the snow, and bring on the spring. The first day, they
amused themselves pretty well, during their play hours, in the shed and
in the garret; but on the second day, they began to be tired. Nathan
came two or three times to his mother, to ask her what he should do; and
Rollo himself, though, being older, his resources might naturally be
expected to be greater, seemed to be out of employment.

At last, their mother proposed that they should come and sit down by
her, and she would tell them something more about the air. "How should
you like that, Rollo?" said she.

"Why, pretty well," said Rollo; but he spoke in an indifferent and
hesitating manner, which showed that he did not feel much interest in
his mother's proposal.

"_I_ can't understand very well about the air," said Nathan.

Their mother, finding that the boys did not wish much to hear any
conversation about the air, said nothing more about it just then, and
Rollo and Nathan got some books, and began to read; but somehow or
other, they did not find the books very interesting, and Rollo, after
reading a little while, put down his book, and went to the window,
saying that he wished it would stop raining. Nathan followed him, and
they both looked out of the window with a weary and disconsolate air.

Their mother looked at them, and then said to herself, "They have not
energy and decision enough to set themselves about something useful, and
in fact I ought not to expect that they should have. I must supply the
want, by my energy and decision."

Then she said aloud to Rollo and Nathan,--

"I want you, boys, to go up into the garret, and under the sky-light you
will see a large box. Open this box, and you will find it filled with
feathers. Select from these feathers three or four which are the most
downy and soft about the stem, and bring them down to me."

"What are they for?" said Rollo.

"I will tell you," replied his mother, "when you have brought them to
me."

So Rollo and Nathan went up into the garret, and brought the feathers.
They carried them to their mother. She said that they would answer very
well, and she laid them gently down upon the table.

Then she took up her scissors, and began to cut off some of the lightest
down, saying, at the same time,--

"Now, children, I am going to give you some writing to do, about _the
air_."

"Writing?" said Rollo.

"Yes," said his mother. "I am going to explain to you something about
the air, and then y