Маленькие мужчины / Little men. Уровень 4. Луиза Мэй Олкотт

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      “Now, my lads, be ready for church when the bus comes round,” said Father Bhaer.

      Everyone had some little daily duty, and was expected to perform it faithfully. Some brought wood and water, brushed the steps, or ran errands for Mrs. Bhaer. Others fed the pet animals, and did chores about the barn with Franz. Daisy washed the cups, and Demi wiped them, for the twins liked to work together. Even Baby Teddy trotted to and fro, putting napkins away, and pushing chairs into their places. For half and hour the lads buzzed about like a hive of bees. Then the bus drove round, Father Bhaer and Franz with the eight older boys piled in, and away they went for a three-mile drive to church in town.

      Because of the troublesome cough Nat preferred to stay at home with the four small boys, and spent a happy morning in Mrs. Bhaer’s room, listening to the stories she read them, and learning the hymns she taught them.

      “This is my Sunday study,” she said, showing him shelves filled with picture-books, paint-boxes, little diaries, and materials for letter-writing. “I want my boys to love Sunday, to find it a peaceful, pleasant day, when they can rest from common study and play, yet enjoy quiet pleasures, and learn lessons more important than any taught in school. Do you understand me?” she asked, watching Nat’s attentive face.

      “You mean to be good?” he said, after hesitating a minute.

      “Yes; to be good, and to love to be good. It is hard work sometimes, I know very well; but we all help one another.”

      She took down a thick book and opened at a page on which there was one word at the top.

      “Why, that’s my name!” cried Nat, looking both surprised and interested.

      “Yes; I have a page for each boy. I keep a little account of how he gets on through the week, and Sunday night I show him the record. If it is bad I am sorry and disappointed, if it is good I am glad and proud; but, whichever it is, the boys know I want to help them, and they try to do their best for love of me and Father Bhaer. I don’t show my records to any but the one to whom each belongs. I call this my conscience book[6]; and only you and I will ever know what is written on the page below your name. Whether you will be pleased or ashamed to read it next Sunday depends on yourself. I think it will be a good report. I hope you will be quite contented if you keep our few rules, live happily with the boys, and learn something.”

      “I’ll try ma’am,” said Nat.

      “I really don’t know which I like best, writing or boys,” she said, laughing. “Yes, I know many people think boys are a nuisance, but that is because they don’t understand them.”

      Nat, who had never heard anything like this before, really did not know whether Mother Bhaer was a trifle crazy, or the most delightful woman he had ever met.

      “Now, I think you will go into the school-room and practise some of the hymns we will sing tonight,” she said.

      When the church-goers came back and dinner was over, every one read, wrote letters home, or talked quietly to one another, sitting here and there about the house. At three o’clock the entire family went to walk. Nat was not strong enough for the long walk, and asked to stay at home with Tommy, who kindly offered to show him Plumfield.

      “You’ve seen the house, so come out and have a look at the garden, and the barn, and the menagerie,” said Tommy.

      “What is your menagerie?” asked Nat, as they trotted along the road that encircled the house.

      “We all have pets, you see, and we keep them in the corn-barn, and call it the menagerie. Here you are. Isn’t my guinea-pig[7] a beauty?” and Tommy proudly presented one of the ugliest animal that Nat ever saw.

      “Those white mice are Rob’s, Franz gave them to him. The rabbits are Ned’s, and the bantams outside are Stuffy’s. That box is Demi’s turtle-tank.”

      “What is in this box?” asked Nat, stopping before a large deep one, half-full of earth.

      “Oh, that’s Jack Ford’s worm-shop[8]. He digs heaps of them and keeps them here, and when we want to go fishing with, we buy some of him. It saves lots of trouble, only he charged too much for them. Now, I own two hens, those gray ones with top knots, and I sell Mrs. Bhaer the eggs, but I never ask her more than twenty-five cents a dozen, never!” cried Tommy.

      “Who owns the dogs?” asked Nat.

      “The big dog is Emil’s. His name is Christopher Columbus,” answered Tommy. “The white pup is Rob’s, and the yellow one is Teddy’s. A man was going to drown them in our pond, and Papa Bhaer didn’t let him. Their names are Castor and Pollux.”

      Nat climbed up a ladder, put his head through a trap door and looked at the pretty doves.

      “How do you get these animals?” he asked, when he joined Tommy in the barn.

      “We find them or buy them, or folks give them to us. My father sends me mine,” said Tommy, with the air of a millionaire.

      Nat sighed, for he had neither father nor money, nothing in the wide world but an old empty pocketbook. Tommy understood the sigh which followed his answer,

      “Look here, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. If you hunt eggs for me – I hate it – I’ll give you one egg out of every dozen. When you have twelve, Mother Bhaer will give you twenty-five cents for them, and then you can buy what you like.”

      “I’ll do it! What a kind fellow you are, Tommy!” cried Nat, quite dazzled by this brilliant offer.

      “Pooh! You begin now and rummage the barn, and I’ll wait here for you. Granny is cackling, so you’re find one somewhere,” and Tommy threw himself down on the hay.

      Nat joyfully began his search, and he found two fine eggs.

      “You may have one and I’ll have the other, and tomorrow we’ll start again. Here, you chalk your accounts up near mine,” said Tommy.

      Then Tommy took Nat to an old willow-tree. From the fence it was an easy scramble into a wide niche between the three big branches. Here little seats had been fixed,

      “This is Demi’s and my private place; we made it, and nobody can come up unless we let them, except Daisy,” said Tommy.

      “Oh, it’s just beautiful!” cried Nat. “I hope you’ll let me up sometimes. I never saw such a nice place in all my life. I’d like to be a bird, and live here always.”

      “It is pretty nice. You can come if Demi doesn’t mind, and I guess he won’t, because he said last night that he liked you.”

      “Did he?” and Nat smiled with pleasure.

      “Yes; Demi likes quiet boys. And you can read books together.”

      “I can’t read very well; I never had any time, you know.”

      Punishment

      Nat was very fond of Mrs. Bhaer, but found something even more attractive in the good professor, who СКАЧАТЬ