lies off with t'other." Durned old fool! Wall, we went on a
little ways further, and all to onct Ezra he sed, "Geewhiz, Josh, thar's
Steve Jenkins over thar in one of them cages." I sed, "Cum along you
silly fool, that ain't Steve Jenkins." Ezra sed, "Wall, now, guess
I'd oughter know Steve Jenkins when I see him; I jist about purty near
raised Steve." Wall, we went over to the cage, and it wan't no man at
all, nuthin' only a durned old baboon; and Ezra wanted to shake hands
with him jist 'cause he looked like Steve. Ezra sed he'd bet a peck of
pippins that baboon belonged to Steve's family a long ways back.

Wall then we went into whar they wuz havin' the cirkus doin's, and I
guess us two old codgers jist about busted our buttins a-laffin at that
silly old clown. Wall, he cut up a lot of didos, then he went out and
sot down right alongside of Aunt Nancy Smith; and Nancy she'd like to
had histeericks. She sed, "You go 'way from me you painted critter," and
that clown he jist up and yelled to beat thunder--sed Nancy stuck a pin
in him. Wall, everybody laffed, and Nancy she jist sot and giggled right
out. Wall, they brought a trick mule into the ring, and the ring master
sed he'd give any one five dollars what could ride the mule; and Ruben
Hoskins alowed he could ride anything with four legs what had hair on.
So he got into the ring, and that mule he took after Ruben and chased
him 'round that ring so fast Ruben could see himself goin' 'round
t'other side of the ring. He wuz mighty glad to git out of thar. Then
a gal cum out on hoss back and commenced ridin' around. Nancy Smith sed
she wuz a brazen critter to cum out thar without clothes enough on
her to dust a fiddle. But Deacon Witherspoon sed that wuz the art of
'questrinism; we all alowed it, whatever he meant. And then that silly
old clown he told the ring master that his uncle committed sooiside
different than any man what ever committed sooiside; and the ring master
sed, "Wall, sir, how did your uncle commit sooiside?" and that silly old
clown sed, "Why, he put his nose in his ear and blowed his head off."
Then he sang an old-fashioned song I hadn't heered in a long time; went
something like this:

From Widdletown to Waddletown is fifteen miles,
From Waddletown to Widdletown is fifteen miles,
From Widdletown to Waddletown, from Waddletown
to Widdletown,
Take it all together and its fifteen miles.

He wuz about the sillies