r. Keene was mad because she coodent
and she started to run out her tung at Cele and then
she remembered what father sed and she stoped
just in time.

sure enuf it was the minister and he sed he was
delade because he had to reprove thoughtless boys
whitch were ketching small and innosent fish with
sharp hooks. father whispered to me that is a hell
of a reeson for keeping a man starving to deth and
i laffed but nobody paid attension to me. well they
all shook hands with the minister and Cele made a
curtsy and sed tea is ready and we all marched out
into the dining room mother and the minister first,
then father and Aunt Sarah and then Keene and
Cele and then the little ones and Georgie and i come
last as i always do when there aint enny wirk to do.

well as soon as they got in i herd them all draw
a long breth and then Aunt Sarah sed for mersey
sakes and mother she sed for heavens sake and father
he sed for goddlemity sakes and the minister he sed
my greef what a disgusting site. well you cood
hardly see the things to eat they was so covered
with flise. then i winked at mother and sed

god made the little fli
and if you crush it it will die

and then i winked again but mother she dident laff
back and father grabed me by the neck and sed did
you do this devilish thing and he shook me till i
cood hardly say yes, when mother made him put
me down. then she sed what did you do sutch a
dredful thing for and when i heard her voice i
woodent have did it for a $1000, and i sed becaus
the minister was all the time preeching not to kill
flise and mother and all of us was all the time more
you dident kill them the more you had to flap out
and it got so that you dident dass to eat a piece of
currant cake or blewbery bred for feer it wasent what
you thought it was and mother she sed and then i
stoped quick for i dident want to get mother in a
scraip but she sed go on and tell it all.

so i sed she sed that if the minister had to fite
with about leven milion flise evry day in summer
for evrything he et or drank she bet he woodent
preech god made the little fli and then the minister
he sed but my dear boy god did make the little fli
dont you reelise that and i sed and god made swallows
and kingbirds and leest flicatchers and spiders,
what have you got to say about that. i had him
there but father sed no imperdence young man tell
us all. so i went on and told all about it, what
Pewt sed and what Beany sed and what i