第3章

A HARD WORD.

"P-o po, p-o po, Popo, c-a-t cat, Popocat--Oh dear, what a hard word! Let me see, Po-po-cat-e-petl.I can never pronounce it, I am sure.I wish they would not have such hard names in geography," said George Gould, quite out of patience."Will you please tell me how to pronounce the name of this mountain, father?""Why, do you call that a hard word to pronounce, George? I know much harder words than that.""Well, father this is the hardest word I ever saw," replied George."I wish they had put the name into the volcano, and burned it up.""I know how to pronounce it," said Jane."It is Po-po' ca-ta'petl.""Po-po' ca-ta'petl," said George, stopping at each syllable."Well, it is not so very hard, after all; but I wish they would not have any long words, and then one could pronounce them easily enough.""I do not think so," said his father."Some of the hardest words I have ever seen are the shortest.I know one little word, with only two letters in it, that very few children, or men either, can always speak.""Oh, I suppose it is borne French or German word; isn't it, father?" "No: it is English; and you may think it strange, but it is just as hard topronounce in one language as another."

"Only two letters! What can it be?" cried both the children.

"The hardest word," replied their father, "I have ever met with in any language--and I have learned several--is a little word of two letters--N-o, no.""Now you are making fun of us!" cried the children: "that is one of the easiest words in the world." And, to prove that their father was mistaken, they both repeated, "N-o, no; n-o, no," a great many times.

"I am not joking in the least.I really think it is the hardest of all words.It may seem easy enough to you to-night, but perhaps you cannot pronounce it to-morrow.""I can always say it, I know I can;" said George with much confidence--"NO! Why, it is as easy to say it as to breathe.""Well, George, I hope you will always find it as easy to pronounce asyou think it is now, and that you will be able to speak it when you ought to."In the morning George went bravely to school, a little proud that he could pronounce so hard a word as "Popocatepetl." Not far frown the schoolhouse was a large pond of very deep water, where the boys used to skate and slide when it was frozen over.

Now, the night before, Jack Frost had been busy changing the surface of the pond into beautiful crystals of ice; and when the boys went to school in the morning they found the pond as smooth and clear as glass.The day was cold, and they thought that by noon the ice would be strong enough to skate upon.

As soon as school was dismissed the boys all ran to the pond,--some to try the ice, and others merely to see it.

"Come, George," said William Green; "now we shall have a glorious time sliding."George hesitated, and said he did not believe it was strong enough, for it had been frozen over only one night.