"Cather, Willa - O Pioneers!" - читать интересную книгу автора (Cather Willa Sibert)

told himself, he had not been mistaken in them.
The square head and heavy shoulders belonged
to Oscar, the elder. The younger boy was
quicker, but vacillating.

"Boys," said the father wearily, "I want you
to keep the land together and to be guided by
your sister. I have talked to her since I have
been sick, and she knows all my wishes. I
want no quarrels among my children, and so
long as there is one house there must be one
head. Alexandra is the oldest, and she knows
my wishes. She will do the best she can. If she
makes mistakes, she will not make so many as
I have made. When you marry, and want a
house of your own, the land will be divided
fairly, according to the courts. But for the next
few years you will have it hard, and you must
all keep together. Alexandra will manage the
best she can."

Oscar, who was usually the last to speak,
replied because he was the older, "Yes, father.
It would be so anyway, without your speaking.
We will all work the place together."

"And you will be guided by your sister, boys,
and be good brothers to her, and good sons to
your mother? That is good. And Alexandra
must not work in the fields any more. There is
no necessity now. Hire a man when you need
help. She can make much more with her eggs
and butter than the wages of a man. It was
one of my mistakes that I did not find that out
sooner. Try to break a little more land every
year; sod corn is good for fodder. Keep turning
the land, and always put up more hay than you
need. Don't grudge your mother a little time
for plowing her garden and setting out fruit
trees, even if it comes in a busy season. She has
been a good mother to you, and she has always

When they went back to the kitchen the boys
sat down silently at the table. Throughout the
meal they looked down at their plates and did
not lift their red eyes. They did not eat much,
although they had been working in the cold all
day, and there was a rabbit stewed in gravy for
supper, and prune pies.