HAPPY HOLLOW FARM 155 



an occasional "lick" of bran given them for 

 friendship's sake. 



Our world-without-end hacking and chop- 

 ping and grubbing at thicket and bush and 

 sprout has been hard enough, goodness knows. 

 Sam says he has the habit so firmly fixed now 

 that he's going to be miserable when there's no 

 more of that sort of thing to do. Once we'd 

 set our minds to the job of cleaning up the 

 place and wouldn't relinquish it, we got good 

 out of it. We were taught the merit of keep- 

 ing everlastingly at it, which is the very rock- 

 bottom of successful farming; and we were 

 taught, too, that despite its forbidding first 

 appearance, we could set every acre of our 

 farm at work if we would. We needn't submit 

 to the waste of a square rod unless we chose. 



There were other difficulties. Many things 

 were to be done on the farm that called for 

 machinery of price. We could have used ma- 

 chinery to great advantage many times; but 

 we couldn't afford all at once the investment 

 that would have been necessary. There's noth- 

 ing like having the right tool for doing hard 

 work. A cheerful temper helps some in get- 

 ting along without; but there are the aches and 

 the blisters! 



