Every day the boys fought in the field outside, and Sami, as the
smallest, always came off with the most blows. But that was the end of
it, and when the boys came home at night no one thought any more about
it. In the evening the three boys were assigned to the little room with
the feeble light of a low oil lamp, to do their arithmetic for school,
while Sami had to cut apples and pears for drying. From the first the
three were angry because Sami had no arithmetic to do, and then one would
accuse the other of taking the light away from him, and all three would
scream that Sami didn't need any at all for his work. Then one would pull
the lamp one way, and another the other way, until it was upset and the
oil would run over the table into Sami's apples. Then there would be a
really murderous tumult in the darkness; all hands would grope in the oil
and one would always outcry the others. Then the mother would come in
very cross and want to know who was always starting such mischief. Then
one would blame the other, and finally the blame would fall on Sami,
because he made the least noise. Usually the farmer too came in then, and
his angry wife would always reply that she had indeed said the boy would
be an apple of discord in the house, and a Winter like this they had
never experienced.
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