"There they go
congratulating themselves, I suppose, in the belief that they've hit
upon something so good that I'll be forced to sit and hang over the
sermon the whole time that they are away," thought he.
But his father and mother were certainly not congratulating themselves
upon anything of the sort; but, on the contrary, they were very much
distressed. They were poor farmers, and their place was not much bigger
than a garden-plot. When they first moved there, the place couldn't feed
more than one pig and a pair of chickens; but they were uncommonly
industrious and capable folk--and now they had both cows and geese.
Things had turned out very well for them; and they would have gone to
church that beautiful morning--satisfied and happy--if they hadn't had
their son to think of. Father complained that he was dull and lazy; he
had not cared to learn anything at school, and he was such an all-round
good-for-nothing, that he could barely be made to tend geese. Mother did
not deny that this was true; but she was most distressed because he was
wild and bad; cruel to animals, and ill-willed toward human beings. "May
God soften his hard heart, and give him a better disposition!" said the
mother, "or else he will be a misfortune, both to himself and to us."
The boy stood for a long time and pondered whether he should read the
service or not.
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