You are here
قراءة كتاب In Camp With A Tin Soldier
تنويه: تعرض هنا نبذة من اول ١٠ صفحات فقط من الكتاب الالكتروني، لقراءة الكتاب كاملا اضغط على الزر “اشتر الآن"
afraid I'd better not, unless you'll promise not to pay any attention to what I say."
"I don't see what good that would do," said Jimmieboy, a little surprised at the major's words. "What's the use of your saying anything, if I am not to pay any attention to you?"
"I'll tell you if you'll sit down a moment," was the major's reply, upon which he and Jimmieboy sat down on a log at the road-side.
The major then recited his story as follows:
"THE MAJOR'S MISFORTUNE.
The world was standing upside down;
Pekin was off in Mexico,
And Paris stood near Germantown.
And shone most brilliantly by day;
The while the sun did not appear
Until the moon had gone away.
Unhappy way of doing things,
And people did not like the change,
Save clods who took the rank of kings.
And 'stead of crowns wore beaver hats,
While those once mean and poor grew strong;
The dogs e'en ran from mice and rats.
The Russian's words were Turkestan;
And England's nerves were all unstrung
By cockneys speaking Aryan.
Drove children harnessed up to carts.
The rivers flowed up hill, and oats
Were fed to babies 'stead of tarts.
The stars were topsy-turvy all,
And hence it is my fate forlorn
When things are short to call them tall;
And if they're good to call them bad;
To say 'tis day when it is night;
To call an elephant a shad.
That it is that you'll surely know;
For truth's a thing I always miss,
And what I say is never so."
"Poor fellow!" cried Jimmieboy. "How very unpleasant! Is that really a true story?"
"No," returned the major, sadly. "It is not true."
And then Jimmieboy knew that it was true, and he felt very sorry for the major.
"Never mind, major," he said, tapping his companion affectionately on the shoulder. "I'll believe what you say if nobody else does."
"Oh, don't, don't! I beg of you, don't!" cried the major, anxiously. "I wouldn't have you do that for all the world. If you did, it would get us into all sorts of trouble. If I had thought you'd do that, I'd never have told you the story."
"Very well," said Jimmieboy, "then I won't. Only I should think you'd want to have somebody believe in you."
"Oh, you can believe in me all you want," returned the major. "I'm one of the finest fellows in the world, and worthy of anybody's friendship—and if anybody ought to know, Jimmieboy, I'm the one, for I know myself intimately. I've known myself ever since I was a little bit of a boy, and I can tell you if there's any man in the world who has a noble character and a good conscience and a heart in the right place, I'm him. It's only what I say you mustn't believe in. Remember that, and we shall be all right."
"All right," said Jimmieboy. "We'll do it that way. Now tell me what you don't know about finding preserved cherries and pickled peaches. We've got to lay in a very large supply of them, and I haven't the first idea how to get 'em."
"H'm! What I don't know about 'em would take a long time to tell," returned the major, with a shake of his head, "because there's so much of it. In the first place,