Joe Green worked very well. He learned everything quickly. He was very careful with his work. John Manly began to trust Joe Green with many things.
Joe Green was still small for his age. Usually, John Manly exercised Ginger and me. But one morning, John Manly was away with a cart. Squire Gordon needed to send a note to a house three miles away.
Squire Gordon told Joe Green to ride me. He told Joe Green to ride slowly and carefully. Joe Green delivered the note. We were returning home quietly.
We passed a brick-field (a place where people make bricks for houses). We saw a cart full of heavy bricks. The wheels were stuck in deep, thick mud. The driver was very angry.
The driver hit his two horses with a whip. The horses tried to pull the cart, but it did not move. The horses were wet with sweat. They were working very hard, but the driver was cruel.
The driver hit the horses again and again. Joe Green stopped me. "Stop!" Joe Green shouted. "Do not hit the horses. The wheels are stuck. They cannot move the cart."
The driver did not listen. He hit the horses again. Joe Green offered to help. He wanted to take some bricks off the cart to make it light. The driver was drunk and very angry.
The driver said a mean word to Joe Green. He hit the horses again. Joe Green was very angry now. He turned me around. We ran very fast to the house of the master brick-maker, Mr. Clay.
Joe Green told Mr. Clay about the cruel driver. Joe Green’s voice shook because he was upset. Mr. Clay was also angry. He asked Joe Green to speak to a magistrate (a person like a judge who decides if someone broke the law).
Joe Green said he was happy to help. We went home. John Manly saw that Joe Green was angry. Joe Green told John Manly the whole story. John Manly was very proud of the boy.
John Manly said that cruelty is everyone’s business. He said Joe Green did the right thing. Later, Joe Green went to see Squire Gordon. Squire Gordon was a magistrate.
Joe Green gave his evidence (information to show that someone did something wrong). He spoke very clearly. The cruel driver went to court. Later, the man went to prison for two or three months.
Joe Green changed after that day. He seemed older and stronger. He was still kind and gentle. But now, he acted like a man. He was brave and he knew how to do the right thing.