give you will be fromthe _novelty_ or the _use_; and, secondly, whether, in giving _you_pleasure, they will give _any other persons_ pain.

  "This is the end of the lecture. Now you may rest a little, and lookabout, and then I will tell you a short story."

  The Young Drivers.

  They came, about this time, to the foot of a long hill, and Jonas said hebelieved that he would get out and walk up, and he said James might drivethe horse. So he put the reins into James's hands, and jumped out. Rolloclimbed over the seat, and sat by his side. Presently James saw a largestone in the road, and he asked Rollo to see how well he could drive roundit; for as the horse was going, he would have carried one wheel directlyover it. So he pulled one of the reins, and turned the horse away; but hecontrived to turn him out just far enough to make the _other_ wheel goover the stone. Rollo laughed, and asked him to let him try the next time;and James gave him the reins; but there was no other stone till they gotup to the top of the hill.

  Then James said that Rollo might ride on the front seat now, and whenJonas got in, he climbed back to the back seat, and took his place by theside of Rollo's mother.

  "Come, mother," then said Rollo, "we are rested enough now: please tobegin the story."

  "Very well, if you are all ready."

  So she began as follows:--

  The Story of Shallow, Selfish, and Wise.

  Once there were three boys going into town to buy some playthings: their names were Shallow, Selfish, and Wise. Each had half a dollar. Shallow carried his in his hand, tossing it up in the air, and catching it, as he went along. Selfish kept teasing his mother to give him some more money: half a dollar, he said, was not enough. Wise walked along quietly, with his cash safe in his pocket.

  Presently Shallow missed catching his half dollar, and--chink--it went, on the sidewalk, and it rolled along down into a crack under a building. Then he began to cry. Selfish stood by, holding his own money tight in his hands, and said he did not pity Shallow at all; it was good enough for him; he had no business to be tossing it up. Wise came up, and tried to get the money out with a stick, but he could not. He told Shallow not to cry; said he was sorry he had lost his money, and that he would give him half of his, as soon as they could get it changed at the shop.

  So they walked along to the toy-shop.

  Their mother said that each one might choose his own plaything; so they began to look around on the counter and shelves.

  After a while, Shallow began to laugh very loud and heartily at something he found. It was an image of a grinning monkey. It looked very droll indeed. Shallow asked Wise to come and see. Wise laughed at it too, but said he should not want to buy it, as he thought he should soon get tired of laughing at any thing, if it was ever so droll.

  Shallow was sure that he should never get tired of laughing at so very droll a thing as the grinning monkey; and he decided to buy it, if Wise would give him half of his money; and so Wise did.

  Selfish found a rattle, a large, noisy rattle, and went to springing it until they were all tired of hearing the noise.

  "I think I shall buy this," said he. "I can make believe that there is a fire, and can run about springing my rattle, and crying, 'Fire! Fire!' or I can play that a thief is breaking into a store, and can rattle my rattle at him, and call out, 'Stop thief!' "

  "But that will disturb all the people in the house," said Wise.

  "What care I for that?" said Selfish.

  Selfish found that the price of his rattle was not so much as the half dollar; so he laid out the rest of it in cake, and sat down on a box, and began to eat it.

  Wise passed by all the images and gaudy toys, only good to look at a few times, and chose a soft ball, and finding that that did not take all of his half of th
e money, he purchased a little morocco box with an inkstand, some wafers, and one or two short pens in it. Shallow told him that was not a plaything; it was only fit for a school; and as to his ball, he did not think much of that.

  Wise said he thought they could all play with the ball a great many times, and he thought, too, that he should like his little inkstand rainy days and winter evenings.

  So the boys walked along home. Shallow stopped every moment to laugh at his monkey, and Selfish to spring his rattle; and they looked with contempt on Wise's ball, which he carried quietly in one hand, and his box done up in brown paper in the other.

  When they got home, Shallow ran in to show his monkey. The people smiled a little, but did not take much notice of it; and, in fact, it did not look half so funny, even to himself, as it did in the shop. In a short time, it did not make him laugh at all, and then he was vexed and angry with it. He said he meant to go and throw the ugly old baboon away; he was tired of seeing that same old grin on his face all the time. So he went and threw it over the wall.

  Selfish ate his cake up, on his way home. He would not give his brothers any, for he said they had had their money as well as he. When he got home, he went about the house, up and down, through parlor and chamber, kitchen and shed, springing his rattle, and calling out, "Stop thief! Stop thief!" or "Fire! Fire!" Every body got tired, and asked him to be still; but he did not mind, until, at last, his father took his rattle away from him, and put it up on a high shelf.