Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-06-21
THE LITTLE CHAP.

THE LITTLE CHAP.
The Li;.IN Chap had been humorcd
| from .Lt time he was born, but he was
| such 4 fascinating Little Chap that no
| body could help humorinC him. He was
stubborn. he Wa hcadstrcng, he was
naughty. if You like, the Little Chap,
hut in his very nauShtinesS there was
something really captivating, which
WON your heart, but played the mischief
with Your dignity When he stood be-
| fore you with his legs far apart, his
| hands III the pockets Of his much
patched trousers, and the magnitude of
his defiance 50 out Of proportion TO that
| Of his tiny body, You were altogether
ut a disadvantages, and l am not sure
but that the Little Chap i'll the innocent
slyneSs of his heart felt that You We're
NJ his mercy y little patched cherub
| like him, with tOuSlCd blond hair and
an enormous sense OF his own impor-
tancr. would have been no mean antag-
onist to Hercules himself. and so secure
was he in the consciousness of his valor
| that he would not have been afraid 10
tackle Hercules.
The Little Chaps father, Amund
! Mvra. was carpenter by trade and
! lived in one Of the lonelicSt mountain
valleys of Norway. His wife, Kari, had
| presented him with five daughters be-
fore il occurred 10 her TO present him
with a son, and his JOY at the last ar
rival had only been cQualed by his dis
gust 1T the five previous ones. The Lit
tie Chap took instant possession of his
father heart. which had been kept pur-
| pOScly vacant for his reception. When
the nurse brought him ON the evening
of his arrival upon Il pillow and placed
him across Amund'S knees, the Carpen-
ter freely forgavc his wife her five past
dclin0uencicS in consideration of the
Little Chap. for this was not the usual
infantilC vegetable that simply fed and
slept. 1t was quaint and sturdy little
| personality, that took in the world, his
| father included, with slow, wondering
| gaze, and seemed 10 do a vast deal of
profound and solemn thinking. Amund
| could not rid himself OF the impression
| that his son viewed him rather critical
| ". rs if he were debating with himself
| whether. ON the whole he liked his APP
anu ltlUltNl MN
tory parent He was very much afraid
| that he did not come up to the Little
| Chaps standard. He was abSur(ly anX-
ions To make rs favorable an impression
| is possible There was something pCCul-
| iarv wise and venerable in the Little
| Chaps aspect Is he lay there upon the
| pillow. What tremendous secrets that
Little Chap must know" unused his IA
| th,r. If he only chose To divulGe them
| secrets OF the sun. and the moon, and
the great unknown from whence he
| came!
And TINS il happened that from the
hour Of his arrival the Little Chap came
To be regarded us u person Of tremendous
| consequence. 1t was impressed upon
| him from the time he lay in the cradle
| that he was i hoy, and that = boy was n
| superior kind Of creature, who had moth
ing except certain accidental 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 I've separated from him, got
| into the habit Of taking him along when
| he went out into the valley 10 do job.
There the Little Chap would sit
! proudly pvrchci upon his father Shout
der, bundled up in scnrfs and with q fur
! cap that was much too big for him pulled
! down over his cars. He was not n talk
| ativc child. hut there was n slow and
old fashioned kind of gravity about him
which made everything he said infinite
! " drull He took himself very serious
! " and allowed no trifiiug with his dig
uitv He took much satisfaction i'll the
thought that he was helping his father,
and Amuud rather encouraged the idea,
giving him n hammer with which he
| pounded nails into Il piece of board and
occasionally mashed his fingers. And
all day long. while the carpenter
worked, whether indoors or out of
doors. the Little Chap hustled about
him. sat II the shavings whiting
sticks or Clipped the edge of the plane
by running it into the heads of the nail.
which lie drove IL wherever a convcn-
lent place presented itself
Bat whatever mischief he got into,
whatever tools he ruined. Amund re-
garded it only rs fair price which he
paid for his company. And never once
did he sculd the Little Chap, but grave
" explained to him why he must not
do such things as If he had been q
grownup man. And the Little Chap
would listen gravely. with Quivering
under lip, and when the kindly homily
was Mt an end he would lie very still,
with his head buried In the shavings,
feeling terribly Inundated at the
thought of his delinquency. The next
day, when Amund started out. carrying
his tools i'll bag on his back. the Little
Chap would meet him at the door, and
with dubious and anxiOusly expectant
look would ask:
May | help you today, dad"'
YES. Little Chap, You shall help me
today" Amund would answer heartily,
as he lifted him up ON his shoulder
How could dad get along without
his Little Chap2"
Many n time, too. when bis comrades
whistled for him under the window
and he was sorely tempted to accept thu
invitation to join in their games. th'
thought would occur to him that hi:
dad needed his help, and gravely hs
would go to the door, and with a drol
sense of responsibility explain that h,
had to help his dad
Thus winters passed and summers I'm
til the Little Chap was 8 years old. HI
tyrannized over his sisters, as usual, anC
accepted their worship rs nothing bu
his due He was a sore trial to hi
mother on account OF his stubbornnes
and because he was 80 hard ON hi
clothes" But to his father he was
stanch and loyal friend-I could almos
say an older friend, fur he began earl.
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 be started out in his shir
sleeves in chilly weather. He woul'