Rollo at Work Part 16

Insubordination.

The boys immediately began the work of getting down the apples. But, unluckily, there were but two poles, and they all wanted them. George had one, and James the other, and Rollo came up to James, and took hold of his pole, saying,

"Here, James, I will knock them down; you may pick them up and put them in the wagon."

"No," said James, holding fast to his pole; "no, I'd rather knock them down."

"No," said Rollo, "I can knock them down better."

"But I got the pole first, and I ought to have it."

Rollo, finding that James was not willing to give up his pole, left him, and went to George, and asked George to let him have the pole; but George said he was taller, and could use it better than Rollo.

Rollo was a little out of humor at this, and stood aside and looked on.

James soon got tired of his pole, and laid it down; and then Rollo seized it, and began knocking the apples off of the tree. But it fatigued him very much to reach up so high; and, in fact, they all three got tired of the poles very soon, and began picking up the apples.

But they did not go on any more harmoniously with this than with the other. After Rollo and James had thrown in several apples, George came and turned them all out.

"You must not put them in so," said he; "all the good and bad ones together."

"How must we put them in?" asked Rollo.

"Why, first we must get a load of good, large, whole, round apples, and then a load of small and wormy ones. We only put the _good_ ones into the barrels."

"And what do you do with the little ones?" said James.

"O, we give them to the pigs."

"Well," said Rollo, "we can pick them all up together now, and separate them when we get home."

As he said this, he threw in a handful of small apples among the good ones which George had been putting in.

"Be still," said George; "you must not do so. I tell you we must not mix them at all." And he poured the apples out upon the ground again.

"O, I'll tell you what we will do," said James; "we will get a load of little ones first, and then the big ones. I want to see the pigs eat them up."

But George thought it was best to take the big ones first, and so they had quite a discussion about it, and a great deal of time was lost before they could agree.

Thus they went on for some time, discussing every thing, and each wanting to do the work in his own way. They did not dispute much, it is true, for neither of them wished to make difficulty. But each thought he might direct as well as the others, and so they had much talk and clamor, and but very little work. When one wanted the wagon to be on one side of the tree, the others wanted it the other; and when George thought it was time to draw the load along towards home, Rollo and James thought it was not nearly full enough. So they were all pulling in different directions, and made very slow progress in their work. It took them a long time to get their wagon full.

When they got the load ready, and were fairly set off on the road, they went on smoothly and pleasantly for a time, until they got up near the door of the garden-house, when Rollo was going to turn the wagon round so as to back it up to the door, and George began to pull in the other direction.

"Not so, Rollo," said George; "go right up straight."

"No," said Rollo, "it is better to _back_ it up."

James had something to say, too; and they all pulled, and talked loud and all together, so that there was nothing but noise and clamor. In the mean time, the wagon, being pulled every way, of course did not move at all.

Subordination.

Presently Farmer Cropwell made his appearance at the door of the garden-house.

"Well, boys," said he, "you seem to be pretty good-natured, and I am glad of that; but you are certainly the _noisiest_ workmen, of your size, that I ever heard."

"Why, father," said George, "I want to go right up to the door, straight, and Rollo won't let me."

"Must not we back it up?" said Rollo.

"Is that the way you have been working all the morning?" said the farmer.

"How?" said George.

"Why, all generals and no soldiers."

"Sir?" said George.

"All of you commanding, and none obeying. There is nothing but confusion and noise. I don't see how you can gather apples so. How many have you got in?"

So saying, he went and looked into the barrels.

"None," said he; "I thought so."

He stood still a minute, as if thinking what to do; and then he told them to leave the wagon there, and go with him, and he would show them the way to work.

The boys accordingly walked along after him, through the garden-house, into the yard. They then went across the road, and down behind a barn, to a place where some men were building a stone bridge. They stopped upon a bank at some distance, and looked down upon them.

"There," said he, "see how men work!"

It happened, at that time, that all the men were engaged in moving a great stone with iron bars. There was scarcely any thing said by any of them.

Every thing went on silently, but the stone moved regularly into its place.

"Now, boys, do you understand," said the farmer, "how they get along so quietly?"

"Why, it is because they are men, and not boys," said Rollo.

"No," said the farmer, "that is not the reason. It is because they have a head."

"A head?" said Rollo.

"Yes," said he, "a head; that is, one man to direct, and the rest obey."