Perhaps, if you had seen Johnny starting for school on a certain Thursday of which I mean to tell you, you would have thought that somebody was on his good nature, for he carried in his book- a very large bundle, so large, that there was scarcely room enough left in the strap for his geography and arithmetic. But a glance at his face would have told you that he did not feel in the least “put upon,” for he looked very well satisfied, and ran back, when he reached the gate, to give his mother an extra kiss.
The bundle contained a great deal of sewing for a woman in whom Mrs. Leslie was interested, and it meant that Johnny was to be trusted to go quite alone to this woman’s home, which was a long way from his own, and near the park. He was to go after school, and when he had done his errand, he was to be allowed to go to the park, and watch a base-ball match which was to take place that afternoon, until it should be time to come home to tea. And this was not all. By way of saving precious time, he was to take his dinner to school with him, and eat it at the noon , and there it was in Tiny’s new straw basket—three sandwiches, two hard-boiled eggs, with a little paper of salt, a very large and a middling-sized piece of gingerbread, and a slice of yesterday’s “queen of puddings.”
“You’d better save a sandwich and the gingerbread to eat at the park,” said Mrs. Leslie, as she packed this dinner, “you can wrap them in this nice piece of paper—see, it is that large brown envelope in which my handkerchiefs came—for it will not be best to take Tiny’s basket with you, you might so easily lose it. You can leave it in your desk, and bring it home to-morrow. And be sure to ask somebody what time it is, as soon as the sun is down to the tops of the trees in the park—you can see them quite well from the base-ball ground, you know—and don’t stay later than half past five, dear.
“All right, mamma,” said Johnny, cheerfully, “what a jolly dinner! I hope I shan’t be too hungry at twelve to save the cake and sandwich, but I don’t know!”
Mrs. Leslie laughed, but she made another sandwich, and cut another slice of cake, and perhaps it was the recollection of this generous deed which sent Johnny back for one more kiss.
He had hard work to keep his thoughts where they belonged during school hours, but he succeeded pretty well, for he thought it would be “mean” not to behave at least as well as usual, with such a treat in . He also succeeded in saving the cake and sandwich. “But I couldn’t have done it,” he thought, as he wrapped them in the nice brown envelope, ready for an start, when school should be out, “if mamma hadn’t put in that last sandwich and piece of cake!”
Some proverb has said that “chosen burdens are light,” and Johnny certainly did not seem weighed down by his burden, as he hailed a horse car, and stepped gayly on board. When they came to the “up-grade” he felt like shaking hands with the patient extra horse, and telling him how many good thoughts he had caused. And then he resolved to be more on the for chances to help the heavily-laden; perhaps he had kept too near home with his efforts; he would try to do more.
He did not put into words, in his mind, the feeling that he had so many things to make him happy, that he ought to hand some of his happiness on to less favored people, but it was some such feeling as this which prompted his resolve, and made him shyly offer his envelope-full of lunch to a very and dirty little newsboy, who was being out of the car by the conductor. It was accepted without the least shyness, and also without any very special thanks; but Johnny, craning his neck backward as the car moved on, saw the delighted face of the little fellow, as he opened the envelope, and was more than satisfied. It set him thinking of Taffy, and that was a thought which always filled his heart with a sort of quiet Sunday happiness.
He found the house where he was to leave the bundle, without any trouble, and his knock was answered by the woman for whom it was intended. She was a gentle-faced, tired-looking little woman, and she held on one arm a sturdy baby-boy, who seemed trying to make himself heavier by kicking and struggling. She attempted to take the bundle with her free hand, but Johnny held it fast, saying pleasantly,—
“If you’ll tell me where you want it put, Mrs. Waring, I’ll take it in for you.”
“Oh, thank you,” she answered, “you’re very kind—right in here, please,” and she led the way to a room which would have been quite pretty and attractive, if it had been in order, but it was evident that Master Baby had had everything his own way, at least for the past few hours.
“I can’t keep things straight five minutes,” said his mother, wearily, “as fast as I get settled with my work at the machine, he’s into something, and I have to jump up and take it away from him. Some of the kind ladies I sew for have given him nice playthings, but no—he just wants everything he can’t have, and he’s got so heavy, lately, that I can’t take him about with me as I did. There’s a parcel of work that I promised to take home this afternoon, and I don’t see how I’m going to do it, for the neighbor that offered to mind him had to leave home unexpectedly, and it isn’t safe to trust him for five minutes, let alone two hours!”
“Maybe I could leave it on my way home,” said Johnny, “where’s it to go?”
“You’re very kind,”—she said, gratefully, “but it’s quite the other way from your house, and besides, I’ve forgotten the number, though I know the house when I come to it. No, I’ll just have to wait till to-morrow, but I did want the money to-night.”
Johnny stood for a minute or two; could he give up his chance to watch that game of base-ball? But was not this another chance? Yes, he would do it!
“See here, Mrs. Waring,” he said, earnestly, “if it’s only to watch the little chap, and keep him out of , I could do that, as well as anybody. He doesn’t seem afraid of me, and ............