When life was young at the old farm in Maine by Stephens C. A. (Charles Asbury) 1844-1931

Author:Stephens, C. A. (Charles Asbury), 1844-1931
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Boston, Mass. : published by the Youth's Companion
Published: 1912-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

WHEN LIFE WAS YOUNG

sour. A little later came the " Porters " and " Sweet Greenings," also the " Nodheads " and the " Minute Apples," the " Georgianas " and the " Gravensteins," and so on until the winter apples, the principal prod uct of the orchard, were reached.

We began eating those early apples by the first of August, in spite of all the terrible stories of colic which Gram told, in order to dissuade us from making ourselves ill. As the Pippins and August Sweets began to get mellow and palatable, we rivalled each other in the haste with which we tumbled out of doors early in the morning, so as to capture, each for him self or herself, the apples which had dropped from the trees overnight. Every one of us soon had a private hoard in which to secrete those apples which we did not eat at the time. There were numerous contests in rapid dressing and in reckless racing down stairs and out into the orchard.

Little Wealthy, on account of her youth, was, to some degree, exempted from this ruthless looting. We all knew where her hoard was, but spared it for a long time. She believed that she had placed it in a wonderfully secret place, and because none of us seemed to discover it, she boasted so much that Ellen and I plundered it one morning, before she was awake, to give her a wholesome lesson in humility.

A little later, just before the breakfast hour, Wealthy stole out to her preserve — to find it empty. I never saw a child more mortified. She felt so badly that she could scarcely eat breakfast, and her lip kept quivering. The others laughed at her, and soon she left the table, and no doubt shed tears in secret over her loss.

After breakfast Ellen and I sought her out, and offered to give back the apples that we had taken. The child was too proud, however, to obtain them in such a way, and refused to touch one of them.

No such clemency as had been shown to Wealthy

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