onas," replied Rollo, "your brush heaps burn, and why should
not this stump?"

"Because," said Jonas, "the stump is more solid, and the water soaks
into it more in the winter and early in the spring; and it takes it much
longer to dry, than it does brush and small roots, which lie open and
exposed to the air."

"Well, then," replied Rollo, "why does not my birch bark burn? that is
dry; but as soon as I drop it down into the stump, it goes out."

Jonas looked into the stump, and down around the bottom of it, and
said,--

"Because there is no air."

"No air?" repeated Rollo.

"No," replied Jonas; "it is all close and solid around; the air cannot
get in."

"It can get in at the top," said Rollo.

Jonas made no reply to this remark, but walked away a few steps, to a
place where he had put down his axe; he took up the axe, and brought it
to the stump. He immediately began to cut into it, at the bottom, as if
it were a tree which he was going to fell.

"O Jonas," said Rollo, "don't cut it down."

"I am not going to cut it down," said Jonas; "I am only going to cut a
hole into it."

"What for?" asked Rollo.

"To let the air in," replied Jonas.

Jonas continued to cut into the side of the stump, near the ground,
until he perceived that the edge of his axe went through into the hollow
part. Then he cleared away the chips a little, and showed Rollo that
there was an opening for the air.

"Now," said he, "I presume you will be able to make sticks and birch
bark burn in the stump, though you can't make the stump itself burn very
well."

Rollo now dropped a blazing piece of birch bark into the stump, and, to
his great joy, he found that it continued blazing, after it reached the
bottom. He then dropped in another piece upon it, which took fire. He
then gathered some dry sticks, and put in; and, finding that the flame
was increasing, he proceeded to gather all the dry and combustible
matter, which he could find around, and put them in, so that in a short
time he had a fine blaze, a foot above the top of the stump; and the
inside of the stump itself seemed to be in flames.

"Jonas," said Rollo, "it does burn."

"Does it?" said Jonas; "I am glad to hear it."

"But you said the stump would not burn."

"You ought to wait until it is all burnt up, before you triumph over
me."

"Why, Jonas," said Rollo, "I didn't mean to triumph over you; but why
would not the fire burn before you cut the hole through?"

"Beca