“Oh, never mind that,” said Rodolphus, “I'll have one for all that, you may depend.”
That evening when Mr. Linn came home from his work, he took a seat near the door, where he could look out upon the little garden. His mother was busy setting the table for tea.
“Father,” said Rodolphus, “I wish you would give me a quarter of a dollar.”
“What for,” said Mr. Linn.
“To buy a rabbit,” said Rodolphus.
“No,” said his mother, “I wish you would not give him any money. I have told him that I don't wish him to have any rabbits.”
“Yes,” said Rodolphus, speaking to his father. “Do, it only costs a quarter of a dollar to get one, and I have got the house all ready for him.”
“Oh, no, Rolfy,” said his father. “I would not have any rabbits. They are good for nothing but to gnaw off all the bark and buds in the garden.”
Here there followed a long argument between Rodolphus on the one side, and his father and mother on the other, they endeavoring in every possible way to persuade him that a rabbit would be a trouble and not a pleasure. Of course, Rodolphus was not to be convinced. His father however, refused to give him any money, and Rodolphus ceased to ask for it. His mother thought that he submitted to his disappointment with very extraordinary good-humor. But the fact was, he was not submitting to disappointment at all. He had formed another plan.