ourtyard, for defence.
Then you looked around for a cannon-ball. This was evidently a weighty
matter, and indeed it turned out to be such. You stood your spade
against the breakwater; placed your bucket beside it; readjusted your
little cap, and trotted off almost to the water's edge. Your
conception of the size of your castle and cannon must have become
magnified with every step of those small sturdy feet, for, arrived at
the water, you found a huge round stone nearly as large as your own
little head. This satisfied you completely, but you soon found you
could not carry it in your hands. You spent a moment in anxious
consideration. Then you took off your little blue coat, spread it upon
the sand, rolled the cannon-ball upon it, tied the sleeves around it,
picked up the hem and the collar, hoisted the heavy stone, and
proceeded slowly and with difficulty up the shore. Every moment it
seemed as if the stone must fall, and crush the bare toes of my Little
Boy Blue. So I flew to the rescue.

"'Little Boy Blue,' I said, 'may I help you to carry your stone?'

"You paused, and looked up at me. I doubt if you had breath to answer
while you were walking. Your little face was flushed and damp with
exertion; the blue cap was almost off; you had sand on your eyebrows,
and sand on your little straight nose. But you looked at me with an
expression of indomitable courage and pride, and you said: 'Fanks; but
I always does my own cawwying.' With that you started on, and I fell
behind--rebuffed!"

"Surly little beast!" ejaculated the Boy.

"Not at all," said the Aunt. "I won't have my Little Boy Blue called
names! He showed a fine independence of spirit. Now hear what
happened next.

"Little Boy Blue had almost reached his castle, with his somewhat
large, but otherwise suitable, cannon-ball, when his nurse, glancing up
from her needlework, perceived him staggering along in his
shirt-sleeves, and also saw the use to which he was putting his flannel
coat. She threw aside the blue over-all she was making, rushed down
the shore, calling my Little Boy Blue every uncomplimentary compound
noun and adjective which entered her irate and flurried mind; seized
the precious stone, unwound the little jacket, flung the stone away,
shook out the sand and seaweed, and straightened the twisted sleeves.
Then she proceeded to shake the breath out of my Little Boy Blue's
already rather breathless little body; put on the coat, jerked h