The Washington herald., 1915-09-05
Edited by MARY MARSHALL
'Boyhood Stories
Of Famous Men
How Fomous Boy Learned n
Hard Lesson.
BY MARY MARSHALL.

he would go off into deep brown studies
so deep that he would hear nothing
that people said to him. His head would
drop forward on his chest. his hands
would relax and turn palms out. he
would seem to be in n daZe.
His pIaymates and his brothers and
sisters thought him strange little boy.
He'll never amount to anything. "
they'd say. He's such a dawdier-al-
Nays going off into those brown studies
instead Of eating his dinner or playing
with us"
But in spite Of everything people said
about him little Fridtiof grew to he
a great man. as you shall hear.
He lived in a land where the winters
are long and cold and icy. and even
as a little boy he learned to bear hard
| ships that would tire out many grown
men. His fathers house--a comforta BILE
rambling structure in the country COW
cred with thick climbing vines in the
! summer-was on the bank OF a rushing
little river. In the summer Fridtiof ana
| hls little brother used to swim IN the
| ccldest pools of this river every evening;
and in the winter they used to fall
! through the ice sometimes. FISH each
other out and trot about in the snow
! TO get their circulation up.
Now in the land where Frldtiof lived
there were many hills, and many great
gloomy forests. that looked so deep and
! dark and mysterious that Fridtiof and
his brother used sometimes TO imagine
! that II thev went far enough in thev
I WOULD come uPon magic castles. Iores'
! elves or some other Of the thInls and
tiny people they had heard about in fairy
| stories
! The hills were covered almost all the
ear round with Ic- and snow. and thu
/ novs used to run over them to their
! hearts ,ontent But there was one hill.
Husehy Hill, where the hoys We're NOT.
| allowed 70 Tlav.
You may romp over all the hills. NY
boys" their father vas wont to say to-
/ them. exc e7t Husehv Hill on that one
/ hill vow must never pIar. II is steep
and dangerous and. besides that the
! ski-runners have their races there and
YOU had better Keen away "
But just because that was the one
place he was forbidden to go. Fudtiof
! was more ANXIOUS TO rornH on Hus@hH
Hill thnn any where else. MAY I never
90 on Husehv Hill" h" begged MS
! father
! SOME day. rerhans.' said the father.
hut not row "
when. father" reaSsd til" boy.
| "Oh. when YOU have crown 70 Re a
big boy and can ION IN the ski races,
answered tha father.
Fridtiof laid no more, hut heGan toI
think deeply Of What his father had
said when You ioin in the ski races
that was exactly what his father hadi
said 50 it all depended on skis.
Fridtiof went of to his room and look
Cd ca -e-ly at the only skis he possessed !
In the first place. they lid not match. |
He took them up and measured them. |
They were not at al! the same size. and
how could any one 90 on one ski that
was four or five inches longer than the !
othern But even if they had matched |
and had been the same length they were
so cracked and warped that they would |
never do to race on Husehy Hill with.
They had belonged TO his older brothers
who had cut them down and passed them
on to him when they got his enough |
to have good ones of their own.
Surely. these would never do. but now
Fridtlof sat for a long time in brown
study. wondering how he would manage
and the longer he thought the more
anxious he was to go up Husehy Hill
Then he thought of a friend Of his. a
printer named Fabritius, who had once
for him some day. SO the boy ran off
to the printers office.
Mr. Fabritius." said the boy. when
he had found his friend. YOU know
YOU said you would do something for
me some day Please. 7 want A pair
want anything ever"
All right" said the printer. Il will
give YOU a pair.
You can imagine how happy little Frid
tiof was-at last he was to have a pair
of real skis, He thought himself per-
feCtly happy.
But Mr.. Fabritius was busy printer
and forgot his promise to his little
friend. or at least Fr!dtiof thought he
had forgotten it. SO, one day when the
hoar-frost covered the fields and re-
minded little Fridtiof of the coming win
ter. he ran out and stood in the road
where he knew the printer would soon
so driving by. When the printer drew
near Fridtiof shouted out to him.
"Oh. Mr. Fa5ritius. what about those
skis you promised me? Have you for
gotten them"
Mr.. Fahritius chuckled.
You are right. my boy. you shall
have them in time"
But the days passed and still no skis