Jonas on a Farm in Winter | Page 6

interrupted Josey, "he isn't older. I'm the oldest."

"Are you?" said Jonas.
"Yes," replied Josey. "I'm two months older than he is."
Oliver had so much more prudence and discretion, and being, besides, a
little larger than Josey, made Jonas think that he was older.
"Well," said Jonas, "at any rate, he has more judgement and experience,
and he certainly obeys better. So you may go back to your work, and let
Oliver take the command, and then, after a little while, if Oliver says
that you have obeyed him well, I'll try the experiment of letting you,
Josey, command."
The boys accordingly went back, and finished loading up the old
General. Oliver took the direction, and Josey obeyed very well. Now
and then he would forget for a moment, and begin to argue; but Josey
would submit pretty readily, for he was very desirous that Jonas would
let him command next time; and he thought that he would not allow
him to command until he had learned to obey.
They had the two sleds loaded nearly at the same time, and then went
down. When they were going back after the second load, they all got on
to Jonas's sled, which was forward, to ride, leaving the old General to
follow with his sled. He was so well trained that he walked along very
steadily. Oliver fastened the reins to one of the stakes, so that they
should not get down under the horse's feet. The boys all got together
upon the forward sled, in order that they might talk with one another as
they were going back to the woods.
"Now, Josey," said Jonas, "we will let you have the command for the
next trip, and, while we are going back, I will give you both some
instructions."
"About obeying?" said Josey.
"Yes, and about commanding too," said Jonas. "It requires rather more
skill to know how to command, than how to obey; to know how to
direct work, than to know how to execute it. A good director, in the

first place, takes care to plan wisely, and he feels a responsibility about
the work, and a desire to have it go on to good advantage. If some men
build a way, and, after it is finished, it tumbles down, the man who had
charge of the work would feel more concerned about it than any of the
others, because the chief responsibility comes upon him. So with your
work,--if you have the command, and you and Oliver idle away the
time, and when my sled is loaded, yours has but little wood in it, you
would be more to blame than Oliver."
"What, if I didn't play any more than Oliver?"
"Yes," said Jonas, "because you are responsible. It is your duty to be
industrious, and it is also your duty to see that Oliver is industrious, if
you are the director,--so that you neglect two duties.
"It is a good plan, too," said Jonas, "for a director to give his directions
in a mild and gentle tone. Some boys are very domineering and
authoritative in their manner."
"How do you mean?" said Josey.
"Why, they would say, for example, 'Get out of the way, John, quick.'
Whereas, it would be better to say, 'John, you are in the way, where we
want to come along.' Some men give their directions with great noise
and vociferation, and others give them quietly and gently."
"I shouldn't think they'd mind 'em," said Josey.
"Yes," said Jonas. "Directions ought to be given very distinctly, so as to
be plainly understood; but they are not obeyed any better for violence
and noise in giving them.
"A commander ought to have a regard for those under him," continued
Jonas, "and deal justly by them. If a number of boys were going to ride
a wagon, and their father put one of them in charge, he ought not to
keep the best seat in the wagon for himself."
While talking thus, the oxen continued slowly advancing along the road.

Their previous trip had broken out the road, but the pathway was filled
with loose snow of a pure and spotless white, through which the great
sled runners, following the oxen, ploughed their way. On each side of
the track which they had made, the surface was smooth and unbroken,
excepting under some of the trees, where masses of snow had fallen
down from above. They saw, at length, as they were passing along by
the brook, a little track, like a double dotting, running along, in a
winding way, under the trees,--then crossing the road, and disappearing
under the trees upon the other side.
"What's that?" asked Josey.
"That's a rabbit track," replied Oliver.
"Let's go and catch him," said Josey.
"No," said Jonas, "we