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THE SANDMAN.
HIS FARM STORIES
Sandman Stories
Each, one vol., 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
By William J. Hopkins
The Sandman: His Farm Stories
The Sandman: More Farm Stories
The Sandman: His Ship Stories
The Sandman: His Sea Stories
By Harry W. Frees
The Sandman: His Animal Stories
The Sandman: His Kittycat Stories
The Sandman: His Bunny Stories
The Sandman: His Puppy Stories
By Jenny Wallis
The Sandman: His Songs and Rhymes
By W. S. Phillips
(El Comancho)
The Sandman: His Indian Stories
By Helen I. Castella
The Sandman: His Fairy Stories
By Mae V. LeBert
The Sandman: His Japanese Stories
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
53 Beacon Street Boston, Mass.
[Illustration - Little John]
The Sandman:
His Farm
Stories
By
William J. Hopkins
With Fifty Illustrations by
Ada Clendenin Williamson
[Illustration]
Boston
The Page Company
Publishers
_Copyright, 1902_
BY THE PAGE COMPANY
_All rights reserved_
Made in U.S.A.
PRINTED BY THE COLONIAL PRESS INC.
CLINTON, MASS., U.S.A.
To
that
Little John
of to-day
who has inspired these stories
of that other
Little John
of long ago
this volume is
most affectionately
dedicated
PREFACE
Whatever may be thought of these stories by older people, they have
served, with some others, to induce a certain little boy to go to sleep,
and for nearly three years my one listener has heard them repeated many
times, and his interest has never flagged. As the farm stories slowly
grew in number, they entirely displaced the other stories, and that farm
has become as real in the mind of my audience as it was in fact when
little John was driving the cows, or planting the corn, seventy-five
years ago.
The detail, which may seem excessive to an older critic, was in every
case, until I had learned to put it in at the start, the result of a
searching cross-examination. If the bars were not put up again, the cows
might get out; and if the oxen did not pass, on their return, all the
familiar objects, how did they get back to the barn? It is the young
critics that I hope to please, those whose years count no more than six.
If they like these farm stories half as well as my own young critic
likes them, I shall be satisfied.
WILLIAM J. HOPKINS.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE OXEN STORY 13
II. THE FINE-HOMINY STORY 21
III. THE APPLE STORY 36
IV. THE WHOLE WHEAT STORY 47
V. THE STUMP STORY 59
VI. THE HORSIE STORY 64
VII. THE LOG STORY 71
VIII. THE UNCLE SAM STORY 80
IX. THE MARKET STORY 84
X. THE MAPLE-SUGAR STORY 96
XI. THE RAIL FENCE STORY 110
XII. THE COW STORY 120
XIII. THE HAY STORY 135
XIV. THE FIREPLACE STORY 146
XV. THE BAKING STORY 156
XVI. THE SWIMMING STORY 165
XVII. THE CHICKEN STORY 175
XVIII. THE SHAWL STORY 184
XIX. THE BUYING-FARM STORY 198
XX. THE BUTTER STORY 203
XXI. THE BEAN-POLE STORY 210
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
LITTLE JOHN _Frontispiece_
"AND TO WASH THEIR FACES AND HANDS" 14
"RAN DOWN THE SPOUT TO THE HOGSHEAD" 15
"UNCLE JOHN TOOK THE BARS DOWN" 17
"HE PUT ONE GRAIN OF CORN IN EACH HOLE" 25
"IT WAS TIME TO GATHER THE CORN" 27
"ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING WAS A GREAT
ENORMOUS WHEEL" 31
"LITTLE JOHN GOT DOWN" 32
"UNCLE JOHN GATHERED ALL THE APPLES" 38
"THE JUICE RAN OUT BELOW INTO THE KEG" 43
"THE CIDER RAN INTO THE PITCHER" 45
"SO THEY WENT ALL AROUND THE FIELD" 49
"PUT THE BAG OVER HIS SHOULDER" 50
"THEY MADE A GREAT NOISE" 56
"THE PLACES WHERE THE FIELDS WOULD BE WERE ALL
COVERED WITH TREES" 60
"THEY DUG A TRENCH" 62
"HE BEGAN TO CLIMB OVER THE WALL" 66
"RAN ALONG THE ROAD CRYING" 69
"THEY ROLLED THE GREAT LOG UP THE LITTLE LOGS
ON TO THE SLEDS" 74
"THE END OF THE LOG CAME AGAINST THE SAW" 77
"HE TIPPED UNCLE SAM RIGHT OUT" 82
"HE JUST GOT UP AND RAN AROUND THE WALL" 83
"THE OLD ROOSTER CROWED" 85
"AUNT DEBORAH CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE" 87
"THE MARKET-MAN TOOK SOME MONEY FROM HIS
POCKET" 92
"PUT A BUCKET UNDER EACH SPOUT" 100
"DROPPED IT IN THE SNOW" 104
"THEY CUT DOWN ENOUGH OF THESE TREES" 112
"PUT THE POSTS IN THE HOLES" 117
"FIXING THE FIRE" 121
"LITTLE JOHN ... OPENED THE GATE" 128
"THEY PUT IT DOWN BY THE STONE WALL" 137
"ONE OF THE OTHER MEN BEGAN AT THE NEXT
PLACE" 138
"THEY PILED THE HAY UP IN THE CART" 143
"THERE WAS A GREAT ENORMOUS FIREPLACE" 147
"FILLED IT WITH WATER AT THE WELL" 150
"THOSE WERE APPLE PIES" 160
"SO SHE DID UNTIL ALL THE PIES WERE BAKED" 162
"THEY RAN ALONG IN THE WATER WHERE IT WASN'T
VERY DEEP" 167
"THERE WAS AUNT DEBORAH WITH FOUR PIECES OF
GINGERBREAD" 173
"THE OLD ROOSTER ... CROWED VERY LOUD" 178
"EACH OF THESE HENS LAID ONE EGG" 180
"LITTLE JOHN FOUND THAT NEST" 181
"THEY WENT TO THE ISLAND" 188
"THEY THOUGHT THE CLOTH AND THE SHAWLS WERE
VERY BEAUTIFUL" 195
"ALL THE THINGS HAD TO BE DRAGGED IN THE
WAGONS" 201
"PUT IT IN FLAT PANS" 206
"AUNT PHYLLIS TOOK HOLD OF THE LONG HANDLE" 207
"HE CUT DOWN EACH TREE WITH ONE WHACK OF THE
AXE" 213
"THE BEAN VINES KEPT ON GROWING" 216
THE SANDMAN:
HIS FARM STORIES
I.
THE OXEN STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds, and it stood not far from the road. And in the fence
was a wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons,
going through, had made a track that led up past the kitchen door and
past the shed and past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
[Illustration]
Not far from the kitchen door was a well, with a bucket tied by a rope
to the end of a great long pole. And when they wanted water, they let
the bucket down into the well and pulled it up full of water. They used
this water to drink, and to wash their faces and hands, and to wash the
dishes: but it wasn't good to wash clothes, because it wouldn't make
good soap-suds. To get water to wash the clothes, they had a great
enormous hogshead at the corner of the house. And when it rained, the
rain fell on the roof, and ran down the roof to the gutter, and ran down
the gutter to the spout, and ran down the spout to the hogshead. And
when they wanted water to wash the clothes, they took some of the water
out of the hogshead.
[Illustration]
But when it had not rained for a long time, there was no water in the
hogshead. Then they got out the drag and put a barrel on it, and the old
oxen came out from the barn, and put their heads down low; and Uncle
John put the yoke over their necks, and put the bows under and fastened
them, and hooked the chain of the drag to the yoke. There wasn't any
harness, and there weren't any reins. Then he said "Gee up there, Buck;
gee up there, Star." And the old oxen started walking slowly along,
dragging the drag, with the barrel on it, along the ground. And Uncle
John walked along beside them, carrying a long whip or a long stick with
a sharp end; and little John walked along by the drag.
[Illustration]
And they walked slowly out of the yard into the road and along the road
until they came to a big field with a stone wall around it, and a big
gate in the stone wall. It wasn't a regular gate, but at each side of
the open place in the wall there was a post with holes in it. And long
bars went across and rested in the holes. And the old oxen stopped, and
Uncle John took the bars down and laid them on the ground. Then the oxen
started and walked through the gate and across the field until they came
to the river. And when they came to the river, they stopped.
The little river and the field are not there now, because the people put
a great enormous heap of dirt across, and the river couldn't get
through. The water ran in and couldn't get out, and spread out all over
the field and made a big pond. And they had some great pipes under the
ground, all the way to Boston. And the water runs through the pipes to
Boston, and the people use it there to drink, and wash faces and hands,
and wash dishes, and wash clothes.
Well, when the old oxen stopped at the river, Uncle John took his bucket
and dipped it in the river, and poured the water into the barrel until
the barrel was full. Then he said "Gee up there," and the old oxen
started slowly walking across the field. And the drag tilted around on
the rough ground, and the water splashed about in the barrel, and
slopped over the top of the barrel on to the drag, and on to the ground.
And the oxen walked out of the gate into the road and stopped. And Uncle
John put the bars back into the holes, and the old oxen started again
and walked slowly along the road, until they came to the farm-house, and
in at the big gate, and up to the kitchen door, and there they stopped.
And Uncle John unhooked the chain from the yoke, and took out the bows,
and took off the yoke, and the old oxen walked into the barn and went to
sleep. And they left the drag with the barrel of water by the kitchen
door.
And the next morning, when they wanted water to wash the clothes, there
was the barrel of water, all ready.
And that's all.
II.
THE FINE-HOMINY STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds, and it stood not far from the road. And in the fence
was a wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons,
going through, had made a track that led up past the kitchen door and
past the shed and past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
Not far from the house there was a field where corn grew; and when the
winter was over and the snow was gone and it was beginning to get warm,
Uncle John got the old oxen out of the barn. And the oxen put their
heads down, and Uncle John put the yoke over and the bows under, and he
put the plough on the drag and hooked the drag chain to the yoke. Then
he said: "Gee up there, Buck; gee up there, Star."
So the old oxen started walking slowly along the wagon track and out of
the gate into the road. Uncle Solomon and Uncle John walked along beside
them, and little John walked behind; and they walked along until they
came to the corn-field. Then the oxen stopped and Uncle John took the
bars down out of the holes in the posts, and the oxen geed up again
through the gate into the corn-field.
Then Uncle John unhooked the chain from the drag and hooked it to the
plough and said "Gee up" again, and the oxen started walking along
across the field, dragging the plough. Uncle Solomon held the handles,
and the plough dug into the ground and turned up the dirt into a great
heap on one side and left a deep furrow--a kind of a long hollow--all
across the field where it had gone. And the old oxen walked across the
field, around and around, making the furrow and turning up the dirt,
until they had been all over the field.
Then Uncle John unhooked the chain from the plough and hooked it on to
the harrow. The harrow is a big kind of a frame that has diggers like
little ploughs sticking down all over the under side of it. And the
oxen dragged the harrow over the field and the little teeth broke up the
lumps of dirt and smoothed it over and made it soft, so that the seeds
could grow.
Then Uncle John unhooked the chain from the harrow and hooked it to the
drag and put the plough on the drag and said "Gee up," and the oxen
walked along through the gateway and along the road until they came to
the farm-house. And they went in at the wide gate and up the wagon track
until they came to the shed, and there they stopped. Then Uncle John
unhooked the chain and took off the yoke, and the old oxen went into the
barn and went to sleep; and Uncle John put the drag in the shed.
[Illustration]
The next day Uncle John took a great bag full of corn, and put it over
his shoulder and started walking along to the corn-field; and little
John walked behind. And when they got to the corn-field, Uncle John put
the great bag of corn on the ground and put some in a little bag and
gave it to little John. Then Uncle John began walking across the field
and little John walked behind. And at every step Uncle John stopped and
made five little holes in the ground; and then he took another step and
made five other little holes. And little John came after and he put one
grain of corn in each hole and brushed the dirt over. And they went all
over the field, putting the corn in the ground, and when it was all
covered over, they went away and left it.
Then the rain came and fell on the field and sank into the ground, and
the sun shone and warmed it, and the corn began to grow. And soon the
little green blades pushed through the ground like grass, and got bigger
and bigger and taller and taller until when the summer was almost over
they were great corn-stalks as high as Uncle John's head; and on each
stalk were the ears of corn, wrapped up tight in green leaves, and at
the top was the tassel that waved about. Then, when the tassel got
yellow and brown and the leaves began to dry up, Uncle John knew it was
time to gather the corn, for it was ripe.
[Illustration]
Then Uncle Solomon and Uncle John came out with great heavy, sharp
knives and cut down all the corn-stalks and pulled the ears of corn off
the stalks. And little John came and helped pull off the leaves from
around the ears. Then the old oxen came out of the barn and Uncle John
put the yoke over their necks and the bows up under and hooked the
tongue of the ox-cart to the yoke. And he said "Gee up there," and the
old oxen began walking slowly along, dragging the cart; and they went
out the wide gate and along the road to the corn-field.
Then Uncle John and Uncle Solomon tossed the ears of corn into the cart;
and when it was full, the old oxen started again, walking slowly along,
back to the farm-house, in through the wide gate and up the wagon track
and in at the wide door of the barn. And Uncle John put all the ears of
corn into a kind of pen in the barn and the old oxen dragged the cart
back to the corn-field to get it filled again; and so they did until all
the ears of corn were in the pen.
And then Uncle John unhooked the tongue of the cart and put the cart in
the shed, and he took off the yoke, and the oxen went into the barn and
went to sleep.
The next morning Uncle Solomon and Uncle John and little John all went
out to the barn and sat on little stools--low stools with three legs,
that they sit on when they milk the cows--and rubbed the kernels of corn
off the cobs. Then Uncle John put all the corn into bags and put it
away; and he put the cobs in the shed, to use in making fires.
Then, one morning, Uncle John got out the oxen, and they put their heads
down, and he put the yoke over their necks and the bows up under, and he
hooked the tongue of the ox-cart to the yoke; and he said "Gee up
there," and they walked into the barn. Then Uncle John put all the bags
of corn into the cart, and he put little John up on the cart, and the
old oxen started again and walked slowly along, down the wagon track,
out the wide gate, and into the road.
Then they turned along the road, not the way to the field where they got
the water, but the other way. And they walked a long way until they came
to a place where there was a building beside a little river. And on the
outside of the building was a great enormous wheel, so big that it
reached down and dipped into the water. And when the water in the little
river flowed along, it made the great wheel turn around; and this made a
great heavy stone inside the building turn around on top of another
stone. Now the building is called a Mill, and the big wheel outside is
called a Mill-Wheel, and the stones are called Mill-Stones; and the man
that takes care of the mill is called the Miller.
[Illustration]
Now the miller was sitting in the doorway of the mill; and when he saw
Uncle John and little John and the ox-cart filled with bags, he got up
and came out, and called to Uncle John: "Good morning. What can I do for
you this morning?"
And Uncle John said: "I've got some corn to grind."
[Illustration]
So the oxen stopped, and little John got down, and the miller and Uncle
John took all the bags of corn into the mill, and the oxen lay down and
went to sleep. Then Uncle John and little John sat down on some logs in
the mill, and the miller asked Uncle John how he wanted the corn ground.
So Uncle John said he wanted some of it just cracked, and some of it
ground into fine hominy, and some of it into meal.
Then the miller fixed the stones so they would just crack the corn, and
he poured the corn in at a place where it would run down between the
stones, and he started the stone turning. When the corn was cracked, he
put it into the bags again, and tied them up.
Then he fixed the stones so they would grind the corn into fine hominy,
and he poured the corn in, and it came out ground into fine hominy. Then
he put the fine hominy into the bags again and tied them up.
Then he fixed the stones so they would grind the corn into meal, and he
poured the corn in, and it came out ground into meal. Then he put the
meal into the bags again and tied them up. And the miller kept two bags
of each kind to pay for grinding the corn; but the other bags he put
into the ox-cart.
Then the oxen got up and little John was lifted up and the old oxen
started walking slowly along home again. And they walked a long time
until they came to the wide gate, and they turned in at the gate and up
the wagon track to the kitchen door, and there they stopped. And Uncle
John took one of the bags of meal into the kitchen and gave it to Aunt
Deborah.
And he said: "Here's your meal, Deborah."
And Aunt Deborah said: "All right. I'll make some Johnny-cake for
breakfast to-morrow."
And the rest of the meal was put away in the store-room until they
wanted it; for they had enough to last them all winter and some to take
to market besides. Then Uncle John unhooked the tongue of the cart from
the yoke and put the cart in the shed. And he took off the yoke and the
old oxen went into the barn and went to sleep.
And that's all.
III.
THE APPLE STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds, and it stood not far from the road. In the fence was a
wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons, going
through, had made a track that went up past the kitchen door and past
the shed and past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
In the orchard grew many apple-trees. Some had yellow apples and some
had green apples and some had red apples and some had brown apples. And
the yellow apples got ripe before the summer was over; but the green
apples and the red apples and the brown apples were not ripe until the
summer was over and it was beginning to get cold.
So, one day, after the summer was over and it was beginning to get cold,
Uncle John saw that the apples on one of the trees were ready to be
picked. And they were red apples. So he got out the old oxen, and they
put their heads down and he put the yoke over and the bows under and
hooked the tongue of the ox-cart to the yoke. Then he said: "Gee up
there, Buck; gee up there, Star." And the old oxen began walking slowly
along, past the barn to the orchard. And they turned in through the
wide gate into the orchard and went along until they came to the right
tree.
[Illustration]
Then they stopped and Uncle John took a basket and climbed up into the
tree. And he picked the apples very carefully and put them into the
basket. And when the basket was full, he climbed down from the tree and
emptied the basket carefully into the cart. Then he climbed up again and
filled the basket again; and so he did until the cart was full. Then
Uncle John said: "Gee up there;" and the old oxen started and turned
around and walked slowly back to the barn and in at the big door. Then
Uncle John took all the apples out of the cart and put them in a kind of
pen, and the old oxen started again and walked slowly back to the
orchard.
So Uncle John gathered all the apples from that tree and put them in the
pen in the barn. Then he unhooked the tongue of the cart and took off
the yoke, and the old oxen went to their places and went to sleep.
The next morning, Uncle Solomon and Uncle John and little John all went
out to the barn, and they took little three-legged stools that had one
end higher than the other,--the kind they used when they milked the
cows,--and they sat on these stools and looked over all the apples, one
by one. The apples that were very nice indeed they put in some barrels
that were there; and the apples that were good, but not quite so nice
and big, they put in a pile on the floor; and the apples that had specks
on them or holes in them, or that were twisted, they put in another
pile. And this last pile they gave to the horses and cows and oxen and
pigs, and the apples in the barrels were to go to market, or for the
people to eat.
Then Uncle John got out the old oxen and they put their heads down low,
and he put the yoke over and the bows under and hooked the tongue of the
ox-cart to the yoke. And he put into the cart all the apples that were
in the first pile, those that were good but not quite big enough to put
in the barrels, and he put two empty kegs--little barrels--on the top of
the load. Then the old oxen started walking slowly along, out of the
barn and along the wagon track past the shed and past the kitchen door
and through the gate into the road. And they turned along the road, not
the way to the field where they went to get water, but the other way.
And Uncle John walked beside, and little John ran ahead, and they went
along until they came to a little house by the side of the road, and
there they stopped. Then Uncle John opened the door of the little house
and they went in. And inside there was nothing but a log against the
wall, to sit on, and in the middle of the room a kind of a thing they
called a cider-press. It had a place to put the apples in, and a flat
cover that came down on top, and a screw and a long handle above.
Besides the cider-press, there was a chopper to chop the apples into
little pieces.
[Illustration]
Then little John sat down on the log and Uncle John put the apples in
the chopper and chopped them up fine. Then he put some chopped apples,
with some straw over them, in the place that was meant for apples, and
then he took hold of the long handle, and walked around and around. That
made the screw turn and the cover squeeze down on the apples so that
the juice ran out below into the keg that was put there. And when the
juice was all squeezed out of those apples, he walked around the other
way, holding the handle, and that made the cover lift up. Then he took
out the squeezed apples and put in some other apples and squeezed them
the same way. And when all the apples in the cart had been squeezed,
both kegs were full of juice. And they call the juice cider.
So Uncle John put the great stoppers that they call bungs into the
bung-holes in the kegs, so that the cider would not run out. Then he put
the kegs in the cart, and little John came out of the little house and
Uncle John shut the door, and the old oxen turned around and walked
slowly along until they came to the gate, and they walked up the track
to the kitchen door, and there they stopped. Then Uncle John and Uncle
Solomon took the kegs down into the cellar, and they took out a little
bung near the bottom of one of the kegs, and put in a wooden spigot--a
kind of a faucet. Then they set that keg on a shelf, so that a pitcher
or a mug could go under the spigot.
Then Uncle John took the yoke off the oxen and they went into the barn
and went to sleep.
After supper that evening, Uncle Solomon and Uncle John were sitting in
the sitting-room and Uncle John spoke to little John, and said: "John, I
think I would like a drink of cider."
[Illustration]
So little John took a pitcher and went down into the cellar, and his
mother held a light while he put the pitcher under the spigot and turned
the spigot; and the cider ran into the pitcher, and when enough had run
in he turned the spigot the other way and the cider stopped running.
Then he carried the cider up to his father, and his father drank it.
And when Uncle John had drunk the cider, he said to Uncle Solomon:
"Father, that's pretty good cider; you'd better have some."
And Uncle Solomon said: "Don't care if I do." So little John had to go
down cellar again and get another pitcher of cider.
Those two kegs of cider lasted for a while and then more apples were
ripe and they made enough cider to last all winter and some to send to
market besides.
And that's all.
IV.
THE WHOLE WHEAT STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds, and it stood not far from the road. And in the fence
was a wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons,
going through, had made a little track that went up past the kitchen
door and past the shed and past the barn and past the orchard to a gate
in a stone wall, where the bars were across; and through that field and
another gate where the bars were across, into the maple-sugar woods.
And in that field wheat grew.
When the summer was nearly over and the corn and most of the other
things had got ripe and had been gathered, Uncle John got out the old
oxen and put the yoke over their necks and the bows up under; and he
hooked the drag chain to the yoke and put the plough on the drag and
said: "Gee up there, Buck; gee up there, Star." And the old oxen started
slowly along past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
Then Uncle John took the plough off the drag and unhooked the chain from
the drag and hooked it to the plough. Uncle Solomon held the handles of
the plough and the old oxen started walking slowly across the field
dragging the plough; and the plough dug into the ground and turned the
earth up at one side and made a deep furrow where it had gone. So they
went all around the field and around until it was all ploughed.
[Illustration]
Then Uncle John unhooked the chain from the plough and hooked it to the
harrow; and the old oxen started and walked slowly back and forth across
the field, and the teeth of the harrow broke up the lumps of dirt and
made it all soft. And when the field was all harrowed, Uncle John
unhooked the chain from the harrow and hooked it to the drag and put the
plough on the drag, and the old oxen walked slowly back to the barn. And
Uncle John unhooked the chain and took off the yoke; and the oxen went
to their places in the barn and went to sleep, and the drag was in the
shed.
[Illustration]
The next morning, Uncle John put some whole wheat in a big bag and put
the bag over his shoulder and walked along past the orchard to the
wheat-field. And when he got to the wheat-field, he put the bag down on
the ground and put some of the wheat in a little bag that he had hanging
from his shoulder. And then he began walking across the field, and as he
walked along he took up a handful of wheat and threw it far out so that
it scattered over the ground. And that way he scattered all the wheat so
that it lay in the soft ground, and then he went away and left it.
And the rain fell and the sun shone on the field and the wheat began to
grow. And soon the little green blades pushed up through the ground like
grass; and the wheat grew higher and higher until it was as high as
little John's knees. And then the summer was all over and it was
beginning to get cold; so the wheat stopped growing and stayed just as
high as that all winter and the snow covered it.
And when the winter was over and it began to get warm, the snow melted
away and the wheat began to grow again; and it got taller and taller
until it was as tall as Uncle John's waist. And then the little tassels
at the top of each stem got yellow and brown and the wheat was ripe.
This was in the beginning of the summer.
Then Uncle John and Uncle Solomon got their scythes and their whetstones
and started very early in the morning to the wheat-field. And they
sharpened their scythes with the whetstones and swung the scythes back
and forth and began to cut down the wheat. Every time the scythe swung,
it cut through the stalks of wheat and they fell down on the ground. And
they walked along over the field, swinging the scythes and cutting down
the wheat, until all the wheat was cut. Then they went home and left it
lying there in the sun.
The next morning Uncle John got out the oxen and they put their heads
down low, and he put the yoke over and the bows under and hooked the
tongue of the cart to the yoke and said "Gee up there." And the old oxen
walked slowly along, past the barn and past the orchard to the
wheat-field.
And the sun had dried the stalks of wheat and the tassels. The tassels
are a lot of little cases, on a fine stem; and in each little case is a
grain of whole wheat. When the tassels are dry, the little cases are all
ready to break open.
Then Uncle Solomon and Uncle John took their long forks and put the
wheat in the cart, and when the cart was full the old oxen walked slowly
back to the barn and in at the great doors.
There were great enormous doors in the side of the barn, big enough for
a wagon to go through when it was piled up high with a load of hay or of
wheat. And in the other side of the barn were other great enormous
doors, so that the wagon could go right through the barn; and between
the doors was only the great open floor with nothing on it. On one side
of this open place were the cows, and on the other side were the horses
and the oxen, and the cart went in between, with the wheat in it.
Then Uncle Solomon and Uncle John took the wheat out of the cart and put
it on the floor of the barn; and the old oxen started again and walked
out the other door and back to the wheat-field. Then Uncle Solomon and
Uncle John filled the cart again and the oxen dragged that wheat to the
barn; and they did the same way until all the wheat was on the barn
floor. Then Uncle John took off the yoke and the old oxen went to their
places and went to sleep.
The next morning Uncle Solomon and Uncle John went to the barn, and each
took down from a nail a long smooth stick that had another smooth stick
fastened to its end by a piece of leather so that it flapped about.
This was to beat the wheat with, and they called it a flail.
[Illustration]
And so Uncle Solomon and Uncle John stood in amidst the wheat on the
barn floor and whacked it with the flails so that they made a great
noise--whack! whack!--on the floor. And the little cases broke open and
the grains of whole wheat fell out and dropped between the stalks to the
barn floor. And the pieces of the broken cases blew out from the great
barn doors; for the doors were open at both sides and the wind blew
through. These broken pieces that blow away, they call chaff.
Then when Uncle Solomon and Uncle John had whacked for a long time, and
they thought that all the whole wheat had come out of the cases, they
hung up the flails and took their long forks and lifted up the stalks of
the wheat and shook them so that all the grains of wheat might drop
through; and they put the dried stalks of the wheat in a corner of the
hay-loft above where the cows slept. These dried stalks they call
straw, and they put it for the horses and the cows and the oxen to sleep
on.
And when the straw was all put away, there was all the wheat on the
floor; and they gathered it up and put it into bags. And they had enough
to make whole wheat flour to last all winter, and to feed the chickens
and every kind of a thing that they wanted to use wheat for, and there
was enough to take some to market besides.
And that's all.
V.
THE STUMP STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds. And when this farm-house was just built, before it was
Uncle Solomon's, the man that lived there wanted some fields where he
could plant his corn and his potatoes and his wheat. But the places
where the fields would be were all covered with trees.
So in the winter when the snow was on the ground, he went out and cut
down the trees with his axe. And the great big trees he carried to the
mill, and they were sawed up into boards; that is another story. And the
branches and the small trees he chopped up with his axe to burn in the
fireplaces. Then the field was all covered with the stumps of the trees
and with great rocks.
[Illustration]
Then, when it began to get warm, after the winter was over, the man got
out the old oxen. There were two pairs of oxen, and they came out of the
barn and put down their heads, and the man put the yokes over their
necks and the bows up under, and he hooked great chains to the yokes.
And he hooked one chain to the drag, and took his whip and said: "Gee up
there, Buck; gee up there, Star." And the old oxen began walking slowly
along to the field.
Then the man unhooked the drag, and fastened one of the chains to a
stump, and hooked the other chain to that chain, and said: "Gee up
there." And all the oxen began to pull as hard as they could, and all of
a sudden out came the stump with a lot of dirt. And he pulled out all
the stumps the same way, and stood them up at the back of the field,
where they made a kind of a fence with the roots sticking slanting up
into the air.
[Illustration]
Then there were the big rocks all over the field. And the man fastened
the chains to a rock and the old oxen pulled as hard as they could, and
out came the rock and they put it on the drag. And then the man saw
where he wanted his fence; and they dug a trench and put flat rocks on
the bottom and then the biggest rocks they had on the flat rocks. And
they pulled all the rocks out of the ground with the chains, and put
them on the drag, and the old oxen pulled them over to the trench, and
the man piled them up and built a wall.
Building the wall took a long time--a good many days. And when the oxen
had pulled all the rocks out of the ground and dragged them over to the
wall, the field was all soft and ready to be ploughed. So the oxen
started walking along, out of the field, along the road, dragging the
drag. And they went in at the big gate and up past the kitchen door to
the barn. Then the man unhooked the chains and took off the yokes and
the oxen went into the barn and went to sleep.
And that's all.
VI.
THE HORSIE STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds; and it stood not far from the road. In the fence was a
wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons, going
through, had made a little track that went up past the kitchen door and
past the shed and past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
Not very far from that farm-house there was a field where the horses and
cows used to go to eat the grass. That was the same field where they
went to get water from the river; and in the wall that was between that
field and the next, there was a wide gateway. At each side of the
gateway there was a post with holes in it, and long bars went across and
rested in the holes. And when the bars were across, the horses and cows
couldn't go through to the other field. But when the bars were taken out
of the holes, then the horses and cows could go through as much as they
wanted to and eat the grass in either field.
One day little John was going across the field because it was the short
way; and there was a horse in the field, eating the grass, and the bars
were down. It was a kind, pleasant horse, but he liked to have fun. And
when he saw the little boy going across the field, he thought he would
have fun, so he ran after him.
[Illustration]
Little John saw the horse coming and he was frightened. He was near the
wall that was between the two fields, and he ran as hard as he could and
got to the wall before the horse caught him. Then he began to climb over
the wall into the next field.
And the horse saw what he was doing and ran down the field, beside the
wall, and through the gate and back on the other side; and he got there
just as the little boy was getting down. And little John heard the
horse's feet on the ground--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump; and
he looked around and he saw the horse galloping up by the wall. Then he
was frightened and he began to climb back again over the wall as fast as
he could.
And the horse saw what he was doing and ran down the field, beside the
wall, and through the gate and back on the other side; and he got there
just as the little boy was getting down. And little John heard the
horse's feet on the ground--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump; and
he looked around and he saw the horse galloping up by the wall. Then he
was frightened and he began to climb back again over the wall as fast
as he could.
And the horse saw what he was doing and ran down the field, beside the
wall, and through the gate and back on the other side; and he got there
just as the little boy was getting down. And little John heard the
horse's feet on the ground--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump; and
he looked around and saw the horse galloping up by the wall. Then he was
frightened and he began to climb back again over the wall as fast as he
could.
And the horse saw what he was doing and ran down the field, beside the
wall, and through the gate and back on the other side; and he got there
just as the little boy was getting down. And little John heard the
horse's feet on the ground--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump--ca-tha-lump; and
he looked around and saw the horse galloping up by the wall. Then he was
frightened and he began to climb over the wall again. But every time he
had climbed over the wall between the fields, he had gone a little
nearer to the road, until he was near enough to the wall between the
field and the road to reach that. And this time, instead of climbing
back into the other field, he climbed over into the road.
[Illustration]
And poor little John was very much frightened and ran along the road
crying, and got home, and his father saw him and asked him: "What's the
matter, John?" And then little John told his father about the horse. And
his father laughed and said that the horse was a kind horse but he liked
to have fun; and little John better not go there any more. And so the
little boy did not go through that field again, but went around by the
road.
And that's all.
VII.
THE LOG STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds; and it stood not far from the road. In the fence was a
wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons, going
through, had made a little track that went up past the kitchen door and
past the shed and past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
But when this farm-house was just built, there wasn't any wheat-field
or any other field, and the places where the fields would be were all
covered with trees. And that was a long time before Uncle Solomon had
the farm.
So the man that built the farm-house took his axe, one day, when the
snow was on the ground, and he went to the place where he wanted the
fields and he began to cut down the trees. There were big trees and
little trees, and it took him a long time to cut down all the trees on
the place where the field would be. He cut off all the branches, and the
branches and the little trees he cut up with his axe to burn in the
fireplaces; and he piled all that wood near the kitchen door. But the
big logs--the trunks of the big trees after the branches were cut
off--he was going to take to the mill, to have them sawed into boards.
So, one morning, after that was all done, the man got out the oxen.
There were two yoke of oxen--two oxen they call a "yoke" of oxen,
because two are yoked together--and they came out of the barn and put
their heads down and he put the yokes over and the bows under and he
hooked the tongue of a great sled to each yoke. And on each sled was a
great chain.
Then he said: "Gee up there," and the oxen all started walking slowly
along, and they walked out of the wide gate and along the road until
they came to the place where the trees were all cut down, and there they
stopped. And the sleds were beside one of the big logs, one sled at each
end.
[Illustration]
Then they unhooked the tongues of the sleds from the yokes and led the
oxen out of the way. And the man and two other men that were helping him
put some little logs sloping from the ground up to the sleds, and with
poles that had hooks on the ends they rolled the great log up the
little logs on to the sleds, so that it rested on them. And there was
one sled under each end, but under the middle there was nothing. Then
they fastened that log to the sleds, so that it couldn't roll off, and
they rolled another log up on the other side and fastened that; and they
rolled another log up on top of the first two. Then they fastened the
tongue of each sled to the logs, and the logs were held on with the
great chains, so they couldn't roll off. Then they hooked a chain to the
first sled and to one of the yokes, and another chain from that yoke to
the other yoke. And the man said: "Gee up there," and all the oxen
pulled as hard as they could, and the sleds started sliding along the
ground on the snow and into the road. And the oxen walked slowly along
the road, pulling the sleds with the logs on them, for a long way.
When they had gone along the road for a long way, they came to a place
where there was a building beside a little river. And on the side of the
building was a wheel so large that it reached down into the water. And
when the water ran along, it made the wheel turn around and that made a
big saw go, inside the building.
And the oxen pulled the sleds with the logs up beside the building and
there was a strong carriage that ran on wheels on a track. And the men
unfastened the chains and rolled a log off on to the carriage and
fastened it there. Then they pushed on the carriage and it rolled along
toward the saw, and the saw was going And the end of the log came
against the saw and the saw made a great screeching noise and began to
cut into the log, and it kept on cutting and the men pushed, and the saw
cut all the way through the log, to the other end, and that piece fell
off. That piece was round on one side and flat on the other.
[Illustration]
Then they rolled the carriage back and fastened the log farther over
and pushed it up against the saw again, and the saw cut off another
piece that was flat on both sides. That piece was a board. And that way
they cut the log all up into boards, and then they cut up the other logs
the same way.
When the logs were all cut into boards, the men put the boards on the
sleds and fastened them on just the same way the logs had been fastened,
and the oxen started and turned around and walked along the road until
they came to the farm-house; and they turned in at the gate and went up
past the kitchen door to the place where the shed was going to be, and
there they stopped. And the men took the boards off and put them on the
ground in a pile, so that the man would have them there to build the
shed. For the shed wasn't built then. The barn was built first and then
the house.
And the other big logs they took to the saw-mill on other days and sawed
them up into boards, so that the man had all the boards he needed to
build the shed and the chicken house and all the other things and some
to give to the men for helping him.
And when that was done, the man took off the yokes and the old oxen went
into the barn and went to sleep.
And that's all.
VIII.
THE UNCLE SAM STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds; and it stood not far from the road. In the fence was a
wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons, going
through, had made a track that led up past the kitchen door and past the
shed and past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
In that farm-house lived Uncle Solomon and Uncle John; and little
Charles and little John and their mother Aunt Deborah; and little Sam
and his mother Aunt Phyllis. Uncle Solomon was Uncle John's father and
Uncle John was little John's father, so that Uncle Solomon was little
John's grandfather. And little Sam was Uncle Solomon's little boy, so
that little Sam was little John's uncle. But little Sam was a littler
boy than little John.
Little John and Uncle Sam used to play together; and one day when little
John was wheeling Uncle Sam in the wheelbarrow, he thought it would be
fun to tip him out. So he tipped Uncle Sam right out into some bushes,
and Uncle Sam scratched his face and began to cry. And Uncle Solomon
heard his little boy crying, and he came running out of the house. Then
he saw little John and the wheelbarrow, and little Sam in the bushes,
crying, and he knew that little John had tipped little Sam out of the
wheelbarrow.
[Illustration]
So Uncle Solomon was angry, and he grabbed little John by the back of
his collar and the back of his trousers, and he lifted him up and gave
him a great swing, and he tossed little John right over the wall. And
little John came down in some bushes and got his face scratched a
little, but he didn't cry. He just got up and ran around the wall and
went into the house another way, and kept out of Uncle Solomon's way.
But he didn't tip Uncle Sam into the bushes any more.
[Illustration]
And that's all.
IX.
THE MARKET STORY
Once upon a time there was a farm-house, and it was painted white and
had green blinds; and it stood not far from the road. In the fence was a
wide gate to let the wagons through to the barn. And the wagons, going
through, had made a track that led up past the kitchen door and past the
shed and past the barn and past the orchard to the wheat-field.
One morning, after the summer was over and all the different things had
got ripe and had been gathered, Uncle John woke up when the old rooster
crowed, very early, long before it was light. And he got up and put on
his clothes, and Aunt Deborah got up too, and they went down-stairs.
[Illustration]
Then, while Aunt Deborah fixed the fire and got breakfast ready, Uncle
John went out to the barn. He gave the horses their breakfast, and when
they had eaten it he took them out of their stalls and put the harness
on and led them out to the shed. Then he hitched them to the big wagon
and he made them back the wagon up to the place where all the things
were put that were to go to market.
Then Uncle Solomon came out and helped, and they put into the wagon all
the barrels of apples that they could get in, and they put in a lot of
squashes and turnips and some kegs of cider and some bags of meal and
fine hominy and some butter that Aunt Deborah and Aunt Phyllis had made
and some other things. And when these things were all in the wagon,
breakfast was ready, and Uncle John fastened the horses to a post and
went in to breakfast. And all this they had to do by the light of a
lantern, because it wasn't daylight yet.
[Illustration]
Then, when Uncle John and little John had had their breakfast, they came
out of the house, and Uncle John put little John up on the high seat and
he unhitched the horses and climbed up on the high seat beside him. And
then Aunt Deborah came out of the house and handed Uncle John a little
bundle, and he put the bundle under the seat. In the bundle was some
luncheon for Uncle John and little John; and for the horses there was
some luncheon too, oats in a pail that hung under the wagon, one pail
for each horse. And a lantern hung beside the seat, for it wasn't
daylight yet.
When they were all ready, Uncle John said: "Get up," and the horses
started walking down the little track into the road and along the road.
The horses wanted to trot, but Uncle John wouldn't let them because it
isn't good for horses to trot when they have just had their breakfast;
and he held on to the reins tight and they had to walk. So they walked
along for awhile and it was very dark; and pretty soon Uncle John let
the horses trot. And they trotted along the road for a long time and at
last it began to get light, and little John was very glad, for he was
cold. Then Uncle John blew out the lantern and after awhile the sun came
up and shone on them and made them warm. And the horses trotted along
for a long time and at last they began to come to the city, and it was
very early.
So the horses dragged the wagon through the city streets, and there were
not many people in the streets, for they had not had their breakfasts.
And by and by they came to the shops and little John saw the boys
opening the doors of the shops and sweeping the shops and the sidewalks;
and so they went along until they came to a great open place. And in the
middle of the open place was a big building, and all about it were
wagons, some standing in the middle of the street and some backed up to
the curbstone. All these wagons had come in from the country, bringing
the things to eat; and the building was a market, and the men in the
market bought the things from the men that drove the wagons, and the
people that lived in the houses came down afterward and bought the
things from the market-men.
Then Uncle John drove the horses up to the sidewalk and he got out and
hitched the horses to a post and told little John not to get off the
seat; and Uncle John went into the market. When he had been gone some
time, he came back and a market-man came with him. The market-man had a
long white apron on and no coat; and he looked at the barrels of apples
and the squashes and the turnips and the kegs of cider and the bags of
meal and the butter and the other things, and he thought about it for a
few minutes and then he said: "Well, I'll give you twenty dollars for
the lot."