Part 3 (1/2)

”Well, say it, then,” we two--Nelly and I--put in.

Up he jumped right off, struck a funny att.i.tude, and began:

”The boy stood on the burning deck, Peeling potatoes by the peck!

The flames rolled on and scorched his s.h.i.+ns, As he stood peeling potato skins!

'Oh pa'!' he cried, 'the flames is hot, Come, put the potatoes in the pot!'

But his father, alas! ne'er came to sup, So the flames rolled on and frizzled him up!”

”Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous as that?” cried Nelly. ”Poor Casabianca! I used to cry over him dreadfully; but I shall never think of him now without laughing. Where did you learn that, Jimmy?”

”Oh, Harry Agnew told it to me; he said he repeated it one day in school, when the master asked him if he could say a piece of poetry, and everybody burst out laughing. The master laughed too; so he couldn't put anybody down for a bad mark, though Harry was afraid he would.”

”That was almost equal to the trick we played at school,” said I. ”We wanted the doctor to give us a holiday, but he didn't seem to see it; so when we were called up for our reading after recess, we were told to read Montgomery's poem called 'Questions to Birds and their Answers.'

One of the verses is about the swallow, and reads thus:

”'Swallow, why homeward turned thy joyful wing?'

'In a far land I heard the voice of spring; I found myself that moment on the way, My wings, my wings, they had not power to stay.'

--but we changed it as though the doctor was asking us a question and we were answering--this way:

”'Boys! why are you forever on the wing, Wanting a holiday for everything?'

'From you we are so glad to get away, Our legs, our legs, they will not let us stay.'”

How we all laughed over this; it was real true, too; and pretty soon after, as it was getting dark, I bid them good-by and ran home.

Next morning, what should Aunt Elsie and Aunt Ruth (Aunt Priscilla was away on a visit) take into their heads, but that they hadn't had any fun house-cleaning--(I suppose they must think it's fun, or they wouldn't do it so often)--for ever so long; so nothing would suit them but to set the whole house in an uproar as quick as possible. Of course, I was in the way, whether I stayed in the garret or the kitchen; knocked down three pails and a scrubbing brush every time I went down stairs, nearly drowned Poddles in hot soapsuds, splashed myself all over with whitewash trying to ”do” the kitchen ceiling (on my own account, when n.o.body was by), until I looked as if I had been out in a snowstorm, and watering the windows outside with the long hosepipe, until every one of them was dripping _inside_ like a waterfall.

Now, Neighbor Nelly and Jimmy had been looking out of their parlor window, and advising me which were the best parts of our windows to play on, when, all of a sudden, Nelly said:

”Why, Tom, it doesn't half clean the panes to do them that way; they ought to be washed with soap and hot water. Suppose we try it? Only think!” she went on, ”how much your aunties would be obliged to us if we were to find out a new way to make windows clean, ever so much better than the old one!”

”Splendid!” said I and Jimmy together. ”Come, let's try it right away!”

With that, Nelly and Jimmy came into our house, and into the front bas.e.m.e.nt; Aunt Elsie and Aunt Ruth were both up stairs; so we had the two lower stories all to ourselves.

As Nelly was afraid of spoiling her frock, I dived into the cook's dresser drawer, where she keeps her own table covers and clean dish cloths, and fished out a great big brown roller-towel, which we pinned round her neck, making her look in front as if she was tied up in a potato sack, with only her head left out. Then Jimmy and I took off our nice jackets, rolled up our s.h.i.+rt sleeves, lugged in three big yellow dishes full of hot water, spilling plenty on the way, found a long bar of brown soap, and helped ourselves to three more of Bridget's clean towels; and then we all three began scrubbing away at the windows!

Such fun as we had! We put on the greatest lot of soap, and paid away with both hands, so as to make them good and _clean_, laughing and talking all the time; and when we thought the water had been used enough, or, rather when it was nearly all spilt, we took up our yellow bowls and marched into the kitchen for more.

Our boiler, you must know, is a tin affair, like a large soup kettle without the handle, and has a faucet in front to draw the water off. We put it on the middle of the range, and keep it always full and boiling; and now, instead of filling our dishes right away, we began playing the kitchen was a steamboat, and the water heater the boiler, just ready to burst; so, of course, it was necessary to let off steam, which we did by drawing a little water at a time from the faucet into one of our yellow dishes, and tilting it back again as soon as the dish was full, beside ”tooting,” as loud as we could, to represent the commotion going on to perfection. We were soon so busy over this, that we forgot all about the front bas.e.m.e.nt windows for ever so long, until we heard Aunt Elsie calling out, ”Tom! Tom! where are you?”

”Here I am, Aunt Elsie! come right along! Here we all are, was.h.i.+ng the windows for you as nice as anything!”

Down marched Aunt Elsie, short order; and the minute she came into the bas.e.m.e.nt we heard her give an ”O----h!” about a quarter of a mile long.

We all rushed to ask what was the matter; and such a pickle as the windows were in you never did see. The soap was in streaks, and smears, and lumps all over the panes, making them look as if somebody had spilt a lot of hasty pudding on them, and it had stuck fast. Of course, as we left them so long, the soap had hardened on; and poor Nelly, frightened half out of her wits, began to cry. That put me up, I can tell you; I was determined Aunt Elsie shouldn't scold her; so I begged her not to be angry with anybody but me, for it wasn't their fault at all.

”And I must say you are old enough to know better, Tom,” said my aunt, looking at me reproachfully over the tops of her spectacles; ”and as a punishment, you must get all the soap off the window before you have any dinner. The children had better go home.”

But now, what do you think that darling of a Nelly, and Jimmy did? They declared I shouldn't do it all alone by myself, but they would stay and help me; so, after Aunt Elsie had been coaxed to let us, we filled our dishes again, and went to work as busy as bees. It was pretty hard work getting the soap off, but we made a joke of it, and by the time the windows were fairly polished up, as bright as new pins, we were in a perfect frolic. I expect Nelly's bright eyes had something to do with it, for Aunt Elsie, after we had finished, and come shouting to her with our faces as red as fire, and considerable brown soap on us in spots, said, ”we were famous workpeople,” and gave us New Year's cookies, and almonds, and raisins for lunch. I had a Philopoena among my nuts, which I ate with Nelly; and pretty soon after they went home.