w
something to tell."

"I can say a funny piece!" shouted Jimmy.

"Well, say it, then," we two--Nelly and I--put in.

Up he jumped right off, struck a funny attitude, and began:

"The boy stood on the burning deck,
Peeling potatoes by the peck!
The flames rolled on and scorched his shins,
As he stood peeling potato skins!
'Oh pa'!' he cried, 'the flames is hot,
Come, put the potatoes in the pot!'
But his father, alas! ne'er came to sup,
So the flames rolled on and frizzled him up!"

"Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous as that?" cried Nelly. "Poor
Casabianca! I used to cry over him dreadfully; but I shall never think
of him now without laughing. Where did you learn that, Jimmy?"

"Oh, Harry Agnew told it to me; he said he repeated it one day in
school, when the master asked him if he could say a piece of poetry, and
everybody burst out laughing. The master laughed too; so he couldn't put
anybody down for a bad mark, though Harry was afraid he would."

"That was almost equal to the trick we played at school," said I. "We
wanted the doctor to give us a holiday, but he didn't seem to see it; so
when we were called up for our reading after recess, we were told to
read Montgomery's poem called 'Questions to Birds and their Answers.'
One of the verses is about the swallow, and reads thus:

"'Swallow, why homeward turned thy joyful wing?'
'In a far land I heard the voice of spring;
I found myself that moment on the way,
My wings, my wings, they had not power to stay.'

--but we changed it as though the doctor was asking us a question and we
were answering--this way:

"'Boys! why are you forever on the wing,
Wanting a holiday for everything?'
'From you we are so glad to get away,
Our legs, our legs, they will not let us stay.'"

How we all laughed over this; it was real true, too; and pretty soon
after, as it was getting dark, I bid them good-by and ran home.

Next morning, what should Aunt Elsie and Aunt Ruth (Aunt Priscilla was
away on a visit) take into their heads, but that they hadn't had any fun
house-cleaning--(I suppose they must think it's fun, or they wouldn't do
it so often)--for ever so long; so nothing would suit them but to set
the whole house in an uproar as quick as possible. Of course, I was in
the way, whether I stayed