Rollo at Play; Or, Safe Amusements Part 15

Presently, however, it became more shoal, as the horse walked slowly along; and at last he fairly reached the dry ground, and stood dripping on the bank.

Rollo was glad to see that the water was no deeper, but was still afraid to go over. He told Jonas he _could not_ go over I here, and that he _must_ go back with him.

"No," said Jonas, "that would not be right."

"Why," said Rollo, "we can ride fast, and overtake them."

"Not very soon," said Jonas. "If we go back now, they will get to the mill before us, and then will be very anxious and unhappy, thinking that something has happened to us; and perhaps your father will come through here after us. Now it was your own plan, coming across here, and you ought not to make other people suffer by it. Your father advised you not to come."

"I know it," said Rollo; "what a foolish boy I was! I shall certainly be drowned."

"O no," said Jonas, "there is no real danger, or I should not make you go;" and so saying, he came back slowly through the water. "See," said he, "it is not very deep."

LITTLE MOSETTE

After some further persuasion Rollo got on behind him, and they began to in make their way slowly through the water again. Old Trumpeter staggered along, but not very unsteadily on the whole, until he got a little past the middle, when he blundered upon a stone on the bottom, which he could not see, and fell down on his knees. Jonas caught up his feet, in an instant, and Rollo had his already drawn up behind him, and they both grasped the saddle convulsively. The horse happened to regain his feet again in a moment, so that they contrived to hold on; and in a few minutes they were drawn out safely upon the sh.o.r.e, without even getting their feet wet.

"Well, Old Trumpeter," said Jonas, "you have done pretty well for you, and you have got the mire washed off your legs, at any rate. But, Rollo, what is that?"

He pointed back, as he said this, to a little tuft floating round and round in a small eddy, made by a turn of the brook, just above where they had crossed. He turned his horse towards it. "It is a bird's nest," said he.

"So it is," said Rollo; "and I verily believe there is a little bird in it."

Jonas jumped off of the horse, handed the bridle to Rollo, and took up a long stick lying on the ground, and very gently and cautiously drew the nest, in to the sh.o.r.e. He took it up with great care, and brought it to Rollo.

There was a little bird in it, scarcely fledged. Jonas said he believed it was a robin, and that it must have been washed off from its place on some bush, by the freshet in the brook. The bottom of the nest was soaked through by the water, as if it had been floating some time; and the little bird kept opening its mouth wide. The poor little thing was hungry, and heard Jonas and Rollo, and thought they were its mother, come to give it something to eat.

"What shall we do with him?" said Rollo.

"He will die if we leave him here," said Jonas, "for he has lost his mother now. I think we had better carry him home, if we can, and feed him, till he is old enough to fly."

"He is hungry," said Rollo; "let us feed him now."

"We have not any thing to feed him with. Perhaps I can catch a fly, or a gra.s.shopper."

"O, that will not do," said Rollo; "you might as well kill him as kill a gra.s.shopper."

Jonas could not reply to this, and they concluded to carry nest and all carefully to the mill, and show it to Rollo's father there. But how to carry it was the difficulty. If either of them undertook to hold it in one hand, he was afraid the bird might be jolted out; and neither of them had but one hand to spare, for Rollo must have one hand to hold on with, and Jonas one to drive. At last Jonas took off his cap, and placed it bottom upwards on the saddle before him, and put the nest, with the bird in it, in that, and then drove carefully along. The road grew much smoother and better after they pa.s.sed the brook; and, after going on a short distance farther, they came in sight of the mill.

They had been detained so long that the chaises had reached the mill before, them; and the party in the chaises were looking out down the path where they expected the boys were to come out, watching for them with considerable interest:

"There they come at last," said Lucy, as she perceived a movement among the bushes, and saw Old Trumpeter's white head coming forward.

"Yes," said Rollo's mother, "but they have met with some accident. Jonas has lost his cap."

By this time the boys had emerged from the bushes, and were coming along the path slowly, Jonas bareheaded, and Rollo holding on carefully. Lucy saw that Jonas was holding something before him, on the saddle, and wondered what it was. Rollo's mother said she was afraid they had got hurt.

As soon as they came within hearing Rollo heard his father's voice calling out to him,

"Rollo, what is the matter? Have you got into any difficulty?"

"Yes, sir," said Rollo; "we had some difficulty; and I should be sorry I did not take your advice, only then we should not have found this little bird."

"What bird?" said they all.

By this time, they had come up near the chaises, and Jonas carefully lifted the birdsnest out of his cap, and held it so that they could all see it, while Rollo told them the story. They all looked much pleased but Lucy seemed in delight. She wanted to have it go in their chaise, and asked Rollo to let her hold the nest in her lap.

Rollo did not answer very directly, for he was busy looking at the bird,--seeing him open his mouth, and wishing he had something to give him to eat.

"Father," said he, "what shall we feed him with? Jonas was going to catch a gra.s.shopper, but I thought that would not be right."

"Why not?" said uncle George.

"Because," said Rollo, "he has as good a right to his life as the bird, has not he, father?"

"Not exactly," said his father: "a bird is an animal of much higher grade than a gra.s.shopper, and is probably much more sensible of pain and pleasure, and his life is of more value; just as a man is a much higher animal than a bird. It would be right to kill a bird to save a man's life, even if he were only an animal; and so it would be right to destroy a gra.s.shopper, or a worm, to save a robin."

"But I read in a book once," said Lucy, "that, when we tread on a worm, he feels as much pain in being killed as a giant would."

"I do not think it is true," said he. "I think that there is a vast diversity among the different animals, in respect to their sensibility to pain, according to their structure, and the delicacy of their organization. I think a crew of a fishing-vessel might catch a whole cargo of mackerel, and not cause as much pain as one of their men would suffer in having his leg bitten off by a shark."

"Well, father," said Rollo, "do you think we had better give him a gra.s.shopper?"

"O no," said Lucy; "a gra.s.shopper would not be good to eat, he has got so many elbows sticking out. Let us give him some blueberries."

"O yes," said Rollo, "that would be beautiful."

So he slid down off of Old Trumpeter's back, and ran to the side of the road to see if he could not find some blueberries.

He brought a few in his hand, and his father took them, saying that he would feed the bird for him. He squeezed out pulp of the berries, and then made a chirping sound, when the bird opened his mouth, and he fed him with the soft pulp, and threw away the skins. After giving the bird two or three berries in this way, they put him back into the nest, and gave the nest to Lucy to hold in her lap, and all the party prepared to go on.

They rode along about a mile farther, and then came to the place where they must leave the horses, and prepare to ascend the mountain on foot.

They unharnessed them, so that they might stand more quietly, and then fastened them to trees by the side of the road.

While they were thus taking care of their horses, Rollo and Lucy were standing by, with Rollo's mother looking at the bird.

"What are you going to do with him, Rollo?" said his mother.

"Why, I should like to carry him home, and keep him, if you are willing."

"I am, on one condition."

"What is that?"

"You must keep him in a cage with the door always open, so that, as soon as he is old enough to fly away, he may go if he chooses."

"Then he will certainly fly away, and we shall lose him forever," said Lucy.