



Produced by David Widger.  HTML version by Al Haines









                        THE SNOW-IMAGE

                             AND

                     OTHER TWICE-TOLD TALES



                      LITTLE DAFFYDOWNDILLY

                              By

                      Nathaniel Hawthorne


Daffydowndilly was so called because in his nature he resembled a flower,
and loved to do only what was beautiful and agreeable, and took no
delight in labor of any kind.  But, while Daffydowndilly was yet a little
boy, his mother sent him away from his pleasant home, and put him under
the care of a very strict schoolmaster, who went by the name of Mr. Toil.
Those who knew him best affirmed that this Mr. Toil was a very worthy
character; and that he had done more good, both to children and grown
people, than anybody else in the world.  Certainly he had lived long
enough to do a great deal of good; for, if all stories be true, he had
dwelt upon earth ever since Adam was driven from the garden of Eden.

Nevertheless, Mr. Toil had a severe and ugly countenance, especially for
such little boys or big men as were inclined to be idle; his voice, too,
was harsh; and all his ways and customs seemed very disagreeable to our
friend Daffydowndilly.  The whole day long, this terrible old
schoolmaster sat at his desk overlooking the scholars, or stalked about
the school-room with a certain awful birch rod in his hand.  Now came a
rap over the shoulders of a boy whom Mr. Toil had caught at play; now he
punished a whole class who were behindhand with their lessons; and, in
short, unless a lad chose to attend quietly and constantly to his book,
he had no chance of enjoying a quiet moment in the school-room of Mr.
Toil.

"This will never do for me," thought Daffydowndilly.

Now, the whole of Daffydowndilly's life had hitherto been passed with his
dear mother, who had a much sweeter face than old Mr. Toil, and who had
always been very indulgent to her little boy.  No wonder, therefore, that
poor Daffydowndilly found it a woful change, to be sent away from the
good lady's side, and put under the care of this ugly-visaged
schoolmaster, who never gave him any apples or cakes, and seemed to think
that little boys were created only to get lessons.

"I can't bear it any longer," said Daffydowndilly to himself, when he had
been at school about a week.  "I'll run away, and try to find my dear
mother; and, at any rate, I shall never find anybody half so disagreeable
as this old Mr. Toil!"

So, the very next morning, off started poor Daffydowndilly, and began his
rambles about the world, with only some bread and cheese for his
breakfast, and very little pocket-money to pay his expenses.  But he had
gone only a short distance, when he overtook a man of grave and sedate
appearance, who was trudging at a moderate pace along the road.

"Good morning, my fine lad," said the stranger; and his voice seemed hard
and severe, but yet had a sort of kindness in it; "whence do you come so
early, and whither are you going?"

Little Daffydowndilly was a boy of very ingenuous disposition, and had
never been known to tell a lie in all his life.  Nor did he tell one now.
He hesitated a moment or two, but finally confessed that he had run away
from school, on account of his great dislike to Mr. Toil; and that he
was resolved to find some place in the world where he should never see or
hear of the old schoolmaster again.

"O, very well, my little friend!" answered the stranger.  "Then we will
go together; for I, likewise, have had a good deal to do with Mr. Toil,
and should be glad to find some place where he was never heard of."

Our friend Daffydowndilly would have been better pleased with a companion
of his own age, with whom he might have gathered flowers along the
roadside, or have chased butterflies, or have done many other things to
make the journey pleasant.  But he had wisdom enough to understand that
he should get along through the world much easier by having a man of
experience to show him the way.  So he accepted the stranger's proposal,
and they walked on very sociably together.

They had not gone far, when the road passed by a field where some
haymakers were at work, mowing down the tall grass, and spreading it out
in the sun to dry.  Daffydowndilly was delighted with the sweet smell of
the new-mown grass, and thought how much pleasanter it must be to make
hay in the sunshine, under the blue sky, and with the birds singing
sweetly in the neighboring trees and bushes, than to be shut up in a
dismal school-room, learning lessons all day long, and continually
scolded by old Mr. Toil.  But, in the midst of these thoughts, while he
was stopping to peep over the stone wall, he started back and caught hold
of his companion's hand.

"Quick, quick!" cried he.  "Let us run away, or he will catch us!"

"Who will catch us?" asked the stranger.

"Mr. Toil, the old schoolmaster!" answered Daffydowndilly.  "Don't you
see him amongst the haymakers?"

And Daffydowndilly pointed to an elderly man, who seemed to be the owner
of the field, and the employer of the men at work there.  He had stripped
off his coat and waistcoat, and was busily at work in his shirt-sleeves.
The drops of sweat stood upon his brow; but he gave himself not a
moment's rest, and kept crying out to the haymakers to make hay while the
sun shone.  Now, strange to say, the figure and features of this old
farmer were precisely the same as those of old Mr. Toil, who, at that
very moment, must have been just entering his school-room.

"Don't be afraid," said the stranger.  "This is not Mr. Toil the
schoolmaster, but a brother of his, who was bred a farmer; and people say
he is the most disagreeable man of the two.  However, he won't trouble
you, unless you become a laborer on the farm."

Little Daffydowndilly believed what his companion said, but was very
glad, nevertheless, when they were out of sight of the old farmer, who
bore such a singular resemblance to Mr. Toil.  The two travellers had
gone but little farther, when they came to a spot where some carpenters
were erecting a house.  Daffydowndilly begged his companion to stop a
moment; for it was a very pretty sight to see how neatly the carpenters
