(A)
William Miller stayed up after the family had gone to bed, then read until the morning. Candles were expensive, but there were plenty of pine knots, and all (a) he had to do was gather them from the woods. So William formed the habit of burning pine knots in the fireplace for his nightly reading light.
* pine knot: 관솔(송진이 엉긴 소나무의 옹이)
(B)
William’s “secret life” continued for some time, though. Night after night he read as long as he could, then made (b) his way back upstairs, and slept until it was time to do the morning chores. But one night something happened that he hadn’t expected. His father awoke and saw a glow downstairs. Thinking the house was on fire, (c) he came rushing down the stairs to save his home and family from going up in flames.
(C)
Instead of a house fire, however, he saw his son William lying peacefully before the fireplace reading a book he’d borrowed from a neighbor. His father grabbed a broomstick and chased his son around the room, yelling, “Young man, if you don’t get to bed right now, I’ll kick you out of the house!” William went up to bed, at least for this night. (d) He was only trying to get an education that he couldn’t get from the teachers in the community.
(D)
But his father didn’t like the habit and tried to stop it. His father felt that his son’s late-night reading would cut into (e) his energy for the next day’s work. And the farm required every ounce of work he could get from his son. He insisted that William retire for the night when the rest of the family did. And his father thought the growing boy should sleep soundly through the night.