"Greedy!—I am not greedy," cried Owen, angrily; "but I will not have the worst cherries; I will have another bunch."
He tried to snatch another bunch from the stick.—Cymon held it above his head.—Owen leaped up, reached it, and when his companions closed round him, exclaiming against his violence, he grew still more angry; he threw the stick down upon the ground, and trampled upon every bunch of the cherries in his fury, scarcely knowing what he did, or what he said.
When his companions saw the ground stained with the red juice of their cherries, which he had trampled under his feet, they were both sorry and angry.
The children had not any more halfpence; they could not buy any more cherries; and the old woman said that she could not give them any.
As they went away sorrowfully, they said, "Owen is so ill-tempered, that we will not play with him, or speak to him, or have any thing to do with him."
Owen thought that he could make himself happy without his companions; and he told them so.—But he soon found that he was mistaken.
When they arrived at the school-house, their dame was sitting in the thatched porch before her own door, reading a paper that was printed in large letters—"My dears," said she to her little scholars, "here is something that you will be glad to see; but say your lessons first—One thing at a time—Duty first, and pleasure afterwards——Which ever of you says your lesson best, shall know first what is in this paper, and shall have the pleasure of telling the good news."
Owen always learned his lessons very well, and quickly: he now said his lesson better than any of his companions said theirs; and he looked round him with joy and triumph; but no eye met his with pleasure; nobody smiled upon him, no one was glad that he had succeeded: on the contrary, he heard those near him whisper, "I should have been very glad if it had been Marianne who had said her lesson, because she is so good-natured."
The printed paper, which Owen read aloud, was as follows:
"On Thursday evening next, the gate of the cherry-orchard will be opened; and all who have tickets will be let in, from six o'clock till eight.—Price of tickets, six-pence."