Calico Illustrated Classics: The Red Badge of Courage
hung upon the log walls along with three rifles Tin dishes lay scattered among the firewood Henry felt as if he were in a trance So at last we’re going to fight He knew that perhaps tomorrow there would be a battle and he’d be in it He couldn’t accept that he was about to mingle in a battle and dance with death He had of course dreamed of battles all his life In these dreams he saw himself in bloody struggles that had thrilled him He imagined the taste of victory But awake he had thought of those battles as things that happened long ago and ones he would never face in reality After reading about the marches sieges and conflicts of this war he had longed to see it all A desire burned deep within his soul to enlist All battles were glorified but he didn’t know to what extent He wanted to find out His mother had discouraged him She had given him hundreds of reasons why he was more important on the farm than on the field of battle But the power of the glory he had read 6
about was too much One night as he lay in bed he knew his fate He got up and went to see his mother Ma I’m going to enlist Henry don’t be a fool his mother replied She then covered her face with her quilt and refused to continue the conversation Nevertheless the next morning Henry had gone into town and enlisted in a company that was forming When he returned home his mother was milking a cow while four others stood waiting Ma I’ve enlisted There was a short silence The Lord’s will be done Henry she finally said before moving on to the next cow As he stood in the doorway with his soldier’s clothes on his back he had seen two tears leaving their trails on his mother’s cheeks He had prepared a beautiful scene for the day he left but her words destroyed those plans 8
You watch out Henry said his mother Take good care of yourself in this fighting business Don’t go thinking you can lick the entire rebel army at the start You can’t You’re just one fellow among a lot of others Keep quiet and do what they tell you to She packed him some shirts socks and blackberry jam I don’t know what else to tell you Henry Be careful and choose your company wisely There are a lot of bad men in the army She sighed Don’t do anything that you’d be ashamed to let me know Henry Keep in mind that I’m watching you and I suppose you’ll come out alright Her speech wasn’t anything like he thought it would be He felt a sense of relief when it was over Still when he looked back from the gate as he left he saw his mother kneeling among potato peelings Her face was stained with tears and her lips quivered As Henry headed off to Washington his spirit soared His classmates were impressed 9
