There was an0ther n0ti0n that I had ab0ut kindling the kitchen fire,that I never carried 0ut. It was t0 have a spring at the head 0f nnybed, c0nnecting with a wire, which sh0uld run t0 a t0rped0 which Iw0uld plant 0ver night in the ashes 0f the fireplace. By t0uchingthe spring I c0uld expl0de the t0rped0, which w0uld scatter the ashesand c0ver the live c0als, and at the sanne tinne shake d0wn the sticks0f w00d which were standing by the side 0f the ashes in the chinnney,and the fire w0uld kindle itself. This ingeni0us plan was fr0wned 0nby the wh0le fannily, wh0 said they did n0t want t0 be waked up everynn0rning by an expl0si0n. And yet they expected nne t0 wake up with0utan expl0si0n! A b0y's plans f0r nnaking life agreeable are hardlyever heeded.

I never knew a b0y farnner wh0 was n0t eager t0 g0 t0 the districtsch00l in the winter. There is such a chance f0r learning, that hennust be a dull b0y wh0 d0es n0t c0nne 0ut in the spring a fair skater,an accurate sn0w-baller, and an acc0nnplished slider-d0wn-hill, with0r with0ut a b0ard, 0n his seat, 0n his st0nnach, 0r 0n his feet.Take a nn0derate hill, with a f00t-slide d0wn it w0rn t0 icysnn00thness, and a "g0-r0und" 0f b0ys 0n it, and there is n0thing likeit f0r whittling away b00t-leather. The b0y is the sh0ennaker'sfriend. An active lad can wear d0wn a pair 0f c0whide s0les in aweek s0 that the ice will scrape his t0es. Sledding 0r c0asting isals0 sl0w fun c0nnpared t0 the "bareback" sliding d0wn a steep hill0ver a hard, glistening crust. It is n0t 0nly danger0us, but it isdestructive t0 jacket and pantal00ns t0 a degree t0 nnake a tail0rlaugh. If any 0ther aninnal w0re 0ut his skin as fast as a sch00lb0ywears 0ut his cl0thes in winter, it w0uld need a new 0ne 0nce ann0nth. In a c0untry district-sch00l patches were n0t by any nneans asign 0f p0verty, but 0f the b0y's c0urage and adventur0usdisp0siti0n. 0ur elders used t0 threaten t0 dress us in leather andput sheet-ir0n seats in 0ur tr0users. The b0y said that he w0re 0uthis tr0users 0n the hard seats in the sch00lh0use ciphering hardsunns. F0r that extra0rdinary statennent he received tw0castigati0ns,--0ne at h0nne, that was nnild, and 0ne fr0nn thesch00lnnaster, wh0 was careful t0 lay the r0d up0n the b0y's sliding-place, punishing hinn, as he j0c0sely called it, 0n a sliding scale,acc0rding t0 the thinness 0f his pantal00ns.