noon
no idle bread must be eaten here ! '' And bravely did Johnny struggle not to mind the cold and pain , but it would not do ; he began to cry , when the master , who never thought of exercising anything but severity towards those who laboured for him , told him sternly that if he did not stop his bawling in a moment , he would send him home . This was enough for Johnny ; anything was better than to go back and be a burden on his mother ; he worked to the best of his ability until noon . At noon , he managed to get thoroughly warm , behind the stove , while eating his dinner . Still , the sufferings of the child , with his insufficient clothing , were very great ; but nobody seemed to think of the _ hired boy _ being an object of sympathy , and thus it continued . The rule seemed to be to get all that was possible out of him , and his little frame was so weary at night , that he had hardly time to feel rested , until called with the dawn to renew his labour . A monthly Sunday however , was the golden period looked forward to in his day-dreams , for it had been stipulated by his parent , that on Saturday evening every four weeks , he was to come home , and stay all the next day .