Cousin Lucy's Conversations. Abbott Jacob

when Royal got to the plank, he said,

      “Well, Lucy, if you had rather stay on this side, you can. I want to go over, but I won’t go very far; and you can play about here.”

      So Royal went across upon the plank; when he had got to the middle of it, he sprang up and down upon it with his whole weight, in order to show Lucy how strong it was. He then walked along by the bank, upon the other side of the brook, and began to look into the water, watching for fishes.

      Lucy’s curiosity became considerably excited by what Royal was constantly saying about his fishes. First he said he saw a dozen little fishes; then, going a little farther, he saw two pretty big ones; and Lucy came down to the bank upon her side of the brook, but she could not get very near, on account of the bushes. She had a great mind to ask Royal to come and help her across, when all at once he called out very eagerly,

      “O Lucy! Lucy! here is a great turtle, – a monster of a turtle, as big as the top of my head. Here he goes, paddling along over the stones.”

      “Where? where?” said Lucy. “Let me see. Come and help me across, Royal.”

      Royal ran back to the plank, keeping a watch over the turtle, as well as he could, all the time. He helped Lucy across, and then they ran up to the place, and Royal pointed into the water.

      “There, Lucy! See there! A real turtle! See his tail! It is as sharp as a dagger.”

      It was true. There was a real turtle resting upon the sand in a shallow place in the water. His head and his four paws were projecting out of his shell, and his long, pointed tail, like a rudder, floated in the water behind.

      “Yes,” said Lucy. “I see him. I see his head.”

      “Now, Lucy,” said Royal, “we must not let him get away. We must make a pen for him. I can make a pen. You stay here and watch him, while I go and get ready to make a pen.”

      “How can you make it?” said Lucy.

      “O, you’ll see,” said Royal; and he took up his hatchet, which he had before laid down upon the grass, and went into the bushes, and began cutting, as if he was cutting some of them down.

      Lucy remained some time watching the turtle. He lay quite still, with his head partly out of the water. The sun shone upon the place, and perhaps that was the reason why he remained so still; for turtles are said to like to bask in the beams of the sun.

      After a time, Royal came to the place with an armful of stakes, about three feet long. He threw them down upon the bank, and then began to look around for a suitable place to build his pen. He chose, at last, a place in the water, near the shore. The water there was not deep, and the bottom was sandy.

      “This will be a good place,” he said to Lucy. “I will make his pen here.”

      “How are you going to make it?” said Lucy.

      “Why, I am going to drive these stakes down in a kind of a circle, so near together that he can’t get out between them; and they are so tall that I know he can’t get over.”

      “And how are you going to get him in?” said Lucy.

      “O, I shall leave one stake out, till I get him in,” answered Royal. “We can drive him in with long sticks. But you must not mind me; you must watch the turtle, or he will get away.”

      So Royal began to drive the stakes. Presently Lucy said that the turtle was stirring. Royal looked, but he found he was not going away, and so he went on with his work; and before long he had a place fenced in with his stakes, about as large round as a boy’s hoop. It was all fenced, excepting in one place, which he left open to get the turtle through.

      The two children then contrived, by means of two long sticks, which Royal cut from among the bushes, to get the turtle into his prison. The poor reptile hardly knew what to make of such treatment. He went tumbling along through the water, half pushed, half driven.

      When he was fairly in, Royal drove down the last stake in the vacant space which had been left. The turtle swam about, pushing his head against the bars in several places; and when he found that he could not get out, he remained quietly in the middle.

      “There,” said Royal, “that will do. Now I wish Miss Anne would come down here, and see him. I should like to see what she would say.”

      Miss Anne did come down after a while; and when the children saw her descending the path, they called out to her aloud to come there and see. She came, and when she reached the bank opposite to the turtle pen, she stood still for a few minutes, looking at it, with a smile of curiosity and interest upon her face; but she did not speak a word.

      CONVERSATION IV

      A PRISONER

      After a little while, they all left the turtle, and went rambling around, among the rocks and trees. At last Royal called out to them to come to a large tree, where he was standing. He was looking up into it. Lucy ran fast; she thought it was a bird’s nest. Miss Anne came along afterwards, singing. Royal showed them a long, straight branch, which extended out horizontally from the tree, and said that it would be an excellent place to make a swing.

      “So it would,” said Miss Anne, “if we only had a rope.”

      “I’ve got a rope at home,” said Royal, “if Lucy would only go and get it, – while I cut off some of the small branches, which are in the way.

      “Come, Lucy,” he continued, “go and get my rope. It is hanging up in the shed.”

      “O no,” said Lucy; “I can’t reach it.”

      “O, you can get a chair,” said Royal; “or Joanna will hand it to you; she will be close by, in the kitchen. Come, Lucy, go, that is a good girl; and I’ll pay you.”

      “What will you give me?” said Lucy.

      “O, I don’t know; but I’ll give you something.”

      But Lucy did not seem quite inclined to go. She said she did not want to go so far alone; though, in fact, it was only a very short distance. Besides, she had not much confidence in Royal’s promise.

      “Will you go, Lucy, if I will promise to give you something?” said Miss Anne.

      “Yes,” said Lucy.

      “Well, I will,” said Miss Anne; “I can’t tell you what, now, for I don’t know; but it shall be something you will like.

      “But, Royal,” she added, “what shall we do for a seat in our swing?”

      “Why, we must have a board – a short board, with two notches. I know how to cut them.”

      “Yes, if you only had a board; but there are no boards down here. I think you had better go with Lucy, and then you can bring down a board.”

      Royal said that it would take some time to saw off the board, and cut the notches; and, finally, they concluded to postpone making the swing until the next time they came down to the glen; and then they would bring down whatever should be necessary, with them.

      As they were walking slowly along, after this, towards home, Royal said something about Lucy’s not being willing to go for his promise, as well as for Miss Anne’s, – which led to the following conversation: —

      Lucy. I don’t believe you were going to give me anything at all.

      Royal. O Lucy! – I was, – I certainly was.

      Lucy. Then I don’t believe that it would be anything that I should like.

      Royal. But I don’t see how you could tell anything about it, unless you knew what it was going to be.

      Lucy. I don’t believe it would be anything; do you, Miss Anne?

      Miss Anne. I don’t know anything about it. I should not think that Royal would break his promise.

      Lucy. He does break his promises. He won’t mend old Margaret’s nose.

      Royal. Well, Lucy, that is because