Successful Recitations Part 49

"George Was.h.i.+ngton's; this great man we are telling you of. One day George Was.h.i.+ngton's father gave him a little hatchet for a--"

"Gave who a little hatchet?" the dear child interrupted with a gleam of bewitching intelligence. Most men would have got mad, or betrayed signs of impatience, but we didn't. We know how to talk to children.

So we went on.

"George Was.h.i.+ngton."

"Who gave him the little hatchet?"

"His father. And his father--"

"Whose father?"

"George Was.h.i.+ngton's."

"Oh!"

"Yes, George Was.h.i.+ngton's. And his father told him--"

"Told who?"

"Told George."

"Oh, yes, George."

And we went on, just as patient and as pleasant as you could imagine.

We took up the story right where the boy interrupted, for we could see he was just crazy to hear the end of it. We said:

"And he was told--"

"George told him?" queried Clarence.

"No, his father told George--"

"Oh!"

"Yes, told him he must be careful with the hatchet--"

"Who must be careful?"

"George must."

"Oh!"

"Yes, must be careful with his hatchet--"

"What hatchet?"

"Why, George's."

"Oh!"

"Careful with the hatchet, and not cut himself with it, or drop it in the cistern, or leave it out of doors all night. So George went around cutting everything he could reach with his hatchet. At last he came to a splendid apple tree, his father's favourite apple tree, and cut it down--"

"Who cut it down?"

"George did."

"Oh!"

"But his father came home and saw it the first thing, and--"

"Saw the hatchet?"

"No, saw the apple tree. And he said, 'Who has cut down my favourite apple tree?'"

"What apple tree?"

"George's father's. And everybody said they didn't know anything about it, and--"

"Anything about what?"

"The apple tree."

"Oh!"

"And George came up and heard them talking about it--"

"Heard who talking about it?"

"Heard his father and the men."

"What were they talking about?"

"About the apple tree."

"What apple tree?"

"The favourite tree that George had cut down."

"George who?"

"George Was.h.i.+ngton."

"Oh!"

"So George came up and heard them talking about it, and he--"

"What did he cut it down for?"