The great room was , as its name indicated , quite large , occupying a considerable portion of the lower floor of the farmer 's house . There was a very spacious fireplace in one side , with a settle , which was a long seat , with a very high back , near it . The room was used both for kitchen and parlor , and there was a great variety of furniture in different parts of it . There were chairs and tables , a bookcase with a desk below , a loom in one corner by a window , and a spinning - wheel near it . Then , there were a great many doors . One led out into the back yard , one up stairs , one into a back room , - - which was used for coarse work , and which was generally called the kitchen , - - and one into a large store closet adjoining the great room . Jonas groped his way down stairs ; but as soon as he opened the great room door , he found the room filled with a flickering light , which came from the fireplace . There was a log there , which had been buried in the ashes the night before . It had burned slowly , through the night , and the fire had broken out at one end , which now glowed like a furnace , and illuminated the whole room with a faint red light . Jonas went up towards the fire . The hearth was very large , and formed of great , flat stones . On one side of it was a large heap of wood , which Jonas had prepared the night before , to be ready for his fire . On the other side was a black cat asleep , with her chin upon her paws . When the cat heard Jonas coming , she rose up , stretched out her fore paws , and then began to purr , rubbing her cheeks against the bottom of the settle . Jonas took a pair of heavy iron tongs , which stood by the side of the fire , and pulled forward the log . He found that it had burned through , and by three or four strokes with the tongs , he broke it up into large fragments of coal , of a dark - reddish color . The air being thus admitted , they soon began to brighten and crackle , until , in a few minutes , there was before him a large heap of glowing and burning coals . He put a log on behind , then placed the andirons up to the log , and a great forestick upon the andirons . He placed the forestick so far out as to leave a considerable space between it and the backlog , and then he put the coals up into this space , - - having first put in a slender stick , resting upon the andirons , to keep the coals from falling through . He then placed on a great deal more wood , and he soon had a roaring fire , which crackled loud , and blazed up into the chimney . " Yes , " said Oliver , " he is going to build a great barn next summer . But I 'm going up into the woods with Jonas , to haul wood . There 's plenty of snow . " They found the snow pretty deep , all over the yard , but they waded through it to the barn . They had to go through a gate , which led them into the barn - yard . From the barn - yard they entered the barn itself , by a small door near one corner . There were two great doors in the middle of the barn , made so large that , when they were opened , there was space enough for a large load of hay to go in . Opposite these doors there was a space floored over with plank , pretty wide , and extending through the barn to the back side . This was called the barn floor . On one side was a place divided off for stables for the horses , and on the other side was the _ tie - up _ , a place for the oxen and cows . There was also the bay , and the lofts for hay and grain ; and at the end of the tie - up there was a door leading into a calf - pen , and thence , by a passage behind the calf - pen , to a work - shop and shed . The small door where the boys came in , led to a long and narrow passage , between the tie - up and the bay . " I 'll tell you some other time , " said Jonas . " But don 't stay up here . You don 't obey so well as Oliver . Go down and give the old General some hay . " In the mean time , Oliver opened the great barn doors , and , taking a shovel , he began to clear away the snow from before them . The sky in the east was by this time beginning to be quite bright ; and a considerable degree of light from the sky , and from the new - fallen snow , came into the barn . Josey got a shovel , and went out to help Oliver . After they had shoveled away the snow from the great barn doors , they went to the house , and began to clear the steps before the doors , and to make paths in the yards . They worked in this way for half an hour , and then , just as the sun began first to show its bright , glittering rays above the horizon , they went into the house . They found that the great fire which Jonas had built , was burnt half down ; the breakfast - table was set , and the breakfast itself was nearly ready . Oliver said nothing , but obeyed his mother 's direction . He went into the barn - yard , and he found Amos and Jonas at work in a shed beyond , getting down a sled which had been stowed away there during the summer . It was a large and heavy sled , and had a tongue extending forward to draw it by . There was another smaller and lighter sled , which had been upon the top of the heavy one , before Amos and Jonas had taken it off . This smaller sled had two shafts to draw it by , instead of a tongue . Jonas knew by this , that it was intended to be drawn by a horse , while the one with a tongue was meant for oxen . So saying , the boys walked along towards the house . The sun was now shining beautifully upon the fresh snow , making it sparkle in every direction , all around . They walked in by the path which Oliver and Josey had shoveled . When they got to the door , Jonas stopped a moment to look around . The fields were white in every direction , and the branches of the trees near the house were loaded with the snow . The air was keen and frosty , and the breaths of the boys were visible by the vapor which was condensed by the cold . The pond was one great level field of dazzling white . All was silent - - nothing was seen of life or motion , except that Darco , who came out when the door was opened , looked around astonished , took a few cautious steps along the path , and then , finding the snow too deep and cold , went back again to take her place once more by the fire . About an hour after breakfast , Jonas with the oxen , and Oliver and Josey with the horse , were slowly moving along up the road which led back from the pond towards the wood lot . The wood lot was a portion of the forest , which had been reserved , to furnish a supply of wood for the winter fires . The road followed for some distance the bank of the brook , which emptied into the pond at the place where Jonas and Oliver had cleared land , when Jonas first came to live on this farm . It was a very pleasant road . The brook was visible here and there through the bushes and trees on one side of it . These bushes and trees were of course bare of leaves , excepting the evergreens , and they were loaded down with the snow . Some were bent over so that the tops nearly touched the ground . The brook itself , too , was almost buried and concealed in the snow . In the still places , it had frozen over ; and so the snow had been supported by the ice , and thus it concealed both ice and water . At the little cascades and waterfalls , however , which occurred here and there , the water had not frozen . Water does not freeze easily where it runs with great velocity . At these places , therefore , the boys could see the water , and hear it bubbling and gurgling as it fell , and disappeared under the ice which had formed below . At last , they came to the wood lot . The wood which they were going to haul had been cut before , and it had been piled up in long piles , extending here and there under the trees which had been left . These piles were now , however , partly covered with the snow , which lay light and unsullied all over the surface of the ground . The sticks of wood in these piles were of different sizes , though they were all of the same length . Some had been cut from the tops of the trees , or from the branches , and were , consequently , small in diameter ; others were from the trunks , which would , of course , make large logs . These logs had , however , been split into quarters by a beetle and wedges , when the wood had been prepared , so that there were very few sticks or logs so large , but that Jonas could pretty easily get them on to the sled . The log was covered with smaller wood , so that Josey could only get hold of the end of it . He clasped his hands together under this end , and began to lift it up , endeavoring to get it free from the other wood . He succeeded in raising it a little , but it soon got wedged in again , worse than before . " Yes , " said Jonas . " Power and responsibility always go together ; - - or at least they ought to . But come , boys , be helping me load , while we are settling this difficulty , so as not to lose our time . " " At least , " replied Jonas , " one must take the lead , and the other follow , in order to work to advantage . There must be subordination . For you see that , in all sorts of work , there are a great many little questions coming up , which are of no great consequence , only they ought to be decided , one way or the other , quick , or else the work won 't go on . You act , in your work , like Jack and Jerry , when they ran against the horse - block . " " They were drawing the wagon along to harness the horse in , and the horse - block was in the way ; so they both got hold of the shafts , and Jack wanted to pull it around towards the right , while Jerry said it would be better to have it go to the left . So they pulled , one one way , and the other the other , and thus they got it up chock against the horse - block , one shaft on each side . Here they stood pulling in opposition for some time , and all the while their father was waiting for them to turn the wagon , and harness the horse . " " So , " continued Jonas , " if a carpenter were to send two of his men into the woods to cut down a tree for timber , without saying which of them should have the direction , - - then the oldest or most experienced , or the one who had been the longest in the carpenter 's employ , would take the direction . He would say , ' Let us go out this way , ' and the other would assent ; or , ' I think we had better take this tree , ' and the other would say , perhaps , ' Here 's one over here which looks rather straighter ; won 't you come and look at this ? ' But they would not dispute about it . One would leave it to the other to decide . " " Why , if there was no reason , whatever , why one should take the lead , rather than the other , then they would not either of them be tenacious of their opinion . If one proposed to do a thing , the other would comply without making any objection , unless he had a very decided objection indeed . So they would get along peaceably . The boys accordingly went back , and finished loading up the old General . Oliver took the direction , and Josey obeyed very well . Now and then he would forget for a moment , and begin to argue ; but Josey would submit pretty readily , for he was very desirous that Jonas would let him command next time ; and he thought that he would not allow him to command until he had learned to obey . They had the two sleds loaded nearly at the same time , and then went down . When they were going back after the second load , they all got on to Jonas 's sled , which was forward , to ride , leaving the old General to follow with his sled . He was so well trained that he walked along very steadily . Oliver fastened the reins to one of the stakes , so that they should not get down under the horse 's feet . The boys all got together upon the forward sled , in order that they might talk with one another as they were going back to the woods . " Yes , and about commanding too , " said Jonas . " It requires rather more skill to know how to command , than how to obey ; to know how to direct work , than to know how to execute it . A good director , in the first place , takes care to plan wisely , and he feels a responsibility about the work , and a desire to have it go on to good advantage . If some men build a way , and , after it is finished , it tumbles down , the man who had charge of the work would feel more concerned about it than any of the others , because the chief responsibility comes upon him . So with your work , - - if you have the command , and you and Oliver idle away the time , and when my sled is loaded , yours has but little wood in it , you would be more to blame than Oliver . " " Why , they would say , for example , ' Get out of the way , John , quick . ' Whereas , it would be better to say , ' John , you are in the way , where we want to come along . ' Some men give their directions with great noise and vociferation , and others give them quietly and gently . " While talking thus , the oxen continued slowly advancing along the road . Their previous trip had broken out the road , but the pathway was filled with loose snow of a pure and spotless white , through which the great sled runners , following the oxen , ploughed their way . On each side of the track which they had made , the surface was smooth and unbroken , excepting under some of the trees , where masses of snow had fallen down from above . They saw , at length , as they were passing along by the brook , a little track , like a double dotting , running along , in a winding way , under the trees , - - then crossing the road , and disappearing under the trees upon the other side . " He went up , " said Jonas , " the same way that we are going . It may be a dog which has lost his master . Perhaps we shall find him up by our wood piles . " Jonas was right , for , when the boys arrived at the wood piles , they found there , waiting for them , a large black dog . He stood near one end of a wood pile , with his fore feet upon a log , by which his head and shoulders were raised , so that he could see better who was coming . He was of handsome form , and he had an intelligent and good - natured expression of countenance . He was looking very intently at the party coming up , to see whether his master was among them . So Josey took his bread and butter out of his pocket . There were two small slices put together , and folded up in a piece of paper . Jonas took a piece , and walked slowly towards the dog . After this , he seemed to be quite at ease with his new friends . He staid about there with the boys until the sleds were loaded , and then he went down home with them . There they fed him again with a large bone . Jonas said that he was undoubtedly a dog that had lost his master , and had been wandering about to find him , until he became very hungry . So he said they would leave him in the yard to gnaw his bone , and that then he would probably go away . Josey wanted to shut him up and keep him , but Jonas said it would be wrong . Franco followed the boys all that forenoon , as they went back and forth for their wood . At dinner , they did not say any thing about him to the farmer , because they supposed that he would go away , when they came in and left him , and that they should see no more of him in the afternoon . But when Jonas went out , after dinner , to get the old General , to harness him for work again , he found Franco lying snugly in the General 's stall , under the crib . At night , therefore , he told the farmer about him . The farmer said that he was some dog that had strayed away from his master ; and he told Jonas to go out after supper and drive him away . Josey begged his uncle to keep him , but his aunt said she would not have a dog about the house . She said it would cost as much to keep him as to keep a sheep , and that , instead of bringing them a good fleece , a dog was good for nothing , but to track your floors in wet weather , and keep you awake all night with his howling . After supper , Jonas went out , according to orders , to drive Franco away . It was a raw , windy night , but not very cold . Franco was in a little shed where there was a well , near the back door . He was lying down , but he got up and came to Jonas when he saw him appear at the door . Jonas walked out into the road , Franco after him . He walked along until he had got to some distance from the house , Franco keeping up with him all the way , sometimes on one side of the road , and sometimes on the other . At length , when Jonas thought that he had gone far enough , he stopped . Franco stopped too , and looked up at Jonas . " Now , Franco , I 've got to send you away . It 's a hard case , Franco , but you and I must both submit to orders . So go off , Franco , as fast as you can . " " It 's a hard case , Franco , I acknowledge . If I had a barn of my own , I 'd let you sleep in a corner of it ; but I must obey orders . You must go and find your master . " So saying , Jonas turned round and walked slowly home . Just before he turned to go into the house , he looked back , to see what had become of the dog . He was standing motionless in the place where Jonas had left him . That night , just before bed - time , he went to the front door , and looked out into the road , and all around , to see if he could see any thing of Franco . It was rather dark and windy , - - though he could see the moon shining dimly through the broken clouds , which were driving across the sky . The roads looked black , as they do about the commencement of a thaw . Presently the moon shone out full through the interstices of the clouds . Jonas took advantage of the opportunity to look all up and down the road ; but Franco was nowhere to be seen . The farmer 's wife walked out in front of the house into the wind , calling Franco to follow . She then attempted to drive him along the road , much as Jonas had done . She brandished her stick at him , and , when she had succeeded in getting him as far from her as she could , by stern and threatening language , in order to drive him farther , she threw the stick at him with all her force . Franco jumped out of its way . The stick rolled along the road before him . He sprang forward to it , seized it in his mouth , and came trotting back to the farmer 's wife , and laid it down at her feet ; and then , standing back a few steps , he looked up into her face , with a very earnest expression of countenance , which seemed to say , - - This very act of Franco 's embarrassed the woman considerably . She could not bear to take up the very stick , which Franco had himself brought to her , and throw it at him again ; and , on the other hand , she could not bear to give up , and let Franco remain . She , however , picked up the stick , and brandished it again towards Franco , and , stamping with her foot at him , she said , - - What the result of this contest would have been , it is very difficult to say , had it not been that it was soon decided by the occurrence of a singular incident ; for , as the farmer 's wife nodded her head , and stamped at the dog , the jar or the motion seemed to give the wind a momentary advantage over her bonnet , which , in her haste , she had not tied on very securely . A strong gust carried it clear from her head , and blew it away over Franco , upon the snow by the side of the road beyond . Franco , who was all ready for a spring , bounded after it , and pursued it at full speed . The snow was nearly level with the top of the stone walls , and the wind carrying it diagonally from the road , it rolled over the little ridge of stones which remained above the drifts , and then swept across the field , down a long descent , like a feather before the gale . The good woman took up her bonnet , and threw her stick away , and , turning around , walked back to the house . The farmer , who had been looking out at the window , was laughing heartily . She herself smiled as she returned to her work , saying , - - About the middle of the winter , the farmer went to market with his produce . The vehicle on which he carried it was a kind of box upon runners , with a pole in front , to which two horses were fastened . He was gone three days . When he came back , he said that he had bargained for another load of his produce , at the market town , and that he was going to send Jonas with it . Jonas was very glad when he heard this . He liked to take journeys . It was quite cold that afternoon , and it seemed to be growing colder and colder . Jonas got the box sleigh ready under a shed , first shoveling in some snow under the runners , in order that the horses might draw the sled out easily , when it was loaded . He put in the various articles of produce , which were contained in bags , and firkins , and boxes . Over these he spread blankets and buffalo - skins , and put in a bag of oats for his horses , and a box of bread and cheese for himself . He did not know whether Franco was to go with him , or not ; but he arranged the bags in such a way , that he could easily make a warm nest for him in one corner , if the farmer should allow him to go . The horses trotted along at good speed , and soon brought Jonas and his load to the village at the mill . The street was vacant , and the houses dark , excepting that a faint light shone behind a curtain in one chamber window . Jonas supposed that somebody was sick there . Even the mill was silent , and the gate shut down ; and , instead of the ordinary roar of the water under the wheel , only a hissing sound was heard , where the imprisoned water spouted through the crevices of the flume . Vast stalactites of ice extended continuously along the whole face of the dam , like a frozen waterfall , behind which the water percolated curiously down into the foaming abyss , at the bottom of the fall . Jonas thought that all this , seen by starlight , looked very cold . The horses trotted across the bridge with a loud sound , which reverberated far and wide in the still night . He ascended the hill beyond , and drove on . His woollen comforter , tied about his neck , became frosted over from his breath ; and the breasts , and mane , and sides , of the horses were gradually sprinkled with white , in the same way . They were both black horses , - - the General having been left at home . They trotted down the hills and along the level portions of the road , and wheeled around the curves , with great speed . Jonas found that he had no occasion for his whip , and so he put it away behind him , under the buffaloes . He went on in this way , without any special adventure , for a couple of hours , and then began to see a gray light appearing in the eastern sky . About the same time , the windows of the farm - houses , which he passed on the road , began to be illuminated by the fires , which they were kindling within . Now and then , he could see a man hurrying out to a barn , to feed the cattle . Jonas thought that they ought to be up earlier . The sun rose soon after , and the fields on every side sparkled by the reflection of his rays , from the crystalline surface of the snow . Tall columns of dense white smoke ascended from the chimneys , some erect , others leaning a little , some one way , some another . In a word , it was a cold , still , winter morning . At length , as Jonas was walking his horses up a long hill , he heard light footsteps behind him . He turned round to see what was coming , and , to his utter astonishment , he saw Franco , coming up , upon the full run , and close behind the sleigh . He came to the side of it , and looked up , with every appearance of exultation and joy . He stopped his horses , and Franco leaped up before him . His ears , and the glossy black hair which curled under his neck and upon his sides , were tipped with frost . Jonas patted him upon his head , saying , - - Jonas was very much surprised , for , as he had no permission to take Franco , he had concluded that it was his duty not to take him ; and when he found that he was inclined to come with him , at the time that he was harnessing the horses , he conducted him back into the barn , and , to make it secure , he fastened up the place where he had got in , the first night that he lodged there . He knew that the barn would be opened when Amos came out in the morning , to take care of the old General and the oxen , but said he to himself , " I shall by that time be ten miles off , and it will be too late for him to follow or find me . " Jonas was therefore very much surprised , when he found that Franco had contrived to make his escape , and to track his master so many miles . Jonas drove on very prosperously , until it was about time for him to stop and give his horses some breakfast . As for himself , he ate his breakfast from his box , when they were coming up a long hill . He accordingly stopped at a tavern , and took his horses out of their harness , and rubbed them down well , and gave them a good drink of water , and plenty of oats , which he bought of the tavern - keeper . He kept the oats in his bag to use in the town . By the time that he stopped , he was comfortably warm , for he had taken some exercise walking up the hills . Franco always got out when Jonas did , at the bottom of the hills , and then got in again at the top . He remained in the sleigh , however , at the tavern , keeping guard , while Jonas went into the house ; and he would growl a little if any body came near the sleigh , and thus warn them not to touch any thing that was in it . While the horses were eating , Jonas went into the tavern , and sat down by the kitchen fire . The fire was very large , and many persons were busy getting breakfast . Jonas wished that he was going to have a cup of the coffee that they were making ; but he thought it better that he should content himself with what the farmer had provided for him . There was a young woman in the back part of the room , at a window , sewing . She asked Jonas how far he had come that morning , and he told her . Then she said that he must have set out very early ; and she said that he had a pair of very handsome black horses . She had seen them as Jonas passed the window . " Doesn 't it ? I 'm sorry , but I can 't help you now , very well , " replied aunt Lucia . " I am very busy with my sewing . " The girl handed her book to him , and showed him the sum in it . She also let him see the work upon her slate . Jonas looked it over very carefully , and then said , - - And Jonas pointed out the mistake to her , and she corrected it , and then the answer was right . She then went and put away her slate and book , with an appearance of great satisfaction . As she passed by the window , aunt Lucia whispered to her , to say , - - " Well , " said the little girl , " I will . " So she went to a cupboard at the side of the room , and took down a tin mug . She poured out some coffee from a coffee - pot , and put in some milk and sugar , and then brought it to Jonas , and asked him if he wouldn 't like a little coffee . Jonas thanked her , and took the coffee ; and he liked it very much . After this , Jonas harnessed his horses again , and went on . He traveled until nearly noon , and then he arrived at the town where he was to leave his load . He had a letter to a merchant , who had bought the produce of the farmer , and , in a very short time , his load was taken out , and the other articles put in , which he was to carry back in exchange . He had some money given him by the merchant , in part payment for his load of produce . It was in bank - notes , and he put it into his waistcoat pocket , and pinned it in . Then he set out on his return . His load was light , the road was smooth , and his horses , though they had traveled fast , had been driven carefully , and they carried him rapidly over the ground . It was the middle of the afternoon , however , before he set out , and the days were then so short , that the sun soon began to go down . He had to ride quite into the evening , before he reached the place where he was to stop for the night . He put up his horses , and then went into the house . He called for some supper , for his own provisions had long since been exhausted . After supper , he carried out something for Franco , whom he had left in the sleigh in the barn , lying upon a good warm buffalo , to watch the property . Jonas went back into the tavern , and took his seat by the fire . There was a table before the fire , with a lamp upon it ; and there were one or two books and an old newspaper lying upon another table , in the back part of the room . Jonas looked at the books , but they were not interesting to read . One was a dictionary . He read the newspaper for some time , and then he took the lamp up , and began to look at some pictures of the prodigal son , which were hung up upon the wall over the mantel - piece . Beyond the pictures were some advertisements . One was for a farm for sale . Jonas read the description , and he wished that he was old enough to buy a farm , and then he would go and look at that . The next advertisement was about some machinery , which a man had invented ; and the next was headed , in large letters , _ Dog Lost . _ This caught Jonas 's attention immediately . It was in writing , and he could not read it very easily , it was so high . So he got a chair , and stood up in it , and read as follows : - - When he reached Walton Plain , he inquired whether Mr . James Edwards lived in the village . They told him that he lived about half a mile out of the village . They said it was a handsome white house , under the trees , back from the road , with a portico over the door . Jonas rode on , observing all the houses as he passed ; and he at once recognized the one which had been described to him . He stopped before the great gate , and fastened his horses to a post . He then walked along a road - way , which led in by the end of the house , and presently came to a door , where he stopped and knocked . A girl came and opened the door . Jonas stepped into an entry , which was carpeted , and which had a large map , hanging against the wall . The girl opened a door into a little room , which looked somewhat like Mr . Holiday 's study . There was a great deal of handsome furniture in it , and book - shelves around the walls . A large table was in the middle of the room , covered with books and papers . At this remark , the girl looked around towards the fire , and Jonas involuntarily turned his eyes in the same direction . He saw there a large dog , very much like Franco in form and size , lying upon the carpet . He was as handsome as Franco . Jonas was surprised to see him . The girl , too , looked surprised . She , however , said nothing , but went out , and shut the door . In a few minutes , the door opened , and an elderly gentleman , with grayish hair , and a mild and pleasant expression of countenance , came in . He nodded to Jonas as he entered , and Jonas rose to receive him . The gentleman then took a seat by the fire , and asked Jonas to sit down again . Jonas then told the whole story of the dog 's coming to them , and of their attempt to drive him away ; and also of his seeing the advertisement in the tavern . Mr . Edwards asked him a great many questions , such as what his name was , where he lived , and how long he had lived there , and how he happened to be journeying now . At last he said , - - " I think it very probable that it is my dog . I lost one of that description six or eight months ago , and advertised him ; but I couldn 't hear any thing of him , and so I got another as much like him as I could . It is probable yours is the same dog ; but I don 't know that there is any particular proof of it . You haven 't called him Ney , have you ? " So Mr . Edwards put on his hat , and stepped to the door . The dog was standing up in the sleigh , and looking wildly around . When he saw Mr . Edwards , he seemed more excited still . Ney slipped in through the door , and turned immediately into the little room , as if he was perfectly familiar with the localities . Jonas and Mr . Edwards followed . They shut the door , and took their seats again . Ney ran around the room , and examined every thing . He looked at the strange dog lying so comfortably in his old place upon the warm carpet , and then came and gazed up eagerly into his old master 's face a moment . He came to Jonas , and wagged his tail , and then he went to the door and whined , as if he wanted to go out . Jonas opened the door , and the dog ran out into the entry , and then made the same signs to have the outer door opened . Jonas opened it , and let him out . Jonas stepped out himself a moment , to see what he would do , and presently returned again to the room where he had left Mr . Edwards . " I hardly know what to say about this dog , " he continued , at length . " You did very right to come and let me know about him . I am afraid that some boys would have kept him , without saying any thing about it . I am glad that you were honest . I valued the dog very much , and would have given a large sum to have recovered him , when he was first lost . But I have got another now , and don 't really need two . Should you be disposed to buy him ? " Jonas had a dollar of his own . Mr . Holiday had given it to him when he left his house , thinking it probable that he would want to buy something for himself . Jonas had taken this money with him when he left the farmer 's , intending to expend a part of it in the market town ; but he did not see any thing that he really wanted , and so the money was in his pocket now . " Well , " replied Mr . Edwards , " I will not . So you may take him , and keep him till I send for him , - - that is , provided he will go with you of his own accord . I can 't drive him away from his old home . " Jonas thanked Mr . Edwards , and rose to go . Mr . Edwards took his hat , and followed him to the door , to see whether the dog would go willingly . When he was upon the step , he called him . Franco , hearing these words , and seeing that Jonas was actually going , seemed to come to a final decision . He leaped off the steps , and bounded down the road , through the gate , and jumped up into Jonas 's sleigh . Mr . Edwards continued to call him , but he paid no attention to it . He curled down before Jonas a moment , then he raised himself up a little , so as to look back towards the house ; but he showed no disposition to get out again . Jonas put his hand upon his head , and patted it gently as he drove away ; and , when he found that Franco was really going with him , he turned his head back , and said , with a look of great satisfaction , - - " You 're a good dog , Franco , " he continued , patting his head , " to come with me , - - very good dog , Franco , to choose the coarse hay for a bed under the old General 's crib , rather than that good warm carpet , for the sake of coming with me . I 'll make you a little house , Franco , - - I certainly will , and I 'll put a carpet on the floor . I 'll make it as soon as I get home . " And Jonas did , the next evening after he got home , make Franco a house , just big enough for him ; and he found an old piece of carpet to put upon the floor . He put Franco in ; but the next morning he found him in his old place under the General 's crib . Franco liked that place better . The truth was , it was rather warmer ; and then , besides , he liked the old General 's company . One evening early in February , the farmer told Jonas that his work , the next day , would be to get out four or five bushels of corn and grain , and go to mill . Accordingly , after he had got through with his morning 's work of taking care of the stock , he took a half - bushel measure , and several bags , and went into the granary . The granary was a small , square building , with narrow boards and wide cracks between them on the south side . The building itself was mounted on posts at the four corners , with flat stones upon the top of the posts , for the corners to rest upon . Jonas put a short board across the top of the half - bushel , and sat upon it . Then he began taking the corn and shelling it off from the cob , by rubbing it against the edge of the board . As he sat thus at work , he occasionally looked up , and he could see out of the open door of the granary , into the farm - yards . It was a very pleasant morning . The sun shone beautifully ; and now and then a drop fell from the roof on the south side of the barn . The cattle were standing , basking in the sun , in the barn - yard , and in the sheds , where the sun could shine in upon them . The whole area of the barn - yard was trodden smooth and hard by the footsteps of the cattle ; and broad and smooth paths had been worn in every direction , about the house . Behind the barn was a large sheep - yard , also well worn with the footsteps of the sheep . A great many sheep were there , - - now and then eating hay from a long rack , which extended across the yard . When Jonas had shelled out the corn , he carried the bags , and put them into the sleigh , which was generally used in going to mill . Then he locked the granary , and put the key away , and afterwards went to the barn , and opened the great doors , which led in to the barn floor . He climbed up a tall ladder to a loft under the roof of the barn , and threw down some sheaves of wheat , - - as many as he thought would be necessary to produce the quantity of grain which the farmer had ordered . He then descended the ladder , and got a flail , and began to thresh them out . Standing , now , in a new position , he had a different prospect before him . Beyond the barn - yard he could see another larger yard nearer the house , in which the snow had also been beaten down by the going and coming of teams , sleds , and all sorts of travel , for two or three weeks , during which there had been no new falls of snow . Upon one side of this yard was an enormous heap of wood , which Jonas and Oliver had been hauling nearly all the winter . On the other side was a quantity of timber , of all sizes and lengths , which the farmer and Amos had been getting out for the new barn . Some of it was hewed , and some not ; and several large pieces were laid out upon the level surface of the yard , and the farmer and Amos were sitting upon them , working upon the frame . Amos was boring holes with an auger , and the farmer was cutting the holes thus made into a square form with a chisel . Josey was there , too , and Amelia . They were building a house of the blocks which had been sawed off from the ends of the timbers . The farmer had reflected that , about this time in the winter , they were generally exposed to long and driving snow - storms , by which the roads were often blocked up . He usually endeavored to get all out of the woods which he had to get , early in the season , while the snow was not deep . He had now got down all his wood , and all his timber , except one or two loads of rafters ; and he wished , therefore , to get those down , so that , in case of a severe storm , he would not have to break out the road again . Josey got in upon the top of the bags , and Jonas drove on . After riding a short distance , they turned down by a road which led to the pond , which was now covered with so thick and solid a sheet of ice , that it was safe travelling upon it , and it was accordingly intersected with roads in every direction . They rode down at a rapid trot to the ice , followed by Franco , who was always glad to go upon an expedition . The road led them over , very nearly , the same part of the pond that Jonas had navigated in his boat , when he fitted a sail to it , - - though now the appearances were so different all around , that one would hardly have supposed the scene to have been the same . There was the same level surface , but it was now a solid field , white with snow , instead of the undulating expanse of water , of the deep - blue color reflected from the sky . There were the same islands , and promontories , and beaches ; but the verdure was gone , and the naked whiteness of the beach seemed to have spread over the whole landscape . It was a very pleasant ride , however . The road was level , though very winding , as it passed around capes and headlands , and now and then took a wide circuit to avoid a breathing - hole . The sun shone pleasantly , too . By the time that the boys reached the mill , a hazy appearance had overspread the whole sky . They took out the grist , and left it to be ground , and then immediately got into the sleigh again , and commenced their return . Before they had gone far , the sky became entirely overcast , and the distant hills to the south - east were enveloped in what appeared to be a kind of mist , but which was really falling snow .