Rudolph and
Theresa were hard-working and cheerful, and as they had never been rich,
they did not know what it was to be poor. That is, they thought they had
plenty, because they never had any more; and had no time to sit down and
see how nice it would be to have a fine house, and be drawn in an elegant
carriage. But one day a tree fell on poor Bertram, and he was carried
home with a broken arm and leg. I suppose if he had been rich enough to
send for a great surgeon that lived in the city, only two leagues away,
he would have recovered without much trouble, but poor men have to do
without such attentions, and so Bertram's arm and leg, which were fixed
by a country "bone-setter," were so crooked that he could not work. And
now the burden fell heavily on the wife, who had to gather berries and
nuts in the forests, which she loaded on the donkey, and carried away to
the city to sell. But the poor woman was never very strong, and this
extra tax was fast breaking her down.
The children did what they could, but it was not much. After working hard
all day, they amused themselves in the evening by manufacturing little
articles out of nutshells. Rudolph had a sharp knife which had been given
him for showing a gentleman the way out of the forest.
Pages:
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147