Category: Children & Young Adult Reading

Oscar; Or, The Boy Who Had His Own Way

Bridget and her little realm--A troop of rude intruders--An imperious demand--A flat refusal--Prying investigations--Biddy's displeasure aroused--Why Oscar could not find the pie--Another squabble, and its consequences--Studying under difficulties--Shooting peas--Ralph and Geo...

Chapters

38. Chapter 38

It was soon evident that the air of Brookdale agreed with Oscar. He was fast gaining his strength, and the increased fulness and color of his countenance betokened returning hea...

40. Chapter 40

"Well, you ought to write," added Mr. Preston; "your mother told you to, and I suppose she has been looking for a letter every day for a week or more. It's over a fortnight sinc...

29. Chapter 29

Mrs. Lee, the grandmother of the Preston children, remained with the family for several weeks, after Thanksgiving. Her visit was, on the whole, a pleasant one, though there were...

39. Chapter 39

Oscar almost repented of his offer when he discover ed that there was no wood split. However, he took the axe and split a few logs, and carried them into the kitchen. Jerry had...

42. Chapter 42

The next day was Saturday. Oscar was off most of the day with his comrades, among whom he was quite a lion for the time. During one of the brief intervals that he was in the hou...

28. Chapter 28

Thanksgiving-Day had come. Among the multitude of good things it brought with it, not the least important, in the eyes of the children, was a visit from their grandmother, Mrs....

34. Chapter 34

"You have got a bad cold, Oscar," said Mrs. Preston one evening towards the close of winter, as Oscar came in from his play, and was seized with a coughing spell. "And no wonder...

41. Chapter 41

Oscar was bent upon going a-gunning. He had allowed his mind to dwell upon the idea, until it seemed to him as though he could no longer resist the impulse to play the sportsman...

37. Chapter 37

The next morning the air was extremely raw and chilly, and there were strong indications of rain. Oscar's uncle and aunt advised him so earnestly not to expose himself to the co...

35. Chapter 35

Oscar had reason to remember the first time he went down stairs, after his fit of sickness. It was in the night-time. He awoke, feeling quite hungry; for he was yet kept on a sp...

43. Chapter 43

The long summer vacation had now commenced. Oscar wished to spend it at Brookdale, but his parents did not seem much inclined to yield to his wishes. They had not yet fully dete...

24. Chapter 24

The morning after the events just related, as Ralph was on his way to school, he fell in with Willie Davenport, or "Whistler," as he was often sportively called, by his playmate...

26. Chapter 26

The Sabbath came, and a fine autumnal day it was. Oscar's thoughts were with Alfred, and the boys whose acquaintance he had made the afternoon previous; but there was little cha...

25. Chapter 25

One of Oscar's most intimate companions was a boy of about his own age, named Alfred Walton, who attended the same school with him. Alfred's father was dead; but he had a step-f...

27. Chapter 27

"Oscar," said Mrs. Preston, sharply, "I told you to get it, and do you obey me, this minute. Bridget has worked hard all day, and Ralph has already had to do several errands and...

32. Chapter 32

Those who impose upon the weak, sometimes get punished for their meanness in an unexpected manner. This truth was very effectually impressed upon Oscar, one March morning, as he...

23. Chapter 23

The school which Oscar attended was held in a large and lofty brick building, a short distance from the street on which he lived. His brothers attended the same school, but his...

33. Chapter 33

Oscar had the name among his fellows of being a shrewd and sharp boy at a bargain; and, like too many men who have acquired a similar reputation, he was not over-scrupulous in h...

31. Chapter 31

upon the ice. He would slide some distance before he could change his course. Oscar would often plague him, when he was in full chase after his master, by suddenly turning upon...

36. Chapter 36

Oscar's valise was well packed for his journey, and many were the injunctions given him by his mother, in regard to his conduct during his absence from home. The morning for his...

22. Chapter 22

Bridget, the Irish servant girl, had finished the house-work for the day, and sat down to do a little mending with her needle. The fire in the range, which for hours had sent fo...

30. Chapter 30

It was now mid-winter, and a few inches of snow lay upon the frozen ground, sufficient to make pretty fair sleighing for a few days, and to afford good coasting for the boys on...

21. Chapter 21

Vacation--Associates--Edward Mixer--His character--Loitering around railroad depôts--An excursion into the country--The railroad bridge--Fruit--A fine garden--Getting over the f...

16. Chapter 16

Forgotten medicine and renewed health--An excursion planned--A gun wanted, but denied--Setting out on a long tramp--Swamps--Upland--Brooks--How Brookdale got its name--Cutting c...

9. Chapter 9

Coasting--Oscar's sled--Borrowing and lending--A merry scene on the Common--Various sleds and characters--A collision--Damage to Ralph and the "Clipper"--Not accidental--The gui...

17. Chapter 17

The missing cap--Splitting wood--Jerry and Emily--A quarrel begun--The cap found--A drink of buttermilk--Oscar's opinion of it--Jerry's love for it--Another delay--Feeding the f...

18. Chapter 18

A forgotten duty called to mind--Letter writing--A mysterious allusion--The private room--No backing out--Making a beginning--Getting stuck--Idling away time--Prying into letter...

7. Chapter 7

Grandmother's arrival--Surprises--Presents--Oscar at a shooting-match--Bad company--Cruel sport--Home again--Prevarication--A remonstrance--Impudence, and a silent rebuke--The d...

3. Chapter 3

Whistler--Why Ralph liked him--Why Oscar disliked him--A caution--A sudden attack--An unexpected rescue--The stranger's advice--A brave and manly answer--Whistler refuses to exp...

8. Chapter 8

One of her habits--Ella's complaint--Alice's reproof--Ella's rude reply to her grandmother--A mild rebuke--A sterner reproof--Shame and repentance--Popping corn--George's selfis...

19. Chapter 19

Hankerings after a gun--A plan--Jim Oakley's gun--A dispute--An open rupture--The broken gun--Going home mad--A call from Clinton--The toiler--Summons home--Disappointment--Bad...

20. Chapter 20

Oscar's dread of going to school--Unsuccessful pleas--Oscar at school--His indifference to his studies--A "talent for missing"--A reproof--Kicking a cap--Whistler's generosity--...

2. Chapter 2

Oscar's school--The divisions and classes--Lively and pleasant sights--Playing schoolmaster--Carrying the joke too far to be agreeable--Oscar's indolence in school--Gazing at th...

10. Chapter 10

A compulsory ride--Merited retribution--A sad plight for a proud boy--Laughter and ridicule--Oscar's neatness and love of dress--The patched jacket--Oscar's objections to it--Be...

13. Chapter 13

Hunger--An evil suggestion--First visit down stairs--Midnight supper--Weakness and exhaustion--An ill turn--The doctor's visit--The mystery explained--Contents of a sick boy's s...

15. Chapter 15

A dull morning--New acquaintances--Inquiries about Jerry's school-time--A long vacation--Work--Playmates--Rain--A fine sunrise--The distant pond--A call to breakfast--Preliminar...

5. Chapter 5

The Sabbath--Uneasiness--Monday morning--A pressing invitation to play truant--Hesitation--The decision--Oscar's misgivings--Manners of the two travellers--A small theft--Flight...

14. Chapter 14

Setting out--A long and wearisome ride--Portland--The hotel--Going to bed--The queer little lamp--Lonesomeness--The evening prayer--Morning--Breakfast--The railroad depôt--Oscar...

12. Chapter 12

Wet feet--A command disobeyed--Dabbling in the water--Playing on the ice--An unexpected adventure--Afloat on an ice-cake--A consultation--Danger and alarm--Spectators--A call fo...

4. Chapter 4

Alfred Walton--His home--Hotel acquaintances--Coarse stories and jokes--Andy--His peculiarities--Tobacco--A spelling lesson--The disappointment--Anger--Bright and her family--Fu...

6. Chapter 6

A command--Passing it along--Reluctant obedience--A poor excuse--A bad habit--Employment for vacation--Oscar's opposition to the plan--Frank the errand-boy--Thanksgiving week--A...

11. Chapter 11

Oscar's shrewdness--His reputation for integrity--A new want--Perplexity--A chance for speculation--A dishonest device--Its success--Secrecy--The fraud discovered--Oscar's defen...

1. Chapter 1

Bridget and her little realm--A troop of rude intruders--An imperious demand--A flat refusal--Prying investigations--Biddy's displeasure aroused--Why Oscar could not find the pi...