she should certainly punish him.
"Why, mother," said Rodolphus, "it is not late. Besides, I am going to draw Annie to school in the cart, and so we shall go very quick."
"No," said his mother, "you must not take the cart to school. If you do, it will come to some damage."
"Oh, no," said Rodolphus. "Go and get me Annie's books, and I will start off directly."
His mother went into the house and brought out a spelling-book, and put it down on the step of the door. She called out at the same time to Rodolphus, who was at that time near the great tree, telling him that there was the book, and that he must leave the cart, and take Annie and the book, and go directly.
The reason why Mrs. Linn was so solicitous for the safety of the cart, was because it was Ellen's cart, and she knew that Ellen prized it very highly. The way that Ellen came to have such a cart was this:
One day she was walking alone near the back fence of the garden, at a place where the fence was very high and close, when she heard the voices of some children on the other side, in a little green lane, where children often used to play. Ellen thought she heard Rodolphus's voice among the others, and there appeared to be some difficulty, as in fact there usually was, where Rodolphus's voice could be heard. So Ellen climbed upon a sort of trellis, which had been made there against the fence, in order that she might look over and see what was the matter.
She found that there were two girls there with a small cart, and that Rodolphus had got into the cart, and was insisting that the girls should draw him along. The girls looked troubled and distressed, and were not trying to draw.
"Pull," said Rodolphus. "Pull away, hearty."
"No," said the girls – "we can't pull. It is too heavy – besides, you will break down our cart."
"Rodolphus!" said Ellen.
Rodolphus turned his head, and saw his sister looking down upon him from the top of the fence.
"Ellen," said he, "is that you?"
"Yes," said Ellen, "I would not trouble those poor girls. Let them have their cart."
"Why, they could pull me just as well as not," said Rodolphus, "if they would only try. Come, girls," he added, "give one good pull, and then I will get out."
The girls hesitated a moment, being obviously afraid that the cart would be broken. They looked up to Ellen, as if they hoped that in some way or other she could help them, but Ellen knew not what to do. So they concluded to submit to Rodolphus's terms. They made a desperate effort to draw the cart along a few steps, but the result which they had feared was realized. The cart went on, staggering, as it were, under its heavy burden, for a short space, and then a crack was heard, and one side of it sank suddenly down to the ground. The axletree had broken, close to the wheel.
The children seemed greatly distressed at this accident. Rodolphus got out of the cart, and looked at the fracture – appearing perplexed in his turn, and not knowing what to say. The oldest girl took up the wheel, and began to examine the fracture with a very sorrowful countenance, while the youngest looked on, the picture of grief and despair.
"Now, Mary," said the youngest child, in a very desponding tone, "I don't believe we can sell our cart at all."
"Do you wish to sell it?" asked Ellen.
"Yes," said Mary. "Father said that we might sell it, if we could find any body that would buy it; but now it is broken, I don't suppose that any body will."
"How much do you ask for it?" said Ellen.
"A quarter of a dollar," said Mary.
"Well," replied Ellen, "perhaps I will buy it. If you will bring it round to our house this evening after tea, I will get Antonio to look at it and see if it is worth a quarter of a dollar; or, rather, if it was worth a quarter of a dollar before it was broken – for that will make no difference; and if he says it was, perhaps I may buy it."
"Well," said Mary, "we will."
"Is Beechnut coming to our house this evening?" asked Rodolphus.
"Yes," said Ellen.
The girls seemed much relieved of their distress at hearing this. Mary took up the broken wheel and put it into the cart, saying at the same time,
"Come, Ally, let us carry it home."
Mary stooped down to take hold of one side of the cart, while her sister took hold of the other, and so they lifted it up.
"Rodolphus," said Ellen, "I think you had better help them carry the cart home."
"Yes," said Rodolphus, "I will."
So Rodolphus took the wheel out of the cart and gave it to Mary to carry, and then lifting up the cart bodily, he put it upside down upon his head, as if it were a cap, and then began to run after the girls with it. They fled, filling the air with shouts of laughter, and thus the three went off together, all in high glee.
The end of it was, that Ellen bought the cart, and Antonio made a new axletree for it, and put it, in all respects, in complete repair. He also painted it beautifully inside and out, making it look better than when it was new. Ellen's motive in getting the cart was chiefly to promote Annie's amusement, but still she valued it herself, very highly.
She used often to lend it to Rodolphus when he was playing with Annie in the yard, and Rodolphus would draw his sister about in it. Ellen always gave him many cautions not to go too fast, and was very careful never to allow him to put any thing inside that would bruise or soil it. There was a little seat inside for Annie to sit upon, with a box beneath it where a small basket of provisions could be stored, in case of an excursion. Beechnut had promised, too, to make Annie a whip, and Ellen was going to make her a pair of reins, so that when Rodolphus was drawing her she might play drive.
But to return to the story.
Rodolphus drew the cart up to the door, and taking up the book, he put it upon Annie's lap and then began to move away again.
"Stop," said Annie; "stop, and let me get out."
"No," said Rodolphus, "I am going to draw you to school."
"No," said Annie, "my mother said that you must not take my cart to school."
"Oh, she won't care," said Rodolphus, still going.
"But she said that you must ot," persisted Annie.
"That was because she thought the cart would come to some damage," said Rodolphus. "But it will not come to any damage. I shall bring it home all safe at noon, and then she won't care."
By this time Rodolphus had got out into the road. Annie looked anxious and distressed, but as Rodolphus walked rapidly on, she was entirely helpless, and could do nothing but sit still, though she urged Rodolphus to stop, again and again, until at last, finding that it did no good, she gave up in despair, and resigned herself to her fate.
They proceeded in this way until they had got pretty near the village, when, as they were going along the road, which at this place led near the margin of the river, just below the bridge and mill, Rodolphus saw two boys getting into a boat. He asked them where they were going; they said that they were going a-fishing.
"I mean to go too," said Rodolphus, looking toward Annie.
"No," said Annie, "you must not go, for then what shall I do with my cart?"
"Oh, you can draw your cart along to school yourself, very well," said Rodolphus, and so saying, he lifted Annie hastily and roughly out of the cart, calling out at the same time to the boys to wait a minute for him. He put the handle, which was at the end of the tongue of the cart, into Annie's hand, and then ran down to the water; and thus, almost before Annie had time to recover from her astonishment, she found herself left alone in the road, while the boat, with Rodolphus and the other boys in it, began slowly to recede from the shore.
Annie began to cry. Rodolphus called out to her in a rough voice to go along to school. So she began to walk slowly along, drawing the cart wearily after her.
On her way home from school that day, when she came to the place in the road where Rodolphus had left her in