. Did you ever play jack-stones? a fellow showed me
how, look! . . . When we were at the sea yesterday Jimmy Nelson
wouldn't go out from the shore. He was afraid of his life--he wouldn't
even duck down. I swam nearly out of sight, didn't I, Sam? So did
Sam. . . . You could climb right up to the top of that tree if you
tried. No you couldn't.--Yes I could, it's forked all the way
up. . . . The new master wears specs--Old Four-Eyes! and he grins at a
fellow. I don't think he's much. . . . How do midges get born? . . .
My brother has one with four blades and a thing for poking stones out
of a horse's hoof. . . . A horse-hair won't break the cane at all:
it's all bosh: rosin is the only thing. . . ."

There was a little stream which twisted a six-foot path through the
field, the sunshine dashing off its waters in brilliant flashes. The
top of the water swarmed with flying insects and strange, small
spider-things skimmed over its surface with amazing swiftness. We
believed there were otters in that stream--they came out at nightfall
and, unless you had the good fortune to be rescued by a Newfoundland
dog, they would hold you down under water until you were drowned. We
also held there were leeches in the stream--they would grip you by the
hundred thousand and suck you to death in five minutes, and they clung
so tightly that one could not prise their mouths open with a poker. We
hoped there were whales in it, but not one of us desired a shark
because it is the Sailor's Enemy.

An iron railing ran by part of the field. Every hole and joint of it
was crammed with earwigs, and these could be poked out of the crevices
with a straw. When an amazing number of them had been poked out there
was always another one left. The very last earwig that could be
discovered was the King. He was able and willing to bite ten times as
badly as any of the others, and he was awfully vicious when his nest
was broken into. Furthermore, he had the ability to put a curse on you
before he died, and he always did this because he was so vicious. If a
King Earwig had time to curse you before he was killed terrible things
might happen. His favourite curse was to translate himself into the
next piece of bread you would eat, and then you would see one-half of
him waggling in a hole in the bread: the other half you had already
eaten.--For this reason the King Earwig was always allowed to go free
until he was not looking, then he was killed with great suddennes