Rollo's Museum Part 2

"Why, the rain," replied Jonas, "is water coming down out of the air; and the bubbles are air coming up out of the water."

"Then it is exactly the opposite of it," said Rollo.

"Yes," said Jonas.

"But you said it was _like_ it."

"Well, and so it is," Jonas replied.

"Like it, and yet exactly opposite to it! Jonas, that is impossible."

"Why, yes," said Jonas, "the air gets down into the water, and you wonder how it can, when it is so much lighter than water. So water gets up into the air, and I wonder how it can, when it is so much heavier. So that the difficulty is just about the same."

"No," said Rollo, "it is just about opposite."

"Very well," said Jonas. Jonas never would dispute. Whenever any body said any thing that he did not think was correct, he would sometimes try to explain it; but then, if they persisted, he would generally say "Very well," and that would prevent all dispute. This is an excellent way to prevent disputes, or to end them when they are begun.

While Jonas was digging slowly along through the neck of land, Rollo was rambling about among the bushes, and at length Jonas heard a sudden scream from him. Jonas looked up, and saw Rollo scrambling away from a little thicket, and then presently stopping to look back, apparently frightened.

"What now, Rollo?" said Jonas.

"Here is a great hornets' nest," said Rollo.

Jonas laid down his spade, and went to where Rollo was. Rollo pointed to a little bush, where Jonas saw, hanging to a bough, not far from the ground, a small hornets' nest, about as big as a common snow-ball, and as round. Jonas walked slowly up towards it, watching it very attentively, as he advanced.

"O Jonas! Jonas!" exclaimed Rollo, "you'd better be careful. Jonas!

Jonas! you'll get stung."

Jonas paid no attention to what Rollo was saying, but still kept moving slowly on towards the bush. When he got pretty near, he took his knife out of his pocket, and advancing one step more, he took hold of the end of the branch with one hand, and cut it off close to the tree, with the other. Rollo, in the mean time, had run backwards several steps to avoid the danger; still, however, keeping his eyes fixed upon Jonas.

Jonas brought the nest out of the thicket.

"Jonas!" said Rollo, in a tone of strong remonstrance, "you are crazy."

"There are no hornets in it," said Jonas, quietly.

He brought out the nest, and held it so that he and Rollo could see it.

"The hornets have made it of brown paper," said he.

"Brown paper," said Rollo. "Where do they get the brown paper?"

"O, they make the brown paper too."

"Ho!" said Rollo; "hornets can't make paper."

"Think not?" said Jonas. Jonas was always careful not to contradict, even when he supposed that Rollo was mistaken.

Rollo said he was _sure_ that hornets could not make paper. Then Jonas took off a little shred from the hornets' nest, and compared it with some brown paper which he had in his pocket; and he explained to Rollo that the hornets' nest was made of little fibres adhering to each other, just as the fibres of the paper did.

"It is the same article," he said, "and made of the same materials; only they manufacture it in a different way. So I don't see why it is not proper to call it paper."

"_I_ don't think it is paper," said Rollo; "nothing is paper but what men make."

"Very well," said Jonas, "we won't dispute about the name."

So Jonas returned to his work, and Rollo said that he meant to carry the hornets' nest home, and show it to Nathan. He accordingly laid it down by the side of his fire, near the dipper and the raspberry seeds.

In a short time, Jonas reduced the neck of ground, where he was digging, to a very narrow wall, and he called Rollo to come and see him let out the water. He took the shovel, and he told Rollo to take the hoe, so that, as soon as he should break down this wall, they could both be at work, digging out the pa.s.sage way, so as to get it cleared as soon as possible.

He accordingly began, and soon made a breach, through which the water rushed with considerable force into the ca.n.a.l, and then wandered along rapidly towards the outlet into the brook. Rollo pulled away with his hoe, hauling out mud, moss, gra.s.s, and water, up upon the bank where he stood; and Jonas also kept at work clearing the pa.s.sage with the spade.

In a short time they had got a fine, free course for the water, and then they stood still, one on each side of the bank, watching the torrent as it poured through.

At length, the water in the pool began to subside gradually, and then it did not run so fast through the ca.n.a.l; and pretty soon after this, Jonas said he thought it was time for them to go home to dinner. So Rollo put up his raspberry seeds in a paper, and put them into his pocket, and carried his hornets' nest in his hand. Jonas took the dipper and the lantern, and thus the boys walked along together.

A FALSE ALARM.

As Rollo and Jonas walked along towards home, Rollo told Jonas that he thought he had been very successful in collecting curiosities that day.

"Why, what curiosities have you got besides your hornets' nest?" asked Jonas.

"Why, there are my raspberry seeds," said Rollo; "I think they are a curiosity; and besides that, I have got some very beautiful, bright pebbles in my pocket."

"Let us see them," said Jonas.

So Rollo put his hand into his pocket, and drew forth several pebbles; but they were by no means as beautiful as he had imagined. They looked rough and dull.

"They _were_ very bright, when I got them," said Rollo.

"That is because they were wet," said Jonas. "Pebbles always look brightest and most beautiful when they are in their own proper place, in the brook; and that is the reason why I think it is generally best to leave them there."

Rollo looked at his faded pebbles with an air of disappointment. He asked Jonas if there was no way of keeping them bright all the time.

"I think it probable that they might be oiled, and the oil would not dry."

"Ho!" said Rollo, "I should not like to have them oiled."

"Nor I," said Jonas; "I should rather leave them in the brook."

"But is not there any other way?"

"They might be varnished," said Jonas. "That would bring out the colors; and the varnish would dry, so that you could handle them."

"That would do," said Rollo, "if I only had some varnish."