Johnny looked rather doubtful about that, but he said nothing. He took down his books upon chemistry, and philosophy, which were such as are used in high schools and academies, and a number of books upon other solid subjects, also a few story-books and a dictionary.
"What do you want of a dictionary in vacation?" asked his mother.
"When I am reading, I often come across a word which I do not understand: and then, I shall write considerably this vacation, and the dictionary will help my spelling; I intend to write a good many compositions, some of which I shall use in school next year, which will save my time."
"But I don't think you ought to do schoolwork in vacation: you ought simply to enjoy yourself, or do manual labor, which will not tax your mind," said Mrs. Le Bras.
"But writing compositions don't tax my mind, unless I am in a hurry about something else: I shall just write the compositions in vacation for the fun of it, and then, in school-time, I can let them take the place of real work."
"That is a good idea," said Mr. Le Bras. "A little providence like that saves a good deal of the friction of working-time."
"Yes," said Johnny, "and friction is apt to produce fire."
His mother laughed.
"You mean by that," she said, "it is likely to make folks lose their patience and temper."
"Come, Sue, I guess I've got enough now," said Johnny: "if I haven't, I shall think of the others by degrees."