“We haven’t got our paint-box yet,” said Lucy.
“No, we haven’t,” said Royal. “And that’s because I haven’t finished teaching you arithmetic. Come, let us go and take a lesson now.”
Lucy, however, was not much inclined to take her lesson. After some conversation, however, Royal, finding that Lucy had no inclination to study arithmetic at all, and reflecting that this aversion was his own fault, concluded that he must win her back again to the work by dexterous management.
So he said,—
“Well, Lucy, I’ll tell you what we will do. We’ll carry this blue flower to the house, and I’ll make a drawing of it upon your slate.”
“So we will,” said Lucy. In fact, she was very much pleased with this plan; and the two children set off accordingly for the house, to make the drawing. After some search, they found the slate, but the pencil was gone. Royal, however, had a pencil of his own, in a little box, which he kept under a sky-light in the garret, and he and Lucy went up into the garret in pursuit of it.
This box, or chest,—for it was properly a small chest,—was the place where Royal kept a considerable number of his old playthings, especially such as were somewhat out of use. He called it his magazine. His father had told him that a magazine was a place where people kept things in store; and so he thought that magazine would be a good name for this depository of his.
Royal lifted up the lid of his magazine, and there, among a great number of other things, there was a small pasteboard box, without a cover. In this box were several slate and lead pencils, wafers, and pieces of India rubber; also the handle of a knife, and one half of a pair of scissors. Royal called it his scissor. He said he meant one day to grind the blade down to an edge, and then it would make a good knife, which he meant to call his scissor-knife. Lucy wanted to look at it, and at a great many other curious things, which she saw in the magazine; but Royal said no, and, putting down the lid of the chest, after he had taken out the pencil, he sat down upon it, and asked Lucy to sit down by his side.
He immediately began, according to his promise, to draw Lucy the picture of the flower. First he made the stem, then a little root at the bottom of it, then a few long, slender leaves growing out around the stalk, and finally the flower.
The flower was the most difficult part; but Royal succeeded in representing it to Lucy’s entire satisfaction; and, when he had finished it, he said,—