ieces before he made the least
impression upon the wood."

"Say you so?" answered Harry, smiling; "then I believe I must try
another method;" so he stooped down, and picked up a small piece of
rough iron, about six inches long, which Tommy had not before observed,
as it lay upon the ground. This iron was broad at the top, but gradually
sloped all the way down, till it came to a perfect edge at bottom. Harry
then took it up, and with a few blows drove it a little way into the
body of the root. The old man and he then struck alternately with their
mallets upon the head of the iron, till the root began to gape and crack
on every side, and the iron was totally buried in the wood.

"There," said Harry, "this first wedge has done its business very well;
two or three more will finish it." He then took up another larger wedge,
and, inserting the bottom of it between the wood and the top of the
former one, which was now completely buried in the root, began to beat
upon it as he had done before. The root now cracked and split on every
side of the wedges, till a prodigious cleft appeared quite down to the
bottom. Thus did Harry proceed, still continuing his blows, and
inserting new and larger wedges as fast as he had driven the former
down, till he had completely effected what he had undertaken, and
entirely separated the monstrous mass of wood into two unequal parts.

Harry then said, "here is a very large log, but I think you and I can
carry it in to mend the fire; and I will show you something else that
will surprise you." So he took a pole of about ten feet long, and hung
the log upon it by a piece of cord which he found there; then he asked
Tommy which end of the pole he chose to carry. Tommy, who thought it
would be most convenient to have the weight near him, chose that end of
the pole near which the weight was suspended, and put it upon his
shoulder, while Harry took the other end. But when Tommy attempted to
move, he found that he could hardly bear the pressure; however, as he
saw Harry walk briskly away under his share of the load, he determined
not to complain.

As they were walking in this manner, Mr Barlow met them, and seeing poor
Tommy labouring under his burthen, asked him who had loaded him in that
manner. Tommy said it was Harry. Upon this, Mr Barlow smiled, and said,
"Well, Tommy, this is the first time I ever saw your friend Harry
attempt to impose upon you; but he is making you carry about three times
the