Rollo at Work Part 20

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

Rollo thought this was very curious; Georgie told him he would give him an apple, 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 most beautiful color, but then the pippins looked so rich and mellow, that he could not choose very easily; and so Georgie laughed, find told him he would settle the difficulty by giving him one of each.

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

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: Georgie's Apples.]

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

The next morning, soon after breakfast, Jonas drove the carryall up to the front door, and Rollo and his mother walked out to it. Rollo's mother took the 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 them on the front steps, with his half dollar in his hand.

He ran into the house to tell his mother that the carryall had come, and to 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 you want 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 the front seat when they are riding, and Rollo therefore did right to offer it to his cousin.

A Lecture On Playthings.

After a short time, they came to a smooth and pleasant road, with trees and 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 a lecture 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 any thing 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, their use, 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 hear a story; but it will be more _useful_, if you attend carefully, and endeavor 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 pleasure it 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 him strike the floor with it, he would be pleased. You would see by his looks that it gave him great pleasure. Now, where would this pleasure be,--in the 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 the feeling of pleasure would be in his mind. Now, I suppose you understand what I said, that the value of the plaything consists in the pleasure it can 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't know 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 string behind, fixed so that, by pulling it, you could make his arms and legs fly about."

"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, and the sight of it gave you pleasure; but the pleasure consisted in the novelty and drollery of it, and after a little while, when you became familiar with it, it ceased to give you pleasure, and then you did not value it. I found it the other day lying on the ground in the yard, and took 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?" said Rollo.

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

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

"I will show it to you some time. Now, this is one kind of plaything,--those which please by their _novelty_ only. It is not generally best to buy such playthings, for you very soon get familiar with them, 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," said Rollo.

"Yes," said his mother. "You ought never to throw them away, or leave them on 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 looking out at the side of the carryall, at something about the wheel.

"What is it," said his mother.