My Boyhood and Youth 



gathered with more pleasure and care. Also, 

 to our delight, we found plenty of hazelnuts, 

 and in a few places abundance of wild apples. 

 They were desperately sour, and we used to fill 

 our pockets with them and dare each other to 

 eat one without making a face, no easy feat. 

 / One hot summer day father told us that we 

 ought to learn to swim. This was one of the 

 most interesting suggestions he had ever 

 offered, but precious little time was allowed 

 for trips to the lake, and he seldom tried to show 

 us how. "Go to the frogs," he said, "and they 

 will give you all the lessons you need. Watch 

 their arms and legs and see how smoothly they 

 kick themselves along and dive and come up. 

 When you want to dive, keep your arms by 

 your side or over your head, and kick, and when 

 you want to come up, let your legs drag and 

 paddle with your hands." 



We found a little basin among the rushes at 



the south end of the lake, about waist-deep and 



a rod or two wide, shaped like a sunfish's nest. 



Here we kicked and plashed for many a lesson, 



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