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CHURCH CAMP

THE RYLAND CHRONICLES 2

VALERIAN L. GEROUX
CHURCH CAMP

Text copyright © 2018 Valerian L. Geroux

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, organizations,

establishments, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and
are used to advance the fictional narrative. All other characters and all incidents
and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be
construed as real.

NOTE: Please, DO NOT READ this book if you are offended by: sexual
acts between adult men; sexual acts between close relatives; group sex
between adult men; incest; unprotected sexual acts. Thank you!
 CONTENTS

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15

About the Author

 ONE

R yland woke up in his bed in Spokane and took a deep breath. He

breathed out and tried to make his heart stop beating so fast, trying
to tell himself that everything was okay and that it could've been
much, much worse. He got up and looked out of the window in his
room. It was still dark outside, so he checked the alarm clock that
was standing on his nightstand. It was only a couple of minutes
after five in the morning. The brown-haired teenager sighed and
rubbed his eyes. After the “horror”, as he called it, he had been
waking up super-early and he wasn't able to go back to bed. He
knew he should have relaxed and let it all go, but he couldn't and it
was gnawing on him from the inside. He even lost five pounds, and
he didn't like that. It didn't help that uncle Tanner went back to
Michigan and that his father barely talked to him now.
Ryland put a pair of underwear on, and walked out of his room,
across the hallway and into the bathroom. He stopped as soon as he
opened the door. His father, Victor Lucas, was in there using the
toilet.
“Dad,” said Ryland, confused. “What are you doing in here?”
His dad's face turned crimson, as he looked at his son and tried
to cover himself up.
 “Sorry, Ryland,” he said with a grave voice. “The toilet in the
master bedroom is clogged so I came here. I didn't know you would
be up so early.”
“I didn't either,” said Ryland. “I'll just wait outside until you're...
finished.”
Ryland stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door. His
heart was beating fast again, as it did every time he had to face his
father. They both tried their best to avoid each other, even though
they were the only ones in the house. It had gotten easier in the last
two weeks, but before that it was pretty much impossible, with all
the friends and relatives coming over, trying to help as much as they
could. Ryland and his dad had to act nice towards each other, and
neither one of them was doing a good job at it. Fortunately for
them, a lot of people just thought that they were having a hard time
because of their situation. Ryland tried not to think about it, but it
was hard.
He heard his dad flush the toilet, and then wash his hands. He
stepped outside.
“Sorry, next time I use the bathroom, I'll try to lock the door,”
said Victor, nodding and trying to avoid his son's eyes.
“Do that, please,” said Ryland and went into the bathroom,
locking the door behind him.
He took his boxers off and turned the water on really hot. While
he was waiting for the bathroom to start steaming, he brushed his
teeth, looking at his gaunt face expression. Even his green eyes
didn't have the usual careless sparkle, and it was all because Ryland
felt extremely guilty about what happened.
The “horror” happened about five weeks ago when his mom
dropped him off at Hidden Lake where they had a house. His dad
was vacationing there, and it all went wrong when Ryland walked in
on him jerking off in front of the television. Ryland didn't think
anything of it until his dad told him that his uncle Tanner, his mom's
brother, was staying there with them. And then the power went out
and Ryland discovered a ten-years-old secret that his dad and uncle
kept from everybody: the had a sexual relationship and used the
lake house to get away from everybody so they can spend some
time with each other every year. And then, uncle Tanner pushed the
boundaries of the normal, and Ryland found himself sexually
involved with his dad and uncle. He didn't mind it. In fact, he
enjoyed it immensely, and wanted more of it, but after he got
carried away and had sex with a lumberjack they saved in the
woods, his uncle and dad had to have a sit-down with him and tell
him that he needs to sort out his priorities and that their incestual
relationship needs to stop. They decided to have one last fuck-fest
before putting an end to it, and while Ryland was fucking his dad
while being penetrated by his uncle, his mom came to surprise them
at the lake house and saw the whole thing.
Ryland turned off the faucet and stepped under the boiling hot
shower. The hot water awoke his senses and he felt so much better
right away. He soaped his body up, and let the water run over his
muscles, while he scrubbed himself with a bath sponge. But no
matter how much he scrubbed, he still felt dirty for what happened
to his mom.
When Tabitha Lucas saw her husband, son, and brother in a
sexual act together, she tried to run away, not knowing how to deal
with it. While Victor and Ryland chased after her, she lost control of
the vehicle and got into a pretty bad car crash. After the ambulance
came with a helicopter and they got Ryland's mom out of the car,
they flew her to the nearest hospital where she had to have surgery
because she had five broken ribs. After five days in ICU, Tabitha
Lucas woke up. Ryland, Victor, and Tanner, all three of them waited
without sleeping, afraid of this moment, no matter what the
outcome. They were feeling guilty for what happened to their wife,
mom, and sister, and they were afraid that she might not wake up
from this, but they were also afraid of the moment when she woke
up and she told everybody what she saw and what caused the
accident.
Fortunately for all three of them, Tabitha Lucas woke up and she
didn't say anything. When Victor decided he was going to be the first
to go and visit her and try to explain everything, he was surprised
and shocked when Tabitha welcomed him with open arms.
Confused, Victor talked to the doctor who told him that Tabitha
suffered from short-term memory loss and that there was no way for
those memories to ever come back. So, the three of them were off
the hook, and Tabitha was going to live.
Relieved, uncle Tanner said his awkward goodbyes and left.
Ryland and Victor waited until Tabby was better, and then they flew
her to a hospital in Spokane, and they both went home. Family
friends and relatives came and visit Ryland and Victor at their house
every day, bringing them food and trying to find out what happened
to Tabitha. They told everybody the same thing: she came to
surprise them at the lake house, but on the way there lost control of
her vehicle and got into a bad car accident. She was going to be
alright and she was going to live, but she needed extra time to
recover. After a while, the people stopped coming and now it was
just Ryland and Victor, and they didn't know how to be father and
son anymore.
Ryland stopped the shower and stepped out. The whole
bathroom was foggy from the steam and it felt more like a sauna
than a bathroom. He grabbed a towel and dried himself off, and
after he wrapped the towel around his waist, Ryland stepped outside
to go get dressed. It was the final week of high school.
“Hey, Ryland,” said his dad's voice from the hallway as soon as he
stepped outside. Ryland looked up and saw Victor standing at the
end of the hallway, looking at him. “Can you please come here? I
think we need to talk.”
“I was going to get ready for school,” said Ryland, trying to avoid
looking at his dad. They had the same green eyes as him, and they
looked very much alike, except for the age difference.
“Please,” said his dad. Ryland sighed and tried to brace himself
mentally. His dad was wearing his pajama bottoms, but he was
shirtless and that was pure torture for Ryland. The reason the
teenager couldn't stand being close to his father was because now
that he knew his mother was going to live, he wanted to deepen his
erotic relationship with his dad. That thought was always on the
back of his mind, torturing him. He walked towards the living room.
“Sit down, please,” said his dad.
Ryland sat down, putting his towel between his legs because he
wasn't wearing anything underneath it.
“This can't go on like this, Ryland,” said his dad.
“What can't go on like how?” asked Ryland, even though he
knew exactly what his dad was talking about.
“This,” said Victor. “The way we act around each other.” He
sighed and looked at Ryland with exhausted eyes. Ryland didn't
notice it by then, but it looked like his father lost a little weight too.
Ryland was wondering how his uncle Tanner was dealing with the
whole situation. He was probably the one that had the easiest time
with this, and Ryland couldn't help himself, but envy him. “I spoke to
your mom's doctor last night, she is getting released in a couple of
days, and we can't act like strangers when she comes home.”
 Ryland didn't say anything, he just stared at a spot in front of
him.
Victor sat next to his son and awkwardly patted him on the back.
“I know it's hard and we all went through the ordeal. But destiny
didn't want your mom to suffer for our mistakes and she is blissfully
ignorant about what she witnessed at Hidden Lake. Let's just get a
grip on ourselves and move on from this and live a happy life.”
Ryland's dick responded as soon as his dad touched him, so he
closed his eyes and tried not to think about it.
“What is going to happen with you and uncle Tanner?” he asked.
“I and Tanner talked before this whole mess with your mom
happened and we decided that it was time for it to end,” said Victor.
“Me and him won't even mention it again. Our Hidden Lake
vacations are over. I promise you.”
Ryland nodded. “What about me and you?”
Victor moved his hand from his son's shoulder as if he was
burned. “What about us? I told you, Ryland, this is confusing you. I
can't believe that you want to go on with something like this after
what happened to your mother.”
“What happened to mom was an accident, and you know it,” said
Ryland. “But she is recovering great and she is coming home
completely healed. And she doesn't remember seeing what she
wasn't supposed to see in the first place.”
“Ryland, this is madness! Are you ever going to let it go? It was a
mistake getting you involved because you obviously can't stop! Are
you gay or something?”
“No! I'm not gay! But I can't stop thinking about you!” screamed
Ryland.
“Well, I can't stop thinking about you either, but I have to live
with it!” Victor screamed back.
 And then, everything went down the drain. Ryland got up, his
towel falling on the living room floor, his cock pointing north. All the
anger, and hatred, and lust he was feeling took over, he pushed his
dad on the living room couch, and got on top of him, kissing him
with a flaming passion. His dad struggled for a couple of seconds,
and then he gave in, getting himself lost in his son's kiss.
 TWO

R yland and his dad made out , five weeks of built up sexual energy,
finally pouring out of both of them. Victor rolled over Ryland, while
the teenager grabbed his pajama bottoms and took them off,
revealing his old man's throbbing cock. They were both fighting for
control, rolling on the sofa, until they fell on the wooden living room
floor.
“Who's going to do who?” asked Ryland in between kisses,
breathing deeply and enjoying the masculine aroma of his father.
“Stop talking or I will change my mind,” breathed his dad, and
grabbed him by the buttocks. Ryland shut his mouth and gasped as
two of his dad's fingers found themselves into his asshole. Victor
started fingering his son mercilessly, while the teenager was
moaning loudly. His dad lowered his lips on his nipples and
continued fingering him. That assault on the senses made Ryland
want to cry out, but he bit his lip instead, his mind reeling because
the thing that he dreamed about for the last four weeks was finally
happening and he couldn't be happier. He wanted his dad to fill him
up completely, and he wanted to fill his dad up in return. He wanted
them to be one, and he wanted this all day, every day.
 Victor unglued his lips from his son's nipple and pulled out the
fingers from the tight asshole. He then lifted his son's legs, and
buried his face in between his butt-cheeks, tasting the teenager's
young and sweet flavor. Ryland gasped and moaned out. He didn't
usually like getting his ass eaten, but this was his dad and he
wanted everything that his dad had in mind of doing to him.
After Victor ate his son's ass for a good five minutes, he pushed
him against the sofa, holding his ass still upwards and exposed. His
son's torso was bent, and he was supporting himself on his neck,
and with his hands.
Victor got up on the sofa, spit one last time on his son's ass, and
placed his cock on the entrance. He shoved it in balls deep without
easing the teenager in. But, they were both so eager for each other,
it didn't really matter, and they both moaned in ecstasy. Victor
grabbed the table over his son and started doing push-ups, sliding
his nine-inch cock in and out of his son, like that was a normal thing
that they did in their house every day. The two worlds of Victor
Lucas finally collided, his everyday life, and his hidden passion for
men and man sex, and he was rejoicing this moment. He fucked his
son good, and he fucked his son hard. Ryland was squealing like a
little pig underneath him, but Victor knew that his son wanted this.
They both wanted it, and they both had to put an end to it, but now
he didn't want to think about it. It was all about the passion, and the
sex right now in that very moment.
Victor stopped, pulled his cock out of his son, and straightened
himself out. He was on the edge of cumming, but he didn't want to
do it like that. He grabbed the boy and pushed him over the bar that
was facing the kitchen. He pressed the boy's brown-haired head on
the cold surface of the bar, and he took him from behind, thrusting
mercilessly and with such force, that made Ryland cry, and cum so
hard like he never came before in his life. Seeing the excitement and
the ecstasy he put his son in, gave Victor the last edge he needed
and he blew his load inside of his boy's ass, burying his dick as far
up Ryland's ass as he could.
He collapsed on Ryland's back and they both breathed like they
just ran a marathon. Finally, Victor managed to catch his breath, he
pulled his cock out of his son's ass and grabbed his underwear and
pajama bottoms, and left the living room.
Ryland stayed like that for a couple of minutes, and finally, he
managed to straighten out his back and stand on his wobbly feet. He
looked at the mess that he made, splashing his semen on the
wooden bar, so he went to the kitchen, grabbed a wet paper towel
and wiped it off. He then picked up his towel, and he went to take
another shower. The sun was already coming up on the horizon that
he saw through the window.
As he walked to the bathroom, Ryland thought about what just
happened. His dad said that he couldn't stop thinking about him
either, but he had to live with it. That made Ryland happy and sad at
the same time. He enjoyed having sex with his uncle Tanner, but sex
with his own dad – it was different, it was special. Knowing that
you're getting plowed with the same tool that created you – there
was something dick-throbbing in that idea and Ryland got a
response from his own penis every time he thought of that. He felt
like it wasn't fair that he and his dad had to live this way. They
obviously enjoyed each other's company and they were so good at
sex together, it was unbelievable. Why were they going against it?
Ryland thought about asking his dad to leave his mom and going to
live somewhere far away with him, but he knew that Victor would
never agree to something like that. He was too noble, too respectful,
too good.
 But then, things like this morning's sex happened and Ryland
wasn't sure if he knew his dad. It seemed like his dad had a side
that he kept hidden from the rest of the world, and Ryland thought
that the only person who knew his real father was uncle Tanner, who
was a thousand miles away and Ryland didn't really want to have a
sensitive conversation like that through the phone. Victor Lucas
raped him this morning, but that just made it all more exciting for
the teenager. He wanted more of that dad, the one who didn't care
about anything or anyone, but just cared about getting pleasure for
himself and his eager cock.
Ryland entered the bathroom, and his dad was taking a shower
in it. The teenager didn't say anything, but he was glad that his dad
was there again. He knew that the toilet was clogged, but that was
no excuse for his dad to use his bathroom to shower. It wasn't over,
and Ryland could feel it – and his heart started beating excitedly in
his chest. He stopped himself before speaking, not wanting to break
the silence and the moment with something stupid. He got in the
shower with his dad, and they started kissing right away. This time it
is my turn, thought Ryland. I'm gonna fuck dad.
They kissed and grabbed each other's asses, their spent cocks
slowly, but surely getting bigger and bigger by the second, as the
blood rushed in them. Ryland grabbed the soap and turned his dad
around. Even though Victor was well in his forties, he had an
amazingly built body that he maintained three times a week at the
gym. Ryland soaped up his hands and rubbed them all over his dad's
back, and between his dad's butt-cheeks. The older man moaned as
the teenager placed the tip of his cock between the soapy buttocks.
Ryland pushed in and his cock gently and easily slid into his dad's
warm and tight asshole. It has been five weeks since Ryland fucked
him last.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The picnic
party
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The picnic party

A story for little folks

Author: Oliver Optic

Engraver: John Andrew

Release date: March 20, 2024 [eBook #73209]

Language: English

Original publication: Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1862

Credits: David Edwards, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PICNIC

PARTY ***
The Lame Girl.
RIVERDALE STORY BOOKS
THE PICNIC PARTY
Boston, Lee & Shepard.
 The Riverdale Books.

THE PICNIC PARTY.

A STORY FOR LITTLE FOLKS.

BY

OLIVER OPTIC,
AUTHOR OF “THE BOAT CLUB,” “ALL ABOARD,” “NOW OR
NEVER,” “TRY
AGAIN,” “POOR AND PROUD,” “LITTLE BY LITTLE,” &c.

BOSTON:
LEE AND SHEPARD,
(SUCCESSORS TO PHILLIPS, SAMPSON & CO.)
1871.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by

WILLIAM T. ADAMS.

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of

Massachusetts.

ELECTROTYPED AT THE
BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
 THE PICNIC PARTY.

I.
During the summer vacation, one year, Josephine and Edward Brown
spent a month with Flora Lee and her brother. The visitors were
distant relations, and lived in the city of New York.
Josephine was a pretty little girl, but she had a very bad habit which
made for her a great many enemies. It is a common fault, not only
among children, but among grown-up people, and which often
makes others dislike them.
My readers shall see this fault for themselves, as the story advances,
and I hope they will understand and avoid it.
Perhaps Josephine was not so much to blame as her parents for this
bad habit. I am sure she did not understand, and did not know, why
her companions soon took a dislike to her.
Josephine and Edward were very much pleased with the home of Mr.
Lee, and for several days they were as happy as the days were long.
They were not used to the country, and it seemed to them just as
though they should never be tired of running in the fields, and of
visiting the woods and the river.
One day, after they had been playing very hard in the orchard, the
children all went into the house to rest themselves. Josephine threw
herself upon the sofa in the sitting room, and said she was tired
almost to death.
Of course she did not mean so, and only intended to say that she
was very tired, though I think it likely that, if an excursion to the
woods or the river had been proposed, she would not have been too
tired to join the party.
“Won’t you please to bring me a glass of water, Flora?” said
Josephine, after she had rested a little while.
“To be sure I will,” replied Flora, rising, and getting the glass of
water for her friend.
“Thank you,” added Josephine, as she took the glass, and drank its
contents.
Flora, when she had given her the water, happened to think of
something in the entry which she wanted, and went for it.
“Won’t you please to take this tumbler, Frank?” said Josephine.
Frank did not make any reply, but rose from his seat, took the glass,
and put it upon the table.
“Thank you, Frank; I never was so tired in all my life.”
“Are you quite sure of that?”
“Quite sure.”
“I am sorry for it,” replied Frank, rather dryly.
“Why are you so sorry?”
“Edward and I are going fishing; and father said Flora might go with
us.”
“That will be nice,” exclaimed Josephine, jumping up from the sofa,
as fresh as though she had just got out of bed. “I will go too.”
“You?” said Frank, laughing.
“Why shouldn’t I go? You know I like to go to the river above all
things. Won’t we have a nice time!”
“We will, I think.”
“Don’t you mean to let me go? Come, now, I think you are real rude,
Frank,” pouted the young lady from New York.
“Let you go? I am sure I shall not prevent you from going.”
“What do you mean, then?”
“Didn’t you say just now that you were tired almost to death? that
you were never so tired in your life before?”
“I was; but I feel rested now.”
“You got over it very quick.”
“Are you going, Josey?” asked Flora, as she returned to the room.
“To be sure, I am.”
“Well, we are all ready. It is ten o’clock now, and father said John
might go with us at that time,” said Frank, moving towards the door.
“I am ready,” replied Flora, who had brought her rubbers in from the
entry.
“So am I,” said Josephine. “Dear me! my rubbers are up in my
chamber. Won’t you go up and get them for me, Flora?”
Flora went up stairs and got the rubbers for her, and Josephine
thanked her for her kindness. The boys were waiting in front of the
house with their fish poles on their shoulders, by this time, and, as
boys always are when they are going fishing, were very much in a
hurry.
“O, dear me!” exclaimed Josephine, when she had put on her
rubbers. “I left my sack in the orchard. Please to go and get it for
me, Flora, and I will make Frank wait for us till you return with it.”
“Yes, I will get it;” and she bounded away for the missing garment.
“We never shall get to the river at this rate,” said Edward, when his
sister had told him the cause of the new delay. “It all comes of
having girls go with us.”
“There is time enough, Master Edward,” added John, the young man
who worked in the garden and helped take care of the horses. “You
will be tired enough before dinner time.”
“Here comes Flora. She is a dear good girl. I am very much obliged
to you,” said Josephine, as she took the sack. “Now I will be ever so
much more obliged to you if you will go into the house and get me
one of those nice doughnuts, such as we had for supper last night. I
am almost starved.”
“I think you had better not go a-fishing then,” added Edward,
bluntly.
“Why not? Can’t I be hungry and go a-fishing?”
“We don’t want to wait all day for you.”
In a few minutes Flora joined them again; but the poor girl was
sweating, and out of breath, she had run so fast in supplying the
wants of her little New York friend.
“I believe we are all ready now,” said Josephine, as she took the
doughnut and began to nibble at it, just as a mouse nibbles at a
piece of cheese.
“If you are not, we will go without you,” replied Edward, whose
patience, as the reader has seen, was by no means proof against his
sister’s repeated delays.
“There! as true as I’m alive, there is one thing more. I have
forgotten my sunshade,” exclaimed Josephine.
“Never mind your sunshade. What do you want of a sunshade when
you are going a-fishing?” said Edward, as he moved down the path
towards the road.
“O, I can’t go without my sunshade. I should be as brown as an
Indian before we got back.”
“No matter if you are. Come along, or else stay at home, and not
bother us any longer.”
“Please, Flora, won’t you go up in my room and get it for me? I will
do as much for you any time. And we will walk along, and you can
overtake us before we have gone far. We will walk slowly.”
It is very likely that Flora thought her young friend was imposing
upon her; but without making any reply, she ran for the sunshade.
She had to look in quite a number of places before she found it, for
Josephine could not always tell where she had left her things; and
when Flora overtook the party, she was so weary and out of breath
that she did not enjoy the rest of the walk very much.
Do not my readers see by this time what Josephine’s fault was?
Josephine and Flora.
 II.
I do not know how many fish the boys caught, but I do know that
Flora almost wished she had staid at home, for when she got to the
river she was so tired she could hardly stand.
Flora could not help feeling that it was not kind of her friend to ask
so much of her. She was not her mistress, and was just as able to
wait upon herself as Flora was to wait upon her.
Yet she was patient and kind, and did not quarrel with her.
Josephine was always polite when she asked these favors, and
always thanked her when she had done them. Perhaps this made
the matter a little better, though I think her politeness was cunning
rather than kindness of heart.
I have another story to tell of Josephine and her friends, which will
still further illustrate her fault, and show how she was cured of it.
A few days after the fishing excursion, Flora’s mother said she might
have a picnic party in the woods on the other side of the river. To
add to the pleasure of the occasion, Mr. Lee had a tent put up in the
woods, and erected a swing for the children.
The boys and girls were delighted with the plan, and Flora and Frank
invited all the children in the neighborhood to join the party.
They were to start at nine o’clock, or as soon as the dew was off the
grass. The distance to the woods was about a mile, and the children
said they would much rather walk, though Mr. Lee offered to carry
them over in a large hay wagon.
There was one little girl who was too lame to walk this distance, and
Frank said he would draw her in his little wagon. To divide the load,
and add to the pleasure of all, he fastened a long rope to the pole of
the wagon, and all the boys, about fifteen in number, were to take
hold of the rope, just as men draw an engine.
At nine o’clock the happy party had collected in front of Mr. Lee’s
house, each one having a little basket of provisions which were to
furnish the noonday feast in the grove.
“Well, Josey, are you all ready?” asked Flora, very pleasantly, as the
clock struck nine.
“Yes, I think I am. Let me see. Dear me, no; I left my gloves up
stairs. Won’t you go up and get them for me, Flora?” replied
Josephine.
“Is there any thing else you will want?” asked Flora, for she could
not help thinking that her friend had made her run up and down
stairs half a dozen times on similar occasions.
“No, I guess not, Flora.”
But no sooner had Flora returned with the gloves, than Josephine
thought of something else. After a while, however, she got every
thing, and the party started for the woods.
The boys led the procession, drawing the wagon after them. Frank
and Edward had the pole, and they were very careful lest the little
lame girl should be upset and hurt.
The girls at once followed, and when they had gone a little way,
Flora thought it would be nice to sing one of their school songs. So
they went singing on their way, as happy as the larks in the
morning.
“What fine apples!” exclaimed Josephine, as the party were passing
Mr. Lee’s orchard.
“They are very fine looking apples, but they are not ripe,” replied
Katy Green, who was walking near her.
“I think they must be ripe. They look good, at any rate. Won’t you
be so kind as to get me one of them?”
“They will make you sick if you eat them,” said Katy.
“O, no, they won’t. If you will get me one, I will be very much
obliged to you.”
Even Katy Green, who was not very well acquainted with the New
York miss, could not resist this appeal, and she accordingly climbed
over the fence and got two or three of the apples which she found
on the ground.
As Katy had said, the apples were not fit to eat, and they were
thrown away. They had gone but a little farther before Josephine
saw some more apples, which looked very nice.
“I am sure those apples are ripe. See how red they are. I know they
are ripe,” said she.
“Those are Baldwin apples. They are not fit to eat till winter comes,”
replied Katy.
“I am sure they must be ripe. I have eaten just such apples as those
in New York in the summer. Will you be so kind as to get me one?”
“They are not ripe, I tell you,” answered Katy, impatiently. “I have
known the tree for ever so many years, and I know just as well as
any thing can be that they are not ripe.”
“But won’t you be kind enough to get me one of them?” persisted
Miss Josephine.
“If you want one you may get it yourself,” said Katy.
“How very rude you are!” replied Josephine.
“Rude?” sneered Katy. “Do you suppose I want to climb over that
fence for nothing?”
“It isn’t such a very dreadful thing to climb over that fence.”
“Then why don’t you do it yourself?”
“You are used to things of the kind, and I am not.”
“If you want green apples, that are of no use to any one, you had
better get used to climbing fences, for I shall not do it for you any
more.”
Josephine declared that this speech was very rude indeed; and
perhaps it was; but it was plain common sense. The little New York
lady was so angry that she left Katy, and went to walk with Jenny
Brown.
After the party had crossed the bridge, the boys took down the bars
by the side of the road, and they entered the woods. There was a
fine smooth road leading for several miles through the forest, and
the children enjoyed the walk very much.
Every few moments Josephine saw something which she wanted,
and instead of trying to get it herself, as she should have done, she
asked somebody to bring it for her.
In one place she saw some checkerberry plants growing; and, at her
request, Jenny picked her a handful of them. Then she wanted a
swamp pink, which Jenny also procured for her.
But Josephine’s wants were so many, that Jenny soon got tired of
supplying them; and she was obliged to ask some one else to wait
upon her.
One after another, her companions got tired of her, and either
refused to wait upon her, or left her. She would have called upon
Flora, but she walked by the side of the lame girl, and was busy
talking with her.
Josephine wanted but very few of the things which she asked others
to get for her. She had a habit of wanting all the time, and did not
seem to be easy unless some one was waiting upon her.
At home, her father had plenty of servants, and she did not realize
that her friends and companions had any thing to think of besides
her comfort. But even servants should be treated with kindness, and
children should not call upon them, or others, to do for them what
they can just as well do themselves.
In the Woods.
 III.
When the party reached the picnic ground, Josephine had more
wants than ever. She called upon this one to bring her a mug of
water, and upon that one to get her a doughnut; upon one to hold
her shawl while she arranged her dress, and another to take off her
rubbers.
If she had been a queen, and all the rest of the children her
servants, she could not have been more free in her use of them.
Before they had been in the woods a single hour, almost all her
companions disliked her greatly, and tried to avoid her.
She was selfish, and wanted to use the swing all the time. When she
had swung four times as long as any of the rest of the party, she
thought it was “very rude” of them when they said she must get out,
for they would not swing her another time.
After dinner, some of the girls said they were going to get some oak
leaves to make chaplets for their heads.
“Where are you going?” asked Josephine.
“O, into the woods, ever so far,” replied Jenny, who did not want her
to go with them.
“I will go, too,” said Josephine.
“It is as much as half a mile to the place,” added Jenny; “and I am
afraid you will get very tired.”
“I think I can stand it as well as the others.”
“We are used to running in the woods, and you are a city girl, you
know.”
“I want to go very much.”
“We don’t want you to go,” said Katy Green, bluntly.
“That’s very rude of you to say so,” replied Josephine. “I don’t see
why I shouldn’t go, if I wish.”
“You can go, if you will only wait upon yourself,” said Jenny.
“Wait upon myself? How very rude that is! I’m sure I’ve only asked
you to do one or two little favors for me, and you call that waiting
upon me.”
“Don’t be unkind to her, girls,” said Flora.
“She doesn’t call it waiting upon me when she does a little favor for
me. I am sure I am willing to do as much for you as you do for me.”
“Let her go with you, girls—won’t you?” said Flora.
For Flora’s sake they consented, though they did not like to have her
with them.
“But how shall we bring the leaves?” asked Jenny. “We shall want as
many as a bushel of them, for we must all go home with crowns on
our heads.”
“I’ll tell you what we can do,” added Katy. “We can take the little
wagon. That will hold a bushel.”
“So we can; and it will hold more than a bushel. Come along; we are
all ready.”
Katy and Jenny were the two girls who were going for the leaves,
and one of them took hold of each side of the pole of the wagon.
They started off at a brisk pace, Josephine following behind the
wagon.
“Pray, don’t go so fast; I can’t keep up with you if you do,” said the
New York miss.
“I can’t help it. You may go back if you can’t. We are in a hurry. We
shall not get our chaplets made till dark if we don’t make haste with
the leaves.”
Josephine was obliged to quicken her pace, or be left behind; but
she complained a great deal of the rudeness of the girls in walking
so fast.
After they had gone some distance, she saw some curious leaves,
and she wanted a few of them. She said, half a dozen times, she
wished she had some, and finally asked Katy if she wouldn’t be so
very kind as to get her a few of them.
“Yes, I’ll get them,” said Katy; and in a moment she had procured
some of the curious leaves and given them to Josephine.
“Thank you, thank you; I am very much obliged to you,” said she, as
she took the leaves.
“Yes; but I want something more than ‘thank you,’” replied Katy.
“Well, what do you want?” asked Josephine, not a little surprised at
the answer she had received.
“You said you were willing to do as much for us as we did for you.
Did you mean so?”
“Well, I suppose I did.”
“We will be fair with you—won’t we, Jenny?”
“To be sure we will.”
“Well, it is no more than fair that you should take turns with us in
drawing the wagon. So you may take hold of the pole, and make
yourself useful.”
“I can’t.”
“Won’t you be so very kind as to help draw the wagon?” said Katy,
imitating the polite tones of the New York miss.
“I can’t draw it. I am not strong enough to do such hard work.”
“You can try it, at least; and when you get tired I will take your
place.”
“I would rather not, if you please.”
“But I had much rather you would, if you please.”
“Really, I cannot.”
“But, really, you must.”
“I could not do such a thing as draw that wagon.”
“You must try; if you don’t, we will run away and leave you.”
Josephine thought this was more rude than any thing else they had
done; but there was no escape, and she took her place at the pole
of the wagon.
Before they had gone ten rods, she declared she could draw the
wagon no farther, if they killed her for refusing. Katy took her place
then, and pretty soon they left the road, and went into the thick
forest, to a place where there was plenty of oak leaves growing near
the ground.
When they reached the spot, Josephine sat down on a rock. Her
companions tried to make her help them pick the leaves; but she
said she was so tired she could not possibly do any thing.
In a very short time the body of the wagon was filled with leaves,
and the girls were ready to return to the picnic grounds.
“We are going, Josephine; are you ready?” asked Jenny.
“I can’t go yet. I am tired almost to death.”
“We told you you would be; but you would come,” said Katy.
“I didn’t think it was so far.”
“We told you how far it was. We have been here ever so many times
before, and know all about it. Come, quick.”
“I don’t feel able to walk back,” sighed Josephine.
“Don’t you, indeed?”
“I am sure I can’t.”
“What are you going to do—stay here all night?”
“Couldn’t you draw me back on the wagon? There is room enough
for me on top of the leaves.”
The girls made no reply; but both of them laughed as though
something very funny had happened.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Do you think we are going to drag a great girl like you back to the
grounds? I guess not,” replied Katy.
“I should think you might.”
“We don’t like you well enough to do that,” said Katy; and then both
of the girls laughed again.
“You needn’t laugh at me,” said Josephine, beginning to cry.
“O, you needn’t cry; we didn’t hurt you any. But come along, if you
are coming. We can’t wait here any longer.”
“I can’t walk back. You must draw me back in the wagon,” sobbed
Josephine.
“We shall do nothing of the kind.”
“Yes, you shall. If you don’t, I will tell Mr. Lee.”
“Do, if you like.”
“I will stay here, then, if you won’t drag me. What will you tell Flora
when she asks for me?”
“Tell her where you are, of course.”
Josephine did not believe they would go away and leave her there
alone. She thought they would return in a little while, and consent to
draw her in the wagon; so she let them go.
She sat on the rock and cried till she had got tired of crying, and
then finding her companions did not return, she got up and tried to
find her way to the road.
Josephine and the Partridge.
 IV.
Josephine was not used to the woods, and she did not know which
way to go to find the road. She had paid no heed to the path by
which she had reached the place where the leaves were obtained.
She had been so vexed and angry, because her companions would
not let her ride, that she had not even looked to see which way they
went when they left her.
She sat on a stump and cried till she was tired of crying, and till she
found it would not get her out of the woods. Then she got up, and
looked around her; but she could not tell in what direction the road
lay from her. She listened, and could hear no sound. It was plain
that Katy and Jenny had left her alone.
The solemn stillness of the forest awed her, and she was afraid to
stay there, with no human being near her. Once a cat-bird uttered a
terrible scream, and Josephine had nearly fainted with terror.
She thought it must be some awful monster to make such a hideous
noise, and as soon as she was able to do so, she ran away from the
spot as fast as her feet would carry her.
As she hastened through the bushes, and over the dry leaves, a
partridge, alarmed by her presence, rose from the ground, and flew
away, making a whirring noise with his wings that made Josephine
scream with terror.
The poor girl wandered about for two hours in the woods, till she
was so tired she could walk no longer. She thought of the Children in
the Woods, and others who had been left in the forest, and she was
afraid she should never see her friends again.