The Middle Five quotes
The lines readers remember from The Middle Five, by Francis La Flesche.
17 quotes · About the book
Standout lines
Leaning against the wall of a large stone building, with moccasined feet dangling from a high wooden bench on the front porch, sat a little boy crying.
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Leaning against the wall of a large stone building, with moccasined feet dangling from a high wooden bench on the front porch, sat a little boy crying.
His buckskin suit, prettily fringed and embroidered with porcupine quills of the brightest colors, indicated the care bestowed upon him by fond parents.
Her bright smiling face threw a sunbeam into my gloomy little heart.
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The head disappeared, and shortly after a little figure cautiously approached the door, looked all around, and then came up to me. It was Rosalie.
Her bright smiling face threw a sunbeam into my gloomy little heart.
Without saying a word she wiped the perspiration from my face with the corner of her apron; then she went away softly in the direction of the kitchen. Soon she returned with a tin cup having in it bits of ice.
Aleck put on his coat, then, with head uplifted and unfaltering steps, went to his desk, took his pen, and completed the unfinished word of the motto.
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The boy stood unmoved, every muscle relaxed, even his hands were open, showing no emotion whatever. The stick was worn out, and Graybeard threw the stump on the floor.
Aleck put on his coat, then, with head uplifted and unfaltering steps, went to his desk, took his pen, and completed the unfinished word of the motto.
He who is present at a wrongdoing, and lifts not a hand to prevent it, is as guilty as the wrongdoers.
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“By your presence you aided and encouraged those wicked boys.
He who is present at a wrongdoing, and lifts not a hand to prevent it, is as guilty as the wrongdoers.
The persecution of the poor, the sneer at their poverty is a wrong for which no punishment is too severe. I have finished. Go, and think of my words.”
When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him.
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when he had finished eating he arose without a word and, taking with him what was left of the food, he went out, giving me a look that bespoke his gratitude. My boy must learn to be good and kind.
When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him.
When you see a boy hungry, bring him to your home and give him food.”
The mild words and the gentle touch of her hand were like ointment to my wounds.
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My boy must learn to be good and kind. When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him. When you see a boy hungry, bring him to your home and give him food.”
The mild words and the gentle touch of her hand were like ointment to my wounds.
When she had finished speaking, I put my arms around her neck and kissed her.
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Preface
The white people speak of the country at this period as “a wilderness,” as though it was an empty tract without human interest or history.
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We children used to watch these noisy boats as they forced their way through the turbid water and made a landing by running the bow into the soft bank.
The white people speak of the country at this period as “a wilderness,” as though it was an empty tract without human interest or history.
To us Indians it was as clearly defined then as it is today; we knew the boundaries of tribal lands, those of our friends and those of our foes;
I: The Mission
Leaning against the wall of a large stone building, with moccasined feet dangling from a high wooden bench on the front porch, sat a little boy crying.
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Leaning against the wall of a large stone building, with moccasined feet dangling from a high wooden bench on the front porch, sat a little boy crying.
His buckskin suit, prettily fringed and embroidered with porcupine quills of the brightest colors, indicated the care bestowed upon him by fond parents.
I told him I liked to run downstairs!
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“Lad, you will break your neck!” exclaimed Graybeard.
I told him I liked to run downstairs!
Under the attic was the boys’ dormitory. The beds were placed close together, and some were wide enough for three boys. The room was large, and in the middle of it stood a post.
“You must look out for yourself now,” he said. “If the boys know you won’t fight, they will tease you all the time. You must fight.”
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I learned this from my friend Brush, to whom I complained one day of being abused by the boys when he was not near.
“You must look out for yourself now,” he said. “If the boys know you won’t fight, they will tease you all the time. You must fight.”
So the next boy who rudely shoved me aside and knocked my hat off received a painful surprise, for my right fist came so hard against his cheekbone that he stood for a moment as though stunned.
III: Edwin
“What are we hiding for? This is the way we do when we are hiding in the grass.”
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He shuffled a good deal in his position, and after a while stood up and looked around. I pulled him down, and he demanded out loud,
“What are we hiding for? This is the way we do when we are hiding in the grass.”
I gave him a good dig in the ribs. “That hurts!” he cried. I whispered to him to be quiet, but before long he was fidgeting again.
VI: Lester
“Lester climb tree like wildcat.”
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“Who can climb?” said Graybeard, looking around among the boys. No one answered. After a while Edwin spoke up,
“Lester climb tree like wildcat.”
Lester turned and looked daggers at him. Brush and I nudged each other and giggled. Edwin was playing a joke on Lester.
VII: The Splinter, the Thorn, and the Rib
Your White-chests might as well hitch a bit of pig-fat to their wagon and expect it to draw a load up the hill!
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“To draw the splinter out!” she repeated in a tone of contempt. Then she tossed up her fine head, gave shouts of laughter, and said between the paroxysms; “Oh! this is funny! This is funny!
Your White-chests might as well hitch a bit of pig-fat to their wagon and expect it to draw a load up the hill!
And how long has this pig-fat been tied on your foot?”
The Devil went about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
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“Yes, ’vour, devour.
The Devil went about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
”
X: A Runaway
“The ghosts have entered the village,” said Lester, in our own language, and in a melancholy tone; “they always do that as soon as the living leave their houses!”
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We stopped a moment when passing to take a look at the village. Silence prevailed. Not a living thing was astir. Three whirlwinds chased each other along the winding paths between the houses, making funnel-shaped dust clouds as they sped on.
“The ghosts have entered the village,” said Lester, in our own language, and in a melancholy tone; “they always do that as soon as the living leave their houses!”
Entering the ravine for which we were making, we continued our journey. The nettle weeds caused us much suffering, for we were barefooted, and wore short trousers. We came to an opening; before us lay the road to the Agency;
Her bright smiling face threw a sunbeam into my gloomy little heart.
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The head disappeared, and shortly after a little figure cautiously approached the door, looked all around, and then came up to me. It was Rosalie.
Her bright smiling face threw a sunbeam into my gloomy little heart.
Without saying a word she wiped the perspiration from my face with the corner of her apron; then she went away softly in the direction of the kitchen. Soon she returned with a tin cup having in it bits of ice.
Rosalie lay asleep with her head resting on my knees.
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The room was darkened; there was a great commotion; all through the house, windows were being rapidly closed and the doors swung to with a bang. A terrific storm had arisen, and the building was in danger of destruction.
Rosalie lay asleep with her head resting on my knees.
XIII: The Secret of the Big Seven
Aleck put on his coat, then, with head uplifted and unfaltering steps, went to his desk, took his pen, and completed the unfinished word of the motto.
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The boy stood unmoved, every muscle relaxed, even his hands were open, showing no emotion whatever. The stick was worn out, and Graybeard threw the stump on the floor.
Aleck put on his coat, then, with head uplifted and unfaltering steps, went to his desk, took his pen, and completed the unfinished word of the motto.
XIV: A Rebuke
He who is present at a wrongdoing, and lifts not a hand to prevent it, is as guilty as the wrongdoers.
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“By your presence you aided and encouraged those wicked boys.
He who is present at a wrongdoing, and lifts not a hand to prevent it, is as guilty as the wrongdoers.
The persecution of the poor, the sneer at their poverty is a wrong for which no punishment is too severe. I have finished. Go, and think of my words.”
When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him.
Show the passage
when he had finished eating he arose without a word and, taking with him what was left of the food, he went out, giving me a look that bespoke his gratitude. My boy must learn to be good and kind.
When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him.
When you see a boy hungry, bring him to your home and give him food.”
When you see a boy hungry, bring him to your home and give him food.
Show the passage
My boy must learn to be good and kind. When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him.
When you see a boy hungry, bring him to your home and give him food.
”
The mild words and the gentle touch of her hand were like ointment to my wounds.
Show the passage
My boy must learn to be good and kind. When you see a boy barefooted and lame, take off your moccasins and give them to him. When you see a boy hungry, bring him to your home and give him food.”
The mild words and the gentle touch of her hand were like ointment to my wounds.
When she had finished speaking, I put my arms around her neck and kissed her.
XV: Joe
He was his mother’s son, that’s all.
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Who was this wretched little boy?
He was his mother’s son, that’s all.
He had no father, that is, none to caress and fondle him as other boys had.
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