When the party reached the picnic ground, Josephine had more wants than
ever. She called upon this one to bring her a mug of water, and upon
that one to get her a doughnut; upon one to hold her shawl while she
arranged her dress, and another to take off her rubbers.
If she had been a queen, and all the rest of the children her servants,
she could not have been more free in her use of them. Before they had
been in the woods a single hour, almost all her companions disliked her
greatly, and tried to avoid her.
She was selfish, and wanted to use the swing all the time. When she had
swung four times as long as any of the rest of the party, she thought
it was “very rude” of them when they said she must get out, for they
would not swing her another time.
After dinner, some of the girls said they were going to get some oak
leaves to make chaplets for their heads.
“Where are you going?” asked Josephine.
“O, into the woods, ever so far,” replied Jenny, who did not want her
to go with them.
“I will go, too,” said Josephine.
“It is as much as half a mile to the place,” added Jenny; “and I am
afraid you will get very tired.”
“I think I can stand it as well as the others.”
“We are used to running in the woods, and you are a city girl, you
know.”
“I want to go very much.”
“We don’t want you to go,” said Katy Green, bluntly.
“That’s very rude of you to say so,” replied Josephine. “I don’t see
why I shouldn’t go, if I wish.”
“You can go, if you will only wait upon yourself,” said Jenny.
“Wait upon myself? How very rude that is! I’m sure I’ve only asked you
to do one or two little favors for me, and you call that waiting upon
me.”
“Don’t be unkind to her, girls,” said Flora.
“_She_ doesn’t call it waiting upon me when she does a little favor for
me. I am sure I am willing to do as much for you as you do for me.”
“Let her go with you, girls--won’t you?” said Flora.
For Flora’s sake they consented, though they did not like to have her
with them.
“But how shall we bring the leaves?” asked Jenny. “We shall want as
many as a bushel of them, for we must all go home with crowns on our
heads.”
“I’ll tell you what we can do,” added Katy. “We can take the little
wagon. That will hold a bushel.”
“So we can; and it will hold more than a bushel. Come along; we are
all ready.”
Katy and Jenny were the two girls who were going for the leaves, and
one of them took hold of each side of the pole of the wagon. They
started off at a brisk pace, Josephine following behind the wagon.
“Pray, don’t go so fast; I can’t keep up with you if you do,” said the
New York miss.
“I can’t help it. You may go back if you can’t. We are in a hurry. We
shall not get our chaplets made till dark if we don’t make haste with
the leaves.”
Josephine was obliged to quicken her pace, or be left behind; but she
complained a great deal of the rudeness of the girls in walking so fast.
After they had gone some distance, she saw some curious leaves, and
she wanted a few of them. She said, half a dozen times, she wished she
had some, and finally asked Katy if she wouldn’t be so very kind as to
get her a few of them.
“Yes, I’ll get them,” said Katy; and in a moment she had procured some
of the curious leaves and given them to Josephine.
“Thank you, thank you; I am very much obliged to you,” said she, as
she took the leaves.
“Yes; but I want something more than ‘thank you,’” replied Katy.
“Well, what do you want?” asked Josephine, not a little surprised at
the answer she had received.
“You said you were willing to do as much for us as we did for you. Did
you mean so?”
“Well, I suppose I did.”
“We will be fair with you--won’t we, Jenny?”
“To be sure we will.”
“Well, it is no more than fair that you should take turns with us in
drawing the wagon. So you may take hold of the pole, and make yourself
useful.”
“I can’t.”
“Won’t you be so very kind as to help draw the wagon?” said Katy,
imitating the polite tones of the New York miss.
“I can’t draw it. I am not strong enough to do such hard work.”
“You can try it, at least; and when you get tired I will take your
place.”
“I would rather not, if you please.”
“But I had much rather you would, if you please.”
“Really, I cannot.”
“But, really, you must.”
“I could not do such a thing as draw that wagon.”
“You must try; if you don’t, we will run away and leave you.”
Josephine thought this was more rude than any thing else they had done;
but there was no escape, and she took her place at the pole of the
wagon.
Before they had gone ten rods, she declared she could draw the wagon
no farther, if they killed her for refusing. Katy took her place then,
and pretty soon they left the road, and went into the thick forest, to
a place where there was plenty of oak leaves growing near the ground.
When they reached the spot, Josephine sat down on a rock. Her
companions tried to make her help them pick the leaves; but she said
she was so tired she could not possibly do any thing.
In a very short time the body of the wagon was filled with leaves, and
the girls were ready to return to the picnic grounds.
“We are going, Josephine; are you ready?” asked Jenny.
“I can’t go yet. I am tired almost to death.”
“We told you you would be; but you would come,” said Katy.
“I didn’t think it was so far.”
“We told you how far it was. We have been here ever so many times
before, and know all about it. Come, quick.”
“I don’t feel able to walk back,” sighed Josephine.
“Don’t you, indeed?”
“I am sure I can’t.”
“What are you going to do--stay here all night?”
“Couldn’t you draw me back on the wagon? There is room enough for me on
top of the leaves.”
The girls made no reply; but both of them laughed as though something
very funny had happened.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Do you think we are going to drag a great girl like you back to the
grounds? I guess not,” replied Katy.
“I should think you might.”
“We don’t like you well enough to do that,” said Katy; and then both of
the girls laughed again.
“You needn’t laugh at me,” said Josephine, beginning to cry.
“O, you needn’t cry; we didn’t hurt you any. But come along, if you
are coming. We can’t wait here any longer.”
“I can’t walk back. You _must_ draw me back in the wagon,” sobbed
Josephine.
“We shall do nothing of the kind.”
“Yes, you shall. If you don’t, I will tell Mr. Lee.”
“Do, if you like.”
“I will stay here, then, if you won’t drag me. What will you tell
Flora when she asks for me?”
“Tell her where you are, of course.”
Josephine did not believe they would go away and leave her there alone.
She thought they would return in a little while, and consent to draw
her in the wagon; so she let them go.
She sat on the rock and cried till she had got tired of crying, and
then finding her companions did not return, she got up and tried to
find her way to the road.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: JOSEPHINE AND THE PARTRIDGE.]