SMALL CRAFT
When they had finished the story, Lucy shut the book, saying, "Maria wasa good girl, was not she, Rollo?"
"Yes," said Rollo, "she was an excellent girl. I would have done justso; would not you, Lucy?"
"I ought to, I know," said Lucy, "but perhaps I should not."
"I should, I am sure," said Rollo.
Lucy was a polite girl, and she did not contradict Rollo, though sherecollected how much selfishness he had shown that morning, and it didnot seem to her very likely that he would have been willing to make anyvery great sacrifice to oblige others.
"My father says we cannot tell what we should do until we are tried,"said Lucy.
"Well, I _know_ I should have been willing to stay at home, if I hadbeen Maria," replied Rollo.
"But, only think, that would be preferring another person's pleasurerather than your own."
"Well, I _should_ prefer another person's pleasure rather than my own."
Rollo was beginning to get a little excited and vexed. People who boastof excellences which they do not possess, are very apt to beunreasonable and angry when any body seems to doubt whether theirboastings are true. He was thus going on, insisting upon it that heshould have acted as Maria had done, and was just saying that he shouldprefer another person's pleasure rather than his own, when Jonas cameinto the entry from the kitchen, with an armful of wood, which he wascarrying into the parlor.
"When is it, Rollo," said Jonas, "that you prefer another person'spleasure to your own?"
"Always," said Rollo, with an air of self-conceit and consequence.
Jonas smiled, and went on with his wood.
It is always better for boys to be modest and humble-minded. They appearridiculous to others when they are boasting what _great_ things they cando; and when they boast what _good_ things they do they are very likelyto be just on the eve of doing exactly the opposite.
In a moment Jonas came back out of the parlor, and said, as he passedthrough,
"Self-praise Goes but little ways;"
a short piece of versification which all boys and girls would do well toremember.
Now it happened that, all this time, Rollo's mother was sitting in alittle bedroom, which had a door opening into the entry where Lucy andRollo had been reading, and she heard all the conversation. She knewthat though Rollo was generally a good boy, and was willing to know hisfaults, and often endeavored to correct them, still that he was, likeall other boys, prone to selfishness and to vanity, and she thought thatshe must take some way to show him clearly what the truth really was,about his disinterestedness.
In a few minutes, therefore, she went out of the room, and took from thestore closet an apple and a pear. They were both good, but the pear wasparticularly fine. It was large, mellow, and juicy. She then went backto her seat, and called, "Rollo."
Rollo came running to her.
"Here," said she, "is an apple and a pear for you."
"Is one for me and one for Lucy?" said he.
"That is just as you please. I give them both to you. You may do whatyou choose with them."
Rollo took the fruit, much pleased, and walked slowly back, hesitatingwhat to do. He thought he must certainly give one to Lucy, and as he hadjust been boasting that he preferred another's pleasure to his own, hewas ashamed to offer her the apple; and yet he wanted the pear very muchhimself.
If he had had a little more time, he would have hit upon a plan whichwould have removed all the difficulty at once, by dividing both theapple and the pear, and giving to Lucy half of each. But he did notthink of this. In fact his mother knew that, as he was going directlybark to Lucy, he would not have much time to think but must actaccording to the spontaneous impulse of his heart.
But though he did not think of dividing the apple and the pear, hehappened to hit upon a plan, which occurred to him just as he was goingback into the entry, that he thought would do.
He held the fruit behind him; the apple in one hand, and the pear in theother. Lucy saw him coming, and said,
"What have you got, Rollo?"
"Which will you have, right hand or left?" said he in reply.
"Right."
Rollo held forward his right hand, and, lo! it was the pear. But hecould not bear to part with it, and he brought forward the other, andsaid,
"No, you may have the apple."
"No," said Lucy; "the pear is fairly mine; you asked me which I wouldhave, and I said the right."
"But I want the pear," said Rollo; "you may have the apple. Mother gavethem both to me."
"I want the pear too," said Lucy; "it is mine, and you must give it tome."
Just then a voice called from the bedroom,
"Children!"
"What, mother?" said Rollo.
"I want you both to come here."
Rollo and Lucy would both have been ashamed of their contention, were itnot that the pear looked so very rich and tempting, that they were bothvery eager to have it.
"What is the difficulty?" said Rollo's mother, as soon as they stoodbefore her.
"Why, Lucy wants the pear," said Rollo, "and you gave them both to me,and said I might do as I pleased with them. I am willing to give her theapple."
"Yes, but he offered me my choice," said Lucy, "right hand or left, andI chose the right, and now he ought to give it to me."
"And are you willing that I should decide it?" said the lady.
"Yes, mother," and "Yes, aunt," said Rollo and Lucy together.
"You have both done wrong; not _very_ wrong, but a little wrong; and Ithink neither ought to have the whole of the pear. So I shall divide thepear and the apple both between you; and I will tell you how you havedone wrong.
"You, Rollo, by asking her which she would have, implied that you wouldleave it to chance to decide, and that you would let her have her fairchance. Then you ought to have submitted to the result. If she hadchosen the left hand, she ought to have been content. If she had got theapple, you would have had the credit of giving her an equal chance withyou, and she ought therefore to have had the full benefit of the chance.
"And then you, Lucy, did wrong, for, although Rollo asked you to choose,he did not _actually promise_ you your choice, and as he was under noobligation to give you either, you ought not to have insisted upon hisfulfilling his _implied promise_. Is it not so?"
The children both saw and admitted that it was.
"The best way, I think," she continued, "would have been for you, Rollo,to have given the _pear_ to Lucy, as she was your visitor, and a younglady too. Then she would have given you half in eating it. However, youwere not very much in the wrong, either of you. It was a sort of adoubtful case. But I hope you see from it, Rollo, what I wanted toteach you, that you are no more inclined to prefer other persons'pleasure to your own, than other children are. Remember Jonas's couplethereafter. I think it is a very good one. Now go and get a knife, andcut the fruit; and see, it does not rain but little; you can go and getyour pea-pods now."
Away went the children out into the kitchen after a knife. Rollo wantedto cut the apple and the pear himself, and Lucy made no objection; andwe must do him the justice to say that he gave rather the largest halfof each to Lucy. They then went out into the shed, Rollo taking with hima dipper of water to wash his feet when he came back from the garden.Rollo then took off his shoes, and gave Lucy his share of the fruit, tokeep for him, and then sallied forth into the yard, holding the umbrellaover his head, as a few drops of rain were still falling.
He waded into the little pond at the garden gate, and then turned roundto look at Lucy and laugh. He began, too, to caper about in the water,but Lucy told him to take care, or he would fall down, and they couldnot wash his _clothes_, as they could his feet, with their dipper ofwater.
So he went carefully forward till he came to the peas, and gathered asmany as he wanted, and then returned.
As he was coming back, he saw Jonas in the barn. Jonas called out to himto ask what he had got.
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p; "I have been to get some pea-pods," said he, "to make boats with."
"Where are you going to sail them?" said Jonas.
"O, in this little pond, when it is done raining."
"But you had better have a little pond _now_, in the shed."
"How can we?" said Rollo.
"You might have it in a milk-pan."
"So we can. Could you come and get it for us?"
"Yes, in a few minutes--by the time you get your boats made."
Rollo and Lucy were much pleased with this, and they sat down, one oneach side of the milk-pan pond, and sailed their boats a long time. Hecut small pieces of the apple and of the pear for cargo, and Rollo putin the stem of the pear for the captain of his boat. Each one wasgood-humored and obliging, and the time passed away very pleasantly, untilit was near dinner-time. When they came in to dinner, they observed thatit was raining again very fast.