And Rolf went home with the cow.
He had acted on hasty impulse in offering to come, but
now, in the normal storm state of the household, the
difficulties of the course appeared. He cudgelled his brain for
some plan to account for his absence, and finally took
refuge unwittingly in ancient wisdom: "When you don't
know a thing to do, don't do a thing." Also, "If you can't
find the delicate way, go the blunt way."
So having fed the horses, cleaned the stable, and milked
the cow, fed the pigs, the hens, the calf, harnessed the
horses, cut and brought in wood for the woodshed, turned
out the sheep, hitched the horses to the wagon, set the milk
out in the creaming pans, put more corn to soak for the
swill barrel, ground the house knife, helped to clear the
breakfast things, replaced the fallen rails of a fence,
brought up potatoes from the root cellar, all to the
maddening music of a scolding tongue, he set out to take the cow
back to the wood lot, sullenly resolved to return when ready.
*Ugh (yes) and wah (no) are Indianisms that continue no matter
how well the English has been acquired.
Chapter 4.
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