s, that an axe
was necessary to cut it up in some places. He was not the boy to hurt
himself with hard labor, and although he kept his shovel at work in a
leisurely way, he did not accomplish much, except the removal of a
little snow that had not got trodden down. Wearied at length with his
feeble and fruitless efforts, he returned into the house, saying to his
mother:

"There, I can't get the snow off the sidewalk, and it's of no use to
try. It's trodden down just as hard as ice. Besides, if I should
shovel it all off, there will be an avalanche from the top of the house
to-night, that will bury the sidewalk all up again. The snow is
sliding off the roofs, all around here;--have n't you heard it, mother?"

"Yes, I thought I heard it," replied Mrs. Preston; "but if you can't
get the snow off the sidewalk, you had better speak to your father
about it, when he comes home, and perhaps he will help you, or hire
somebody to do it for you. It must be got off as soon as possible, for
the police have notified us to attend to it."

In spite of this advice, Oscar neglected to speak to his father in
regard to the matter, and no one else happening to think of it, nothing
was said about it. The next morning, he chopped away upon the ice a
little while, but getting tired of it, he soon abandoned the job, and
went to play. When Mr. Preston came home to dinner, an unusual cloud
was on his brow; and as soon as Oscar came in, the cause was explained.

"Oscar," he said, "why did you not shovel the snow from the sidewalk,
as I told you to, yesterday morning?"

"I tried to," replied Oscar; "but it was trodden down so hard, I could
n't get it off."

"But you should have done it before it got hardened. I told you to
clear a passage-way, yesterday morning. That would have saved the rest
from getting trod down, and at noon you could have finished the job.
Why did you not do as I told you to?"

"I did begin to make a path," replied Oscar; "but I did n't have time
to finish it, and when I got home from school, the snow was all trodden
down hard."

"Did n't have time?" said his father; "what do you tell me such a story
as that for? You could have made all the path that was necessary in
fifteen or twenty minutes, if you had been disposed to do it. By
neglecting to obey me, you have got me into a pretty scrape. I have
had to go before the Police Court, this forenoon, and pay a fine and
costs, amounting to over five dollars, fo