But stop! I hear a whistle. Yes, it comes from my master. And there
comes Betty with a whole plateful of bones in her hand! After all, there
isn't a master like mine in all the world. I knew he wouldn't forget old
Bob. Yes, here they come. Truly a patient waiter is no loser. Bow-wow!
FROM THE GERMAN.
DREAMING AND DOING.
AMY was a dear good girl in many things; but she had one bad habit: she
was too apt to waste time in dreaming of doing, instead of doing.
In the village where she lived, Mr. Thornton kept a small shop, where he
sold fruit of all kinds, including berries in their season.
One day he said to Amy, "Would you like to make some money?"
"Of course I would!" said Amy; "for my dear mother often has to deprive
herself of things she needs, so that she may buy shoes or clothes for
me."
"Well, Amy, I noticed some fine ripe blackberries along by the stone
walls in Mr. Green's five-acre lot; and he said that I or anybody else
was welcome to them. Now, if you will pick the ripest and best, I will
pay you sixteen cents a quart for them."
Amy was delighted at the thought, and ran home and got her basket, and
called her little dog Quilp, with the intention of going at once to pick
the blackberries.
Then she thought she would like to find out, with the aid of her slate
and pencil, how much money she should make, if she were to pick five
quarts. She found she should make eighty cents,--almost enough to buy a
new calico dress.
"But supposing I should pick a dozen quarts: how much should I earn
then?" So she stopped and figured that out. "Dear me! It would come to a
dollar and ninety-two cents!"
Amy then wanted to know how much fifty, a hundred, two hundred, quarts
would give her; and then, how much she should get if she were to put
thirty-two dollars in the savings bank, and receive six per cent
interest on it.
[Illustration: DREAMING AND DOING.]
Quilp grew very impatient, but Amy did not heed his barking; and, when
she was at last ready to start, she found it was so near to dinner-time
that she must put off her enterprise till the afternoon.
As soon as dinner was over, she took her basket, and hurried to the
five-acre lot; but a whole troop of boys from the public school were
there before her. It was Saturday afternoon. School did not keep; and
they were all out with their baskets.
Amy soon found that all the large ripe berries had been gathered. Not
enough to make up a single quart could she find. The boys had swept the
bushes clean. All Amy's grand dreams of making a fortune by picking
blackberries were at an end. Slowly and sadly she made her way home,
recalling on the way the words of her teacher, who once said to her,
"One doer is better than a hundred dreamers."
ANNA LIVINGSTON.
BOBOLINK.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account