CHAPTER VII.
THE EXTRA HORSE.
Johnny did not have a great deal of time for thinking. It is difficult to think when one is running, or jumping, or hammering, or shouting, and still more difficult when one is asleep! He often intended to “take a think” about something that bothered him, after he was in bed, and before he went to sleep, but somehow, no matter how wide awake he supposed he was before he began thinking, he always found, before he had finished, that it was next morning, and time to get up.
But he actually walked all the way home from school, one day, without shouting once at anybody; he came and sat down in the sewing-room, after he had put his books away, and was so quiet for five minutes that his mother was just going to ask him if his head ached, when he suddenly asked her,—
“Mamma, would you object to my keeping a peanut-stand—out of school hours, you know, I mean?”
“Not at all,” replied Mrs. Leslie, “if you were obliged to earn your living at once, and that were the only way in which you could possibly do it. But papa and I are both anxious that you should earn your living in a way which will help as many people as possible to earn theirs, and if you were to set up a peanut-stand now, while you are trying to learn a better way, I am afraid it would hinder our plans for you.”
Johnny’s eyes had sparkled when his mother began with “Not at all,” and now he looked a good deal disappointed.
“Yes, mamma,” he said, meekly, “I see that’s your side of it, but may I just tell you my side?”
“Of course you may!” said Mrs. Leslie, smiling, and stopping her sewing long enough to give him a hug and kiss. “I always like to hear your side, even if I can’t agree with it, and I know you trust me enough to come over to my side, even when you can’t see why.”