Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-02-19
THE LITTLE CHAP.


nobody could help humoring him. He
was stubborn, he was headstrong, he was
naughty if you like, the Little Chap
but in his very naughtiness there was
something really captivating which won
your heart, but played the mischief with
your dignity. When he stood before
you with his legs far apart, his hands in
the pockets of his much patched trousers,
and the magnitude of his defiance so out
of proportion to that of his tiny body,
you were altogether at disadvantage,
and am not sure but that the Little
Chap in the innocent slyness of his heart
felt that you were at his mercy. A little
patched cherub like him, with tousled
blond hair and an enormous sense of his
own Importance, would have been no
mean antagonist to Hercules himself; and,
what is more, so secure was he in the
consciousness of his valor that he would
not have been afraid to tackle Hercules.
The Little Chaps father, Amund
Myra, was carpenter by trade, and
lived in one of the loneliest mountain
valleys of Norway. His wife, Kari, had
presented him with five daughters before
it occurred to her to present him with a
son, and his joy at the last arrival had
only been equalled by his disgust at the
five previous ones. The Little Chap took
instant possession of his fathers heart,
which had been kept purposely vacant
for his reception.
From the hour of his arrival the Little
Chap came to be regarded as a person of
tremendous consequence. 1t was i'm
pressed upon him from the time he lay
in the cradle that he was a boy, and that
boy was superior kind of creature,
who had nothing except certain acciden-
tai points of anatomy in common with
girls, which latter species had been
wisely created by the Lord to wait upon
him. He was not very big before Amund,
who could not bear to be separated from
him, got into the habit of taking him
along when he went out into the valley
to do a job. There the Little Chap
would sit proudly pcrched upon his
fathers shoulder, bundled up in scarfs,
and with fur cap that was much too
big for him pulled down over his ears.
He was not talkativc child but there
was slow and old-fashioned kind of
gravity about him which made every
thing he said infinitely droll. He took
himself very seriously, and allowed nc
trltiing with his dignity. He took much
satisfaction in the thought that he was
helping his father; and Amund rather
encouraged the idea, giving him ham
mer with which he pounded nails into a
piece OF board, and occasionally mashed
his fingers. And all day long, while the
carpenter worked, whether indoors OIL
out-ofdoors, the Little Chap hustled
about him, sat in the shavings whiting
sticks, or Clipped the edge of the plane
by running it into the heads of the nails,
which he drove in wherever convenient
place presented itself But whatever
mischief he got into, whatever tools he
ruined, Amund regarded it only as fair
price which he paid for his company
And never once did he scold the Little
Chap, but gravely explained to him VIII,
he must not do such and such things, a
if he had been a grown-up man. Ant
the Little Chap would listen gravely
with quivering underlip; and when tn
kindly homily was at an end, he woulC
lie very still, with his head buried in tn
shavings, feeling terribly humiliated a
the thought of his delinquency.
Thus winters passed, and summer:
until the Little Chap was eight years old
He tyrannized over his sisters, as usua
and accepted their worship as nothin
but his due. He was a sore trial to hi
mother on account of his stubbornness
and because he was $50 hard on hi
clothes" But to his father he was
staunch and loyal friend | could al
most say an older friend, for he bega
carly to feel kind of responsibility 70
Amund, and a droll kind of protector
ship. He made him go back and put OF
his coat when he started out in his shirt
sleeves in chilly weather; he would send
him back to shave, of Sunday morning
when he proposed to go to church witt
two-days' beard; and he would take
his dads part at the table when (as some.
times happened) the mother would scold
him or make unpleasant remarks imply
ing disrespect.
" Mother always thinks that every
body can do things better than my dad, "
he would observe, in his slow drawl,
when his dad had been unlucky enough
to arouse his wife's dlspleasure; and
strslghtway dad would feel little horny
paw under the table grasping for his
own. That was his way of consoling his
dad.
lie believed fully that his dad was the
wisest, the cleverest, and the best of men
and however unworthy he might feel
himself, what comfort, what happiness
1t was to this poor overworked carpenter
to have one creature on earth who re-
posed this touchingly unquestioning
trust IN him. What my dad said, that
was law; and what "my dad" did was
always admirable; and though dad was
conscious of many failing, he would
not for the life of him have the Little
Chap suspect them. He strovc manfullv
to live up to the Little Chaps idea of
him. People said he spoiled the boy:
ana the mother, particularly, who was a
tri1e Jealous Of their intimacy, declared
that 1t was time the Little Chap was sent
to school and learned something besides
whiting and cutting his fingers. This
seemed so perfectly rational that out of
consideration for the Little Chan. Amund
was at last persuaded to send him to
school. 1t was of no use that tho bov
wept, and declared that he wanted to
be with his dad How was his dad
to get on without his help2 What
would become of dad if he dit
not look out for him! This ide
that he was helping dad had become st
rooted IN his mind that he harped upo
1T early and late, and grievcd himscl
thin and pale for fear that his dad Nigh
come 10 harm without him.
Somehow, life was no more the sam
toAmund, after his loss of the Littl
Chaps companionship. There was II
JOY any more in his work; and it SCENE
too that his luck had deserted hin
Once he ran a file, the handle of whiC