He certainly could not do this while teaching in a little old shanty with one room that was in such bad condition that one of the pupils had to hold an umbrella over the teacher when it rained. He had this same experience at his boarding house, where his landlady often held an umbrella over him while he ate his breakfast. About three months after the opening of his school, a small farm about one mile from town was offered for sale. Washington went out and looked it over and came to the conclusion that it was just the place for the kind of school that he intended to build. But the price was $500, and he didn’t have a dollar. The owner said: “Pay me $250 cash, and I will give you one year to pay the other.” Washington borrowed $250 and closed the deal. He decided to move the school at once to the new home. On this farm were four buildings. The “big house” had been burned, but there was left standing a little cabin, formerly used as a dining room, an old kitchen, a stable, and a henhouse. Booker Washington and his growing school moved into these four buildings. [Illustration: TUSKEGEE’S FIRST GROUP OF BUILDINGS ] The buildings were thoroughly cleaned and worked over and put in as good condition as possible. Washington says, “I recall one morning, when I told an old colored man who lived near, and who sometimes helped me, that our school had grown so large that it would be necessary for us to use the henhouse for school purposes, and that I wanted him to help me give it a thorough cleaning out the next day, he replied, in a most earnest manner, ‘What do you mean, boss? You sholy ain’t going to clean out the henhouse in the daytime!’”[11] Do you know what a “chopping bee” is? Well, the students of Tuskegee didn’t know until Booker Washington taught them. After they had been in their new quarters for several weeks, Washington walked in one day and said: “To-morrow we are going to have a ‘chopping bee.’ Now all of you that have an axe bring it to school with you. Those of you who do not have one, let me know, and I’ll get one for you. We will dismiss school early and go to the ‘bee.’”[12] Next day everybody had an axe, and all of them were wondering what sort of game a “chopping bee” was. They had never been to one, and they were much excited over it.