Page:Boys Life of Booker T. Washington.djvu/27

Rh was earning money; so his father said "no," and he could not go. Booker was terribly disappointed. He went on with his work with a heavy heart, but he never missed a chance to urge his step-father to let him go to school. Finally, his father agreed to let him go for a part of the day, provided he would get up early each morning and work until nine o'clock and then work two hours after school was out.

It was a glorious day for him when he found himself going to school. However, he soon encountered two great difficulties. One was that he did not have a hat. He had never worn a hat or cap in his life. Since all the other boys had them, he felt that he must have one. So he went home and told his mother about the situation. She explained to him that she had no money with which to buy a "store" hat, but she got two old pieces of "homespun" or jeans, and sewed them together for a cap. The next day Booker proudly walked to school with one difficulty solved.

Listen to his own story of his second difficulty: "My second difficulty was with regard to my name, or rather a name. From the time I could remember anything I had been called simply 'Booker.' Before going to school it had never occurred to me that it was needful or appropriate to have an additional name.

"When I heard the school roll called, I noticed that all the children had at least two names, and