I was pleased with this idea, and we all set to work to load ourselves each with a huge burden of reeds.

They requested me not to tell my wife, that they might give her an agreeable surprise.

It needed such affection as ours to induce us to the undertaking in such unpropitious weather.

It rained in torrents, and the marsh was so soft and wet, that we were in danger of sinking at every step.

However, I could not be less courageous than my sons, whom nothing daunted, and we soon made up our bundles, and, placing them on our heads, they formed a sort of umbrella, which was not without its benefits.