Here and Now Story Book Part 21

BORIS WALKS EVERY WAY IN NEW YORK

PART 1

One morning when Boris was eating his breakfast, he suddenly thought of the wide green country around his old home in Russia. I don't know what made him think of it. He just did! "Mother," he said, "I want to see some gra.s.s."

His mother smiled. "Want to go to the Park, Boris?" she asked.

"No, more gra.s.s than that even. I want to see it everywhere," and Boris waved his arms around. "I think I'll go and find lots and lots of it!"

"I'd like to see lots and lots of gra.s.s too, Boris," smiled his mother.

But her eyes were full of tears too! "But I don't know where you can go in New York and see gra.s.s everywhere!"

"Then I'll go out of New York!" cried Boris. "If I walk far enough I'll surely find gra.s.s, won't I?"

"You can try," answered his mother. Boris was now much bigger than when he came to New York and could talk quite a little English too. So his mother let him walk over the city alone. Boris clapped his hands! For though he was much bigger, he was still a little boy, you know!

"Which way had I better go?" thought Boris when he was out on the street. "I think I'll go west first." So he walked west. Though the streets were crowded he had learned to go faster than when he took his first walk and discovered the subway and elevated. West, west, west he went. Street after street,--houses set close together all the way. Then at last he saw something that made him run. The city came to an end! And there was a big river, oh! such an enormous river! The edge of the river was all docks,--docks as far as he could look. Across on the other side he could see another city with big chimneys and lots and lots of smoke.

There were lots of boats in the river too. "Some day I'll come and watch them," thought Boris excitedly, "but now I want to find my gra.s.s." So he turned around. "I'll have to go east, I guess," he thought.

So east he went. East he went until he came to his house. But he did not stop. He went right by it. "How many houses there are" he thought. "How many people there must be!" And still he walked east. And still the houses were set close together street after street. After a while he saw something that made him run again. The city came to an end! And there was another big river! This edge too was all docks,--docks as far as he could look. Across on the other side he could see another city with big chimneys and lots of smoke. "Well," thought Boris, "isn't it the funniest thing that when I walk west I come to a river and when I walk east I come to a river too!"

Now this puzzled him so that he thought he must ask somebody about it.

Close to him was a big dock and at the dock was a flat barge. A lot of men were unloading coal from her. He walked up to one. "Please," he said, "what river is this?"

The man stopped his work for a minute. "It's the East River of course.

Where do you come from, boy?"

"From Russia," said Boris, "so you see I didn't know. And please, is the other river the West River then?"

"What other river, boy? What are you talking about?"

This made Boris feel very uncomfortable, but he knew there was another river in the west for hadn't he just walked there? So he said bravely, "If you keep walking west you _do_ come to another river. I know you do!

For I've done it. And it's a bigger river than this, too!"

The man laughed out loud. "Right you are, boy!" he said. "You're a great walker, you are. Did you walk all the way from Russia?" Now Boris thought the man couldn't know very much to ask him such a question. But, then, he didn't know much either. He was asking questions too! So he answered, "Oh! no! I came on an enormous boat. But please you haven't told me the name of the other river?"

The man laughed louder than ever. "It's a funny thing, boy, that we call it the North River. But you are right: it _is_ west! It's really the Hudson River, boy, that's what it is. And a mighty big river it is too.

Want to know anything more?" And the man turned back to his work.

"Well," thought Boris. "I can't get to my gra.s.s today if I strike rivers everywhere I go." And he turned and walked home slowly, because he was sorry. And he was very, very tired too. For you see he had walked all the way across the city twice and that is a pretty long walk even for a boy the size of Boris.

Boris, he went out to walk To find the country wide.

And he walked west and west he walked But found the Hudson wide!

And so he turned himself about And walked the other way And he walked east and east he walked And there East River lay!

PART 2

The next morning at breakfast, Boris suddenly thought again of the wide green country around his old home in Russia. I don't know why he thought of it again. He just did! And then he thought of the Hudson River he had found by walking west and of the East River he had found by walking east. "I might try walking north this time," he thought. And so he said to his mother, "I think I'll go on another hunt for gra.s.s,--gra.s.s that's everywhere!" and again he waved his arms.

"All right," answered his mother. "But I'm afraid you'll have to walk a long way to find gra.s.s everywhere!"

Out on the street he began to walk north. Then he remembered what a long long ride north in the subway he had had the other day. "I'd better take something if I want to get to the country wide," he thought.

So Boris went down to the subway and took the train. He rode for ever and ever so long. He kept wondering if there were still houses above him or if it was all gra.s.s,--lots and lots of gra.s.s. "I guess I'll go up and see," he thought. So up he went at the next station. But there were still houses everywhere. They weren't so high nor quite so close together; but still there was no gra.s.s. So he kept on walking north.

Then he saw something that made him run. He could hardly believe his eyes. There was _another river_! "Oh! dear! oh! dear!" thought Boris.

"I'll never in the world find the country wide if I strike a river whatever way I go. I think I'll take the subway and go way, way south.

Surely I can get through that way. West a river, east a river, north a river. Yes, I'll go south!"

So again Boris went down to the subway and took a train going south. He stayed on it so long that he thought he must surely be way out in the country wide under gra.s.s, gra.s.s, everywhere. "I guess I'll go up and see," he thought.

So up he went at the next station. But when he came up he found himself on a street. There were high buildings all around him. He began to walk south. The farther he walked, the higher the buildings he found. At last he came to a place where the buildings reached up, up, up,--up to the clouds, he thought. He threw back his head to look at them,--so high above him that it made him almost dizzy to look at their tops. He wasn't sure they weren't going to fall either! Then he looked down again. And what did he see at the end of the street? Trees, yes, green trees!

"Perhaps I am coming to the wide green country," he thought. And he hurried on.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

But when he got to the trees he saw that the city came to an end again.

And what a wonderful end it was too! All around him was water,--water so full of boats that it made Boris gasp. When he looked to the west he could see a great river with another city on the other side. "That's the Hudson," thought Boris for he remembered what the coal man had told him.

When he looked to the east he could see another great river. "That's the East River," he thought for he remembered that name too.

But what river was that out in front of him? Then suddenly Boris remembered. That was New York Harbor! This was where he had landed when he had come in the giant steamer from Russia! Out there was Ellis Island where he had stayed with his father and his mother and his sisters and his brothers until they had been looked at! He thought he could see Ellis Island from where he stood. But there were so many islands he couldn't be sure. But he _could_ see the Statue of Liberty, that enormous woman holding a torch in her hand. He was sure of that. And he could see the boats everywhere all over the harbor. Boris stood there some time just staring and listening and staring.

When Boris he went out again To find the country wide And he went north and north he went To Harlem River's side.

Again he turned himself about And went the other way And he went south and south he went And there the harbor lay!

PART 3

Suddenly Boris remembered what he had come for. He was looking for the wide green country, for a place where gra.s.s grew everywhere. "This is the funniest thing in the world," he thought scratching his head.

"Wherever I walk in New York I come to water. So many people and water on every side of them! How do they ever get out?" As soon as he thought of this, he began to look around. Across the East River he could see a giant bridge leaping from New York over to another city and on the bridge were trains and cars shooting back and forth and autos and horses and people. "So that is the way they get out!" he thought.

Then he looked to the west, to the Hudson River. "No bridges there!" he said. "It's too wide." Then he suddenly remembered the ferry boat that had brought him from Ellis Island. "Ferry boats, of course," he thought.

And sure enough there were ferry boats and ferry boats going back and forth from New York to the other side and to the little islands out in the harbor too!

Now Boris walked along thinking hard about all this water all around New York. Just then he noticed a lot of people coming up out of a hole in the sidewalk. "The Subway," he thought, for you remember he had been on the subway. But the name over the steps didn't spell "subway." He looked at it for a long time. At last he could read it. "Hudson Tubes" it said.

Hudson Tubes? What could that mean? Boris wanted to know. So he walked right up to a woman coming out of the hole.

"What are the Hudson Tubes and where do they take you?" he asked.

The woman laughed. "They take you to New Jersey, of course," she said.

"Is that over there?" Boris asked, pointing across the Hudson. "And do they really go under the Hudson River?"

"Yes, to be sure they do. Where do you want to go?" she answered and then Boris remembered what he had been hunting for. "I want to go to a wide green country where there is gra.s.s everywhere. But every way I walk in New York I come to water. I know because I've walked east and I've walked west and I've walked north and I've walked south," he said, feeling a little like crying for he was very tired and he _was_ only a little boy too. The woman smiled and she looked nice when she smiled.

"You see, boy," she said, "New York is an island, so of course, you come to water every way you walk. And it's so full of people that there isn't any wide green country left,--except the Parks of course."