Louisa May Alcott

A Hole in the Wall Louisa May Alcott

If any one had asked Johnny Morris who were his best friends, he would have answered, -- "The sun and the wind, next to mother." Johnny lived in a little court that led off from one of the busiest streets in the city, --a noisy street, where horse-car bells tinkled and omnibuses rumbled all day long, going and coming from several great depots near by. The court was a dull place, with only two or three shabby houses in it, and a high blank wall at the end. The people who hurried by were too busy to do more than to glance at the lame boy who sat in the sunshine against the wall, or to guess that there was a picture-gallery and a circulating-library in the court. But Johnny had both, and took such comfort in them that he never could be grateful enough to the wind that brought him his books and pictures, nor to the sun that made it possible for him to enjoy them in the open air, far more than richer folk enjoy their fine galleries and libraries.