A great deal began to happen now to Abraham, although he was only eight years old. His father decided to travel a hundred miles from Kentucky to a new farm in Indiana to see if he might not be a little more prosperous. There were no railroads. There was not even a stage route. They packed their bedding on two horses and set out on the journey overland. It took seven days, sleeping on the ground under the stars at night. And when they reached the new home, there was not even a shelter waiting for them. A road had been cut through the forests, but all the clearing was yet to be done.
Abraham had an axe of his own and he went to work with it. He was a true pioneer boy, and not one bit afraid of work. He cut poles while his father laid the foundations of the new cabin. They were only able to put up a "half-faced" camp at first, with three sides and one side open. And it was hard work. The great, unhewn logs had to be all notched and fitted together, and the cracks filled in with clay. They made a loft, and fitted in a door and a window. Abraham learned how to make a table and some stools. Then, after the bitter winter was over, the spring brought them more comfort and happiness. The corn and vegetables they planted came up, and Abraham had a little time to read again.
He had a new book, now, that a neighbor had let him take. It was the story of a boy who had, also, in his little boy days, an axe like Abraham"s; but he had used it to cut down his father"s cherry tree.
When he had grown to be a man, though, he was our Great American.
Abraham took this book, the Life of George Washington, to bed with him and read it when the snow was sifting in through the cabin roof and over his quilt. He read the book many times.
"What are you going to be when you grow up?" the neighbor asked Abraham.
"I am going to be the President of the United States," the boy replied.
Every one thought this a very good joke, for Abraham was growing up now. He had legs that were too long for his body and it was the same way with his arms. He was almost six feet tall although he was not yet fifteen years old. His head, set on top of his long neck, looked almost out of place. People laughed when they compared him with other Presidents of the United States.
Abraham kept his thought in his mind, though, and he went on working, and reading when he had time in the fire light of the long winter evenings. As he threshed, and chopped, and plowed, he could not help dreaming a little. All his life he had worked hard for others, and he really liked this kind of work more than any other. He wanted to go on helping others, only in a greater, broader way.
We all know what happened to Abraham Lincoln. His dream came true. He was our n.o.blest President and carried on his broad shoulders the burdens of the slaves. It was a long road from the little log cabin in Kentucky to the White House at Washington, but President Lincoln, himself, tells us how he made the journey.
He was visiting, once, a hospital full of wounded soldiers. There were several thousand of them, and each one of them loved Mr. Lincoln so that he wanted to shake hands with him. He took and held the hand of each. It was enough to cripple an ordinary man, but Mr. Lincoln"s kind, plain face was smiling when some one asked if he were tired.
"Oh, no," he said. "The hardships of my boyhood made me strong."
Very likely, too, it was the struggles of learning to write on bare boards and in the earth that helped Abraham Lincoln to write his name in letters of gold on our history pages.
THEIR FLAG
The flag had been in the family for years, and years, and years.
Great-grandfather Wolcott had carried it, and Grandfather Wolcott had hung it on a pole in front of his farm house. Father Wolcott had taken it to Boston to be mended when he was a young man, and it hung in front of Billy and Betty Wolcott"s piazza now every day. Father took the flag in at night, and Billy and Betty folded it very carefully in the old creases, and mother put it out on the piazza the first thing in the morning.
The whole family was very proud indeed of the flag.
There was going to be a wonderful parade on Washington"s Birthday.
Every one in town was looking forward to seeing it. The Home Guard, the firemen, the policemen, the Old Veterans, the Red Cross, and the Boy Scouts would parade. There would be several bra.s.s bands, fifes and drums, and trumpets. Whoever had a flag would hang it as high as possible, and the beautiful stars and stripes of Old Glory floated from the town hall, and the school houses, and the churches.
The day before Washington"s Birthday something happened at the Wolcotts" house. The telegraph office telephoned to say that father couldn"t come home until the day after to-morrow. He was detained on business in Boston. All day it had rained. The flag was not out on the piazza, so it did not matter about that, but Billy and Betty were so sorry not to have father to go with them to the parade.
The morning of Washington"s Birthday something else happened.
Grandmother sent mother a letter asking if she would come over to Greendale and help her entertain the company; ever so many of the relatives were coming to spend the holiday with her, more than she expected.
So Betty held mother"s coat for her, and Billy telephoned for a cab to take her down to the station.
"Be good children and don"t disturb cook; she will be very busy to-day," mother said as she kissed Billy and Betty good-bye. It was not until she had gone that they thought of what had happened to them.
"We can"t go to the parade," Betty said.
"Our flag isn"t out!" Billy said.
"We must put it out ourselves then," Betty said, but that was not very easy to do.
The Wolcott flag was very large and very tender because it was so old.
It had to be handled with great care, and Billy and Betty were not very big.
"We must hang it all ourselves because it is the flag of our country,"
Billy said. So they carried it out to the piazza, and unfolded it there very, very carefully.
"Now how are we going to get it up to the top of the piazza?" Betty asked.
There were three hooks on the edge of the piazza roof and three loops on the flag, but father could only just reach, standing on a chair, to put the loops on the hooks.
"The step ladder!" Billy said. "I"ll climb up on that."
"And I"ll reach the flag up to you on the broom!" Betty said.
So Billy and Betty, together, brought the step ladder and set it up on the piazza. Then Billy climbed up, and Betty reached up the flag on the broom so Billy could hook it into place. It was done at last. The wind took it, and the Stars and Stripes blew out over the lawn just as they should on Washington"s Birthday.
"If we can"t go to the parade, we can guard the flag here at home,"
Betty said. "Let"s salute it, first."
So Billy and Betty saluted Old Glory, just as they had been taught to in school. Then Billy brought down his drum and stood on one side of the flag, and Betty tied her red m.u.f.fler over her blue coat for a belt, and put on her white tam-o"-shanter cap, and stood on the other side of the flag, playing that she was Liberty.
"Listen; what"s that!" said Billy and Betty just then.
Oh, there was a crash of bands and the shouts of people as they cheered. Down the street came the parade in khaki, and blue, and red.
The line of march had been changed and it was going by Billy"s and Betty"s house. They all saw the flag, and the band played the Star Spangled Banner as they pa.s.sed.
Suppose the flag hadn"t been up! The Home Guard knew all about how old it was. The Old Veterans knew that great-grandfather had carried it, and grandfather had hung it on a pole in front of his farm house. They knew that father had taken it to Boston once to be mended.
The secret was that n.o.body knew who had put the Wolcotts" flag out for Washington"s Birthday.
SAINT VALENTINE"S DAY
THE VALENTINE BOX
Roger had planned to send a great many valentines to the girls and boys he knew. There were beautiful valentines in the toy shop window, red satin hearts in little heart-shaped boxes, painted post card valentines, and little card-board figures holding baskets of flowers.
Roger had been saving his allowance for four weeks and he was quite sure that he had enough money to buy a valentine for the little girl next door, and one for the little girl across the street, and one for the boy on the next block, and one for the boy who lived upstairs.
So, quite early the day before Saint Valentine"s Day, Roger decided to go out and buy his valentines.
Just as he was about to start, though, he heard a sound from the playroom. _Peep, peep, peep_. Oh, it was Roger"s pet canary who was calling to him, "Wait a moment, little master! You have forgotten to feed me."
Roger knew that he must not buy valentines if his pet bird was hungry. He found that it needed fresh water to drink, and the cage needed cleaning too. When he had done all this and filled the seed box, his mother called him.