chapter 3

The great day at length arrived, and every thing was ready for the party. On the lawn, by the side of the house, a large tent had been put up, in which the children were to have the feast.

Under a large maple¹ tree, near the tent, a stage for the musicians had been erected². Two swings had been put up;[Pg 48] and there was no good reason why the children should not enjoy themselves to their hearts’ content.

I think the teachers in the Riverdale school found it hard work to secure the attention of their scholars on the forenoon of that day, for all the boys and girls in the neighborhood were thinking about the party.

As early as one o’clock in[Pg 49] the afternoon the children began to collect at the house of Mr. Lee, and at the end of an hour all who had received invitations were present. The band had arrived, and at a signal from Mr. Lee the music commenced.

“Now, father, we are all here. What shall we do?” asked Flora³, who was so excited she did not know which[Pg 50] way to turn, or how to proceed to entertain the party.

“Wait a few minutes, and let the children listen to the music. They seem to enjoy it very well.”

“But we want to play something, father.”

“Very soon, my child, we will play something.”

“What shall we play, father?”

“There are plenty of plays.[Pg 51] Wouldn’t you like to march a little while to the music?”

“March?”

“Yes, march to the tune⁴ of ‘Hail, Columbia.’ I will show you how to do it.”

“I don’t know what you mean, father.”

“Well, I will show you in a few minutes.”

When the band had played a little while longer, Mr. Lee assembled the children in the[Pg 52] middle of the lawn, and asked them if they would like to march.

They were pleased with the idea, though some of them thought it would be rather tame amusement for such an exciting occasion.

“You want two leaders, and I think you had better choose them yourselves. It would be the most proper to select two boys.”

Mr. Lee thought the choice[Pg 53] of the leaders would amuse them; so he proposed that they should vote for them.

“How shall we vote, father?” asked Frank.

“Three of the children must retire, and pick out four persons; and the two of these four who get the most votes shall be the leaders.”

Mr. Lee appointed two girls and one boy to be on this[Pg 54] committee; but while he was doing so, Tommy Woggs said he did not think this was a good play.

“I don’t think they will choose the best leaders,” said Tommy.

“Don’t you, Mr. Woggs?” asked Mr. Lee, laughing.

“No, sir, I do not. What do any of these boys know about such things!” said Tommy, with a sneer⁵. “I have[Pg 55] been to New York, and have seen a great many parades.”

“Have you, indeed?”

“Yes, sir, I have.”

“And you think you would make a better leader than any of the others?”

“I think so, sir.”

All the children laughed heartily⁶ at Master Woggs, who was so very modest!

“None of these boys and girls have ever been to New York,”[Pg 56] added Tommy, his vanity increasing every moment.

“That is very true; and perhaps the children will select you as their leader.”

“They can do as they like. If they want me, I should be very willing to be their leader,” replied Tommy.

It was very clear that Master Woggs had a very good opinion of himself. He seemed to think that the fact of his[Pg 57] having been to New York made a hero of him, and that all the boys ought to take off their caps to him.

But it is quite as certain that the Riverdale children did not think Master Woggs was a very great man. He thought so much of himself, that there was no room for others to think much of him.

The committee of three returned in a few minutes, and[Pg 58] reported the names of four boys to be voted for as the leaders. They were Henry Vernon, Charley Green, David White, and Tommy Woggs.

The important little gentleman who had been to New York, was delighted with the action of the committee. He thought all the children could see what a very fine leader he would make, and that all of them would vote for him.

“What shall we do for votes,[Pg 59] father?” asked Frank.

“We can easily manage that, Frank,” replied Mr. Lee.

“We have no paper here.”

“Listen to me a moment, children,” continued Mr. Lee. “There are four boys to be voted for; and we will choose one leader first, and then the other.

“Those who want Henry Vernon for a leader will put[Pg 60] a blade of grass in the hat which will be the ballot⁷ box; those who want Charley Green will put in a clover blossom; those who want David White will put in a maple leaf; and those who want to vote for Tommy Woggs will put in a—let me see—put in a dandelion flower.”

The children laughed, for they thought the dandelion was just the thing for Master[Pg 61] Woggs, who had been to New York.

One of the boys carried round Mr. Lee’s hat, and it was found that Henry Vernon had the most votes; so he was declared to be the first leader.

“Humph!” said Tommy Woggs. “What does Henry Vernon know? He has never been to New York.”

“But he lives in Boston,” added Charley Green.

“Boston is nothing side of[Pg 62] New York.”

“I think Boston is a great place,” replied Charley.

“That’s because you have never been to New York,” said Master Woggs. “They will, of course, all vote for me next time. If they do, I will show them how things are done in New York.”

“Pooh!” exclaimed Charley, as he left the vain little man.

While all the children were[Pg 63] wondering who would be the other leader, Flora was electioneering among them for her favorite candidate; that is, she was asking her friends to vote for the one she wanted. Who do you suppose it was? Master Woggs? No. It was David White.

The hat was passed round again, and when the votes were counted, there was only[Pg 64] one single dandelion blossom found in the hat.

Tommy Woggs was mad, for he felt that his companions had slighted him; but it was only because he was so vain and silly. People do not often think much of those who think a great deal of themselves.

There was a great demand for maple leaves, and David White was chosen the second leader, and had nearly all the[Pg 65] votes. The boys then gave three cheers for the leaders, and the lines were formed. Mr. Lee told Henry and David just how they were to march, and the band at once began to play “Hail Columbia.”

The children first marched, two by two, round the lawn, and then down the centre. When they reached the end, one leader turned off to the[Pg 66] right, and the other to the left, each followed by a single line of the children.

Passing round the lawn, they came together again on the other side. Then they formed a great circle, a circle within a circle, and concluded the march with the “grand basket.”

This was certainly a very simple play, but the children enjoyed it ever so much[Pg 67]—I mean all but vain Master Woggs, who was so greatly displeased⁸ because he was not chosen one of the leaders, that he said there was no fun at all in the whole thing.

About half an hour was spent in marching, and then Mr. Lee proposed a second game. The children wanted to march a little longer; but there were a great number[Pg 68] of things to be done before night, and so it was thought best, on the whole, to try a new game.

1 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

2 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

3 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

4 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

5 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

6 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

7 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

8 displeased   

a.不快的

参考例句：

• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。
• He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。