In return for this service, he was
comfortably lodged and fed, and for a time the clothes he had were
sufficient. He was in the habit of saving any scraps of printed paper
which fell in his way, and by means of these he somewhat improved in
his reading; for while the cow was munching away, little Billy had
ample time for his studies, without neglecting her either, for he
made a point of looking out for the sweetest grass, and leading her
to it.
By his care and attention, he gave such satisfaction to his employer,
that by the time his clothes were worn out, he was allowed wages
sufficient to replenish them; and his good-behaviour gave such
confidence and respectability to his family, that a neighbouring
farmer engaged one of his younger brothers in a capacity similar to
his own. One day this farmer gave Billy a newly-laid goose's egg,
thinking it might make him a good meal, and be something of a dainty,
and as a sort of return for an act of good-nature and watchfulness on
Billy's part, he having noticed that a certain gate leading to the
kitchen-garden had been left open, took the precaution to close it,
thereby preventing the incursion of a greedy sow and her interesting
family, which would undoubtedly have played the part of the Goths in
that flourishing spot.
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