The first of September came all too soon, andschool began. Among the boys and girlswho went trooping up to the "East Cornerknowledge-box," as they called it, was our friend Ben,with a pile of neat books under his arm. He feltvery strange, and decidedly shy; but put on a boldface, and let nobody guess that, though nearly thirteen,he had never been to school before. Miss Celiahad told his story to Teacher, and she, being a kindlittle woman, with young brothers of her own, madethings as easy for him as she could. In reading andwriting he did very well, and proudly took his placeamong lads of his own age; but when it came toarithmetic and geography, he had to go down a longway, and begin almost at the beginning, in spite ofThorny's efforts to "tool him along fast." It mortifiedhim sadly, but there was no help for it; and insome of the classes he had dear little Betty to consolewith him when he failed, and smile contentedlywhen he got above her, as he soon began to do, --for she was not a quick child, and plodded throughFirst Parts long after sister Bab was flourishing awayamong girls much older than herself.
Fortunately, Ben was a short boy and a clever one,so he did not look out of place among the ten andeleven year olders, and fell upon his lessons with thesame resolution with which he used to take a newleap, or practise patiently till he could touch his heelswith his head. That sort of exercise had given hima strong, elastic little body; this kind was to trainhis mind, and make its faculties as useful, quick andsure, as the obedient muscles, nerves and eye, whichkept him safe where others would have broken theirnecks. He knew this, and found much consolationin the fact that, though mental arithmetic was ahopeless task, he could turn a dozen somersaults, andcome up as steady as a judge. When the boyslaughed at him for saying that China was in Africa,he routed them entirely by his superior knowledgeof the animals belonging to that wild country; andwhen "First class in reading" was called, he marchedup with the proud consciousness that the shortestboy in it did better than tall Moses Towne or fat SamKitteridge.
Teacher praised him all she honestly could, andcorrected his many blunders so quietly that he soonceased to be a deep, distressful red during recitation,and tugged away so manfully that no one couldhelp respecting him for his efforts, and trying tomake light of his failures. So the fiist hard weekwent by, and though the boy's heart had sunk manya time at the prospect of a protracted wrestle withhis own ignorance, he made up his mind to win, andwent at it again on the Monday with fresh zeal, allthe better and braver for a good, cheery talk withMiss Celia in the Sunday evening twilight.
He did not tell her one of his greatest trials,however, because he thought she could not help himthere. Some of the children rather looked downupon him, called him "tramp" and "beggar," twittedhim with having been a circus boy, and lived in atent like a gypsy. They did not mean to be cruel,but did it for the sake of teasing, never stopping tothink how much such sport can make a fellow-creaturesuffer. Being a plucky fellow, Ben pretended notto mind; but he did feel it keenly, because he wantedto start afresh, and be like other boys. He was notashamed of the old life; but, finding those aroundhim disapproved of it, he was glad to let it be forgotten,even by himself; for his latest recollections werenot happy ones, and present comforts made pasthardships seem harder than before.
He said nothing of this to Miss Celia; but shefound it out, and liked him all the better for keepingsome of his small worries to hiniself. Bab and Bettycame over Monday afternoon full of indignationat some boyish insult Sam had put upon Ben; and,finding them too full of it to enjoy the reading, MissCelia asked what the matter was. Then both littlegirls burst out in a rapid succession of brokenexclamations, which did not give a very clear idea ofthe difficulty, --"Sam didn't like it because Ben jumped fartherthan he did -- ""And he said Ben ought to be in the poor-house.""And Ben said he ought to be in it pigpen.""So he had! -- such a greedy thing, bringing lovelybig apples, and not giving any one a single bite!""Then he was mad, and we all laughed; and hesaid, 'Want to fight?'
"And Ben said, 'No, thanky, not much fun inpounding a feather-bed.'""Oh, he was awfully mad then, and chased Ben upthe big maple.""He's there now, for Sam won't let him comedown till he takes it all back.""Ben won't; and I do believe he'll have to stayup all night," said Betty, distressfully.
"He won't care, and we'll have fun firing up hissupper. Nut cakes and cheese will go splendidly;and may be baked pears wouldn't get smashed, he'ssuch a good catch," added Bab, decidedly relishingthe prospect.
"If he does not come by tea-time, we will go andlook after him. It seems to me I have heard surne-thing about Sam's troubling him before, haven't I?"asked Miss Celia, ready to defend her protege againstall unfair persecution.
"Yes,'m, Sam and Mose are always plaguing Ben.
They are big boys, and we can't make them stop. Iwon't let the girls do it, and the little boys don't dareto, since Teacher spoke to them." answered Bab.
"Why does not Teacher speak to the big ones?
"Ben won't tell of them, or let us. He says he'llfight his own battles, and hates tell-tales. I guesshe won't like to have us tell you, but I don't care, forit is too bad!" and Betty looked ready to cry overher friend's tribulations.
"I'm glad you did, for I will attend to it, and stopthis sort of thing," said Miss Celia, after the childrenhad told some of the tormenting speeches which hadtried poor Ben.
Just then Thorny appeared, looking much amused.
and the little girls both called out in a breath, "Didyou see Ben and get him down?""He got himself down in the neatest way you canimagine;" and Thorny laughed at the recollection.
"Where is Sam? " asked Bab.
"Staring up at the sky to see where Ben has flownto.""Oh, tell about it!" begged Betty.
"Well, I came along and found Ben treed, and Samstoning him. I stopped that at once, and told the'fat boy' to be off. He said he wouldn't till Benbegged his pardon; and Ben said he wouldn't do it,if he stayed up for a week. I was just preparingto give that rascal a scientific thrashing, when a loadof hay came along, and Ben dropped on to it so quietlythat Sam, who was trying to bully me, never saw himgo. It tickled me so, I told Sam I guessed I'd lethim off that time, and walked away, leaving him tohunt for Ben, and wonder where the dickens hehad vanished to."The idea of Sam's bewilderment amused the othersas much as Thorny, and they all had a good laughover it before Miss Celia asked, --"Where has Ben gone now?"" Oh, he'll take a little ride, and then slip downand race home full of the fun of it. But I've gotto settle Sam. I won't have our Ben hectored by anyone -- ""But yourself," put in his sister, with a sly smile,for Thorny was rather domineering at times.
"He doesn't mind my poking him up now andthen, it's good for him; and I always take his partagainst other people. Sam is a bully, and so isMose; and I'll thrash them both if they don'tstop."Anxious to curb her brother's pugnacious propensities,Miss Celia proposed milder measures, promisingto speak to the boys herself if there was any moretrouble.
"I have been thinking that we should have somesort of merry-making for Ben on his birthday. Myplan was a very simple one; but I will enlarge it, andhave all the young folks come, and Ben shall be kingof the fun. he needs encouragement in well-doing,for he does try; and now the first hard part is nearlyover, I am sure he will get on bravely. If we treathim with respect, and show our regard for him, otherswill follow our example; and that will be better thanfighting about it.""So it will! What shall we do to make our partytip-top?" asked Thorny, falling into the trap at once;for he dearly loved to get up theatricals, and had nothad any for a long time.
"We will plan something splendid, a 'grand combination,'
as you used to call your droll mixturesof tragedy, comedy, melodrama and farce," answeredhis sister, with her head already full of lively plots.
"We'll startle the natives. I don't believe theyever saw a play in all their lives, hey, Bab?""I've seen a circus.""We dress up and do ' Babes in the Wood,"' addedBetty, with dignity.
"Pho! that's nothing. I'll show you acting thatwill make your hair stand on end, and you shallact too. Bab will be capital for the naughty girls,"began Thorny, excited by the prospect of producinga sensation on the boards, and always ready totease the girls.
Before Betty could protest that she did not wanther hair to stand up, or Bab could indignantly declinethe rele offered her, a shrill whistle was heard, andMiss Celia whispered, with a warning look, --"Hush! Ben is coming, and he must not know anything about this yet."The next day was Wednesday, and in the afternoonMiss Celia went to hear the children "speak pieces,"though it was very seldom that any of the busymatrons and elder sisters found time or inclination forthese displays of youthful oratory. Miss Celia andMrs. Moss were all the audience on this occasion, butTeacher was both pleased and proud to see them,and a general rustle went through the school as theycame in, all the girls turning from the visitors to nodat Bab and Betty, who smiled all over their roundfaces to see "Ma" sitting up "'side of Teacher,"and the boys grinned at Ben, whose heart beganto beat fast at the thought o............
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