That afternoon he went out into the garden to consider what he should do, and he found his father there, staking out some ground.
“Father,” said he, “whereabouts should you give me the ground for my garden?”
“Why, that depends,” said his father, “on the plan you determine upon. If you are going to make play of it, I must give you ground in a back corner, where the irregularity, and the weeds, will be out of sight. But if you conclude to have a real garden, and to work industriously a little while every day upon it, I should give it to you there, just beyond the pear-tree.”
Rollo looked at the two places, but he could not make up his mind. That evening he asked Jonas about it, and Jonas advised him to ask his father to let him have both. “Then,” said he, “you can work on your real garden as long as there is any necessary work to be done, and then you could go and play about the other with James or Lucy, when they are here.”
[pg 106]Rollo went off immediately, and asked his father. His father said there would be some difficulties about that; but he would think of it, and see if there was any way to avoid them.
The next morning, when he came in to breakfast, he had a paper in his hand, and he told Rollo he had concluded to let him have the two gardens, on certain conditions, which he had written down. He opened the paper, and read as follows:—
“Conditions on which I let Rollo have two pieces of land to cultivate; the one to be called his working-garden, and the other his playing-garden.
“1. In cultivating his working-garden, he is to take Jonas's advice, and to follow it faithfully in every respect.
“2. He is not to go and work upon his playing-garden, at any time, when there is any work that ought to be done on his working-garden.