amma could count them, and that
would settle it."

"This is very mysterious," said mamma, smiling, "Dolly, you must
explain."

But Max was back from the window before Dolly could begin, and his first
words were part of the explanation.

"They're gone in," he said in a disappointed tone, "but I don't know
that it matters much. For it would have been too dark for you to count
them properly, mamma. It was a lot of little pigs, mamma, in Farmer
Wilder's field; little black pigs--twelve of them."

"_Thirteen_," said Dolly.

"No, no!" began Max, but he stopped. "That's it, you see, mamma," he
said, in a melancholy tone.

"That's _what_?" asked mamma.

"The--the quarrel. Dolly will have it there were thirteen, and I'm sure
there were only twelve."

[Illustration: Max cut out some paper Animals]

"And," said Dolly, laughing a little--though I must say I think it was
mischievous of her to have snapped in with that "thirteen"--"nurse heard
about 'twelve' and 'thirteen,' but she didn't know what it was about, so
she asked us if we couldn't split the difference. Fancy splitting up a
poor little pig."

"There isn't one to split, not a _thirteen_ one," said Max, rather
surlily.

"Yes there is," retorted Dolly.

Mamma looked at them both.

"My dear children," she said. "You really _must_ be at a loss for
something to quarrel about. And after all, you remind me of----"

"What do we remind you of, mamma?" asked both, eagerly, "something about
when you were a little girl?"

"No, only of an old story I have heard," said mamma.

"Oh, do tell it," said Max and Dolly.

[Illustration: "Oh, do tell it."]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER III

"It is scarcely a 'story,'" said their mother, "it was only about a
tremendous quarrel there once was in ancient times between some people
as to what colour a certain shield was. One party declared it was black;
the other maintained it was white. Both were ready to swear to the fact,
and I don't know what terrible consequences might not have followed, had
it not suddenly been discovered that--what do you think? Can you guess?"

Max and Dolly knitted their brows and pondered. But no, they could not
guess.

"What was it, mamma?" they asked.

"One side of the shield was black and the other white," said she, with a
quiet little smile, "so both were right and both were wrong."

The children considered. It was very interesting.

"But," said Max, "it _couldn't_ be like that with