LESSON 25
HARRY'S RICHES

1. One day, our little Harry spent the morning with his young playmate, Johnny Crane, who lived in a fine house, and on Sundays rode to church in the grandest carriage1 to be seen in all the country round.

2. When Harry returned home, he said, “Mother, Johnny has money in both pockets! ”

3. “Has he, dear? ”

4. “Yes, ma'am2; and he says he could get ever so much more if he wanted it.”

5. “Well, now, that's very pleasant for him, ” I returned, cheerfully, as a reply was plainly expected. “Very pleasant; don't you think so? ”

6. “Yes, ma'am; only—”

7. “Only what, Harry? ”

8. “Why, he has a big popgun3, and a watch, and a hobbyhorse4, and lots of things.” And Harry looked up at my face with a disconsolate stare.

9. “Well, my boy, what of that5? ”

10. “Nothing, mother, ” and the telltale tears sprang to his eyes, “only I guess we are very poor, aren't we? ”

11. “No, indeed, Harry, we are very far from being poor. We are not so rich as Mr. Crane's family, if that is what you mean.”

12. “O mother! ” insisted the little fellow, “I do think we are very poor;anyhow, I am! ”

13.“O Harry! ” I exclaimed, reproachfully.

14. “Yes, ma'am I am, ” he sobbed; “I have scarcely anything—I mean anything that's worth money—except things to eat and wear, and I'd have to have them anyway.”

15. “Have to have them? ” I echoed, at the same time laying my sewing upon the table, so that I might reason with him on that point; “do you not know, my son—”

16. Just then Uncle Ben looked up from the paper he had been reading:“Harry, ” said he, “I want to find out something about eyes; so, if you will let me have yours, I will give you a dollar apiece for them.”

17. “For my eyes! ” exclaimed Harry, very much astonished.

18. “Yes, ” resumed Uncle Ben, quietly, “for your eyes. I will give you chloroform6, so it will not hurt you in the least, and you shall have a beautiful glass pair for nothing, to wear in their place. Come, a dollar apiece, cash down7! What do you say? I will take them out as quick as a wink.”

19. “Give you my eyes, uncle! ” cried Harry, looking wild at the very thought, “I think not.” And the startled little fellow shook his head defiantly.

20. “Well, five, ten, twenty dollars, then.” Harry shook his head at every offer.

21. “No, sir! I wouldn't let you have them for a thousand dollars! What could I do without my eyes? I couldn't see mother, nor the baby, nor the flowers, nor the horses, nor anything, ” added Harry, growing warmer and warmer.

22. “I will give you two thousand, ” urged Uncle Ben, taking a roll of bank notes out of his pocket. Harry, standing at a respectful distance, shouted that he never would do any such thing.

23. “Very well, ” continued the uncle, with a serious air, at the same time writing something in his notebook, “I can't afford to give you more than two thousand dollars, so I shall have to do without your eyes; but, ” he added, “I will tell you what I will do, I will give you twenty dollars if you will let me put a few drops from this bottle in your ears. It will not hurt, but it will make you deaf. I want to try some experiments8 with deafness, you see. Come quickly, now! Here are the twenty dollars all ready for you.”

24. “Make me deaf! ” shouted Harry, without even looking at the gold pieces temptingly displayed upon the table. “I guess you will not do that, either. Why, I couldn't hear a single word if I were deaf, could I? ”

25. “Probably not, ” replied Uncle Ben. So, of course, Harry refused again. He would never give up his hearing, he said, “no, not for three thousand dollars.”

26. Uncle Ben made another note in his book, and then came out with large bids for “a right arm, ” then “left arm, ” “hands, ” “feet, ” “nose, ”finally ending with an offer of ten thousand dollars for “mother, ” and five thousand for “the baby.”

27. To all of these offers Harry shook his head, his eyes flashing, and exclamations of surprise and indignation bursting from his lips. At last, Uncle Ben said he must give up his experiments, for Harry's prices were entirely too high.

28. “Ha! ha! ” laughed the boy, exultingly, and he folded his dimpled9 arms and looked as if to say, “I'd like to see the man who could pay them! ”

29. “Why, Harry, look here! ” exclaimed Uncle Ben, peeping into his notebook, “here is a big addition sum, I tell you! ” He added the numbers, and they amounted to thirty-two thousand dollars.

30. “There, Harry, ” said Uncle Ben, “don't you think you are foolish not to accept some of my offers? ” “No, sir, I don't, ” answered Harry, resolutely.“Then, ” said Uncle Ben, “you talk of being poor, and by your own showing you have treasures for which you will not take thirty-two thousand dollars. What do you say to that? ”

31. Harry didn't know exactly what to say. So he blushed for a second, and just then tears came rolling down his cheeks, and he threw his chubby arms around my neck. “Mother, ” he whispered, “isn't God good to make everybody so rich? ”

STUDY GUIDE

A. Word Definition

playmate:friend.

grandest:most beautiful.

cheerfully:happily.

plainly:clearly.

disconsolate:very sad.

stare:expression in one's eyes.

telltale:something which gives away a secret.

insisted:continued arguing the point.

reproachfully:expressing that something is unacceptable.

sobbed:cried heavily.

scarcely:barely.

echoed:repeated.

sewing:an item being sewn.

reason:speak with logic.

apiece:each.

wild:shocked.

startled:surprised.

defiantly:refusing someone in a position of power.

bank notes:paper money.

air:attitude.

afford:be able to pay for.

deaf:unable to hear.

temptingly:looking like something one wants very much.

refused:said“no”.

bids:offers of money.

flashing:becoming bright with anger.

exclamations:shouts.

indignation:angry surprise.

exultingly:with an attitude of success.

peeping:looking.

sum:total.

foolish:stupid.

treasures:things which have great value.

blushed:became red in the cheeks.

chubby:fat.

whispered:said quietly.

B. Study Notes

1. Carriage: a vehicle with wheels but no engine, which is usually pulled by horses and is used to transport people. A wagon is similar but is generally not as fancy and is used to transport things like tools, food, or equipment as well as people.

2. Ma'am: a polite way to refer to a woman. In some families, especially in those with strict rules, children may refer to their mother as “ma'am” and their father as “sir.”

3. Popgun: a children's toy gun which uses air to push a cork plug from the end of the toy gun, making a “pop” sound.

4. Hobbyhorse: a stick with a toy horse's head on the end. A child usually puts the stick between his or her legs and pretends to “ride” the horse.

5. “What of that? ”: what do you have to say about that?

6. Chloroform: a chemical once used as medicine to make people fall asleep so that they would not feel pain during an operation.

7. “Cash down” is an expression meaning the money is paid immediately.

8. Experiment: a test done to discover some truth or fact.

9. Dimples are small shallow holes in the skin which are common on the cheeks of some people when they smile.

C. Comprehension Questions

1. How does Harry know that Johnny Crane is rich?

2. Why does Harry think he is poor?

3. What does Uncle Ben offer to buy from Harry?

4. How does Harry think God has made everyone rich?

D. Match words to their definitions

1. Whisper a. Cry loudly.

2. Defiant b. Say something in a very quiet voice.

3. Tempting c. Demand the same thing many times.

4. Sob d. Desire something strongly.

5. Cheerful e. Refuse to accept the rule.

6. Insist f. Be very happy.

E. Retelling the story: Write a number (1-5) on each line to put the events of the story in the correct order.

____ Harry becomes sad because he thinks he is poor.

____ Harry tells his mother about all the things Johnny has.

____ Harry becomes happy and realizes he is very rich.

____ Harry's uncle offers to buy Harry's eyes, ears, arms, and legs.

____ Harry comes home after playing with Johnny.