by Mark Twain
wouldn't unlock anything, a fragment of chalk,a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, sixfire-crackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass doorknob, adog-collar--but no dog--the handle of a knife, four pieces oforange-peel, and a dilapidated old window sash.
He had had a nice, good, idle time all the while--plenty of company--and the fence had three coats of whitewash on it! If he hadn't run outof whitewash he would have bankrupted every boy in the village.
Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. Hehad discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it--namely,that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is onlynecessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a greatand wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now havecomprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is OBLIGED to do,and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. Andthis would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowersor performing on a tread-mill is work, while rolling ten-pins orclimbing Mont Blanc is only amusement. There are wealthy gentlemen inEngland who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty mileson a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs themconsiderable money; but if they were offered wages for the service,that would turn it into work and then they would resign.
The boy mused awhile over the substantial change which had taken placein his worldly circumstances, and then wended toward headquarters toreport.