Here and Now Story Book Part 20

"Dear me! dear me!

What shall I do?

The're so many things, I'll never get through!"

Boris looked at the big policeman who stood in the middle of _this_ street. After a while the big policeman raised his hand and all the autos and horses and trucks stopped and Boris scampered across and ran down the block to the next street crossing. And there the same thing happened again.

Kachunk, kachunk, kachunk went by an auto; Clopperty, clopperty, clopperty went by a horse; Thunk-a-ta, thunk-a-ta, bang, bang went by a truck.

"I'll not get much of a walk this way," he thought. "I have to wait and wait at each corner. And the're so many things I'll never get through."

Just then he saw a street car. "I might take a car," he thought. But then he saw on the street a long line of cars waiting, waiting to get through. "It wouldn't do much good," he thought. "They're just like me."

"Dear me! dear me!

What can they do?

The're so many things, They'll never get through!"

Then he noticed a big hole in the sidewalk. Down the hole went some steps and down the steps hurried lots and lots of people. "I wonder what this is?" thought Boris and down the steps he ran.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

At the bottom of the steps there was a big room all lined with white tile and all lighted with electric lights. On the side was the funniest little house with a little window in it and a man looking through the window. Boris watched carefully for he didn't understand. Everyone went up to the window and gave the man 5 cents and the man handed out a little piece of blue paper.

"That's a ticket," thought Boris, for he was a very smart little boy.

"These people must be going somewhere." So he reached down in his pocket and pulled out a nickel. For all he was so little, and so new to New York, he knew what a 5 cent piece was quite well. He had to stand on tiptoe to hand the man his nickel and to reach his little blue ticket.

Then he watched again. Everyone dropped this ticket in a funny little box by a funny little gate and another man moved a handle up and down.

So Boris did just the same. He stood on tiptoe and dropped his ticket in the box and walked through the little gate to a big platform. And what do you think he saw there? A great long tunnel stretching off in both directions,--a long tunnel all lined with white tiles! And on the bottom were rails! "I wonder what runs on that track?" thought Boris.

Just then he heard a most terrible noise:

Rackety, clackety, klang, klong!

Rackety, clackety, klang, klong!

and down the tunnel came a train of cars. "Yi-i-i-i--sh-sh-sh-sh!"

screamed the cars and stopped right in front of Boris. And then what do you suppose happened? The doors in the car right in front of him flew open. Everyone stepped in. So did Boris.

It was the front car. He walked to the front and sat down where he could look out on the tracks. He could also look into the funny little box room and see the man who pulled the levers and made the car go and stop.

In a moment they started:

Rackety, clackety, klang, klong!

How fast! How fast!

Then "Yi-i-i-i--sh-sh-sh-sh!" The man put on the brakes and they stopped at another station. In another moment they started again. Rackety, clackety, klang, klong! Then "Yi-i-i-i--sh-sh-sh-sh" another station!

And so they went flying from lighted station to lighted station through the white-tiled tunnel.

Boris was very happy. He sat quite still watching out of the window and saying with the car; rackety, clackety, klang, klong; rackety, clackety, klang, klong! "This is the way to go if you're in a hurry," he thought.

He looked up and smiled to think of all the autos and horses and trucks above going oh! so slowly down the street!

At last he thought he would get out. So the next time the man put the brakes on and the train yelled "Yi-i-i-i--sh-sh-sh-sh!" Boris walked through the open doors on to the platform, then through the little gate, up some long steps and found himself on the street again. But right near him what do you think he saw? A park all full of trees and gra.s.s! This made Boris happy for he hadn't seen so many trees and so much gra.s.s since he had left the wide country in his old home in Russia. A little breeze was blowing too! He clapped his hands and ran around and laughed and laughed and laughed and sang:

"I like the gra.s.s, I like the trees, I like the sky, I like the breeze!

I touch the gra.s.s, I touch the trees, Let me play in the Park, Oh, please! oh, please!"

So he ran all round and played in the Park.

Suddenly he thought it was time to go home. He looked for the hole in the sidewalk but he couldn't find it. And he didn't know how to ask for the subway for he didn't know its name and he couldn't talk English.

"I'll have to walk!" he thought. He knew he must walk south for he had noticed which way the sun was when he went into the hole in the sidewalk. And now he noticed again where it was and so he could tell which way was south.

So Boris went out on the street. He walked to the corner and waited to go across.

Kachunk, kachunk, kachunk went by an auto; Clopperty, clopperty, clopperty went by a horse, Thunk-a-ta, thunk-a-ta, bang, bang went by a truck.

He waited another minute.

Kachunk, kachunk, kachunk went by an auto; Clopperty, clopperty, clopperty went by a horse; Thunk-a-ta, thunk-a-ta, bang, bang went by a truck.

He stood there a long time watching the stream of autos and horses and trucks go by. And he thought; "I'll never get home if I have to go as slowly as this.

"Dear me! dear me!

What shall I do?

The're so many things I'll never get through!"

And for all he was so smart he was a very little boy and he began to cry for his legs were tired and he was a little frightened, too.

Just then what do you suppose he saw? Down the street way up in the air on a kind of trestle, he saw a train of cars tearing by. "That's just what I want! That train doesn't have to stop for autos and horses and things!" thought Boris and he ran down the street. When he got to the high trestle, there was a long flight of stairs. Up the steps went Boris. At the top he found another funny little room with a window in it and a man looking out. This time he knew just what to do. He stood on tiptoe and gave the man 5 cents and the man handed him a little red piece of paper. Boris took it, walked through a little gate, stood on tiptoe and dropped the ticket into another funny little box and another man moved the handle up and down and his ticket dropped down. And what do you suppose he saw from the platform? Tracks again! Tracks stretching out in both directions. He didn't have to wait on the platform long before he heard the train coming. It seemed to say:

"I'm the elevated train, I'm the elevated train, I'm the elevated, elevated, elevated train!" It stopped right in front of Boris and Boris got into the front car again. Here was another man in another little box room moving more levers and making this train stop and go. And Boris could look right out in front and see the stations before he reached them. He could see bridges before they tore under them; he could look down and see the horses and the autos and the trucks. He smiled as he saw how slowly they had to go while he was racing along above them.

So Boris was quite happy and sat very still and watched out of the window. Suddenly he heard the conductor call "Fourteenth Street!" Now that was one of the few English words that Boris knew for he lived on 14th Street. Now he was pleased for he knew he was near home. So he got off the car, ran down the long, long steps and found himself on the street. Down 14th Street he ran until he came to his house.

"Well," called his mother. "You've been gone a long time! What did you see on the streets?"

Boris smiled. "I haven't been _on_ the streets much mother."

His mother was surprised. "Where have you been if you haven't been on the streets?" she asked.

Boris laughed and laughed. "There were so many things on the streets, so many autos and horses and trucks," he said, "that I couldn't go fast. So I found a wonderful train _under_ the streets and I went out on that.

And I found a wonderful train _over_ the streets and I came home on that!"

"Well, well," said his mother. "Trains under and trains over! Think of that!" And Boris did think of them much. And when he was in bed that night, he seemed to hear this little song about them:

"Now out on the streets There everything meets And they're all in a hurry to go.

But what can they do For they can't get through And all are so terribly slow?

"But under the street Where nothing can meet The subway goes rackety, klack!

It can dash and can race, It can flash and can chase, For there's nothing ahead on the track.

"And over the street Where nothing can meet Is a wonderful train indeed!

High up the stair Way up in the air It goes at remarkable speed."