ildren came tramping and clomping in,
banging the door and all six ejaculating to their mother at once,
"Where is the hat ashes shovel?" But Missus Sniggers wasn't worried at
all. She rubbed her chin with her finger and said softly, "Oh lah de
dah, oh lah de dah, where is that hat ashes shovel, last week I had it
when I was making a hat for Mister Sniggers; I remember I had that hat
ashes shovel right up here over the clock, oh lah de dah, oh lah de
dah. Go out and ring the front door bell," she said to Jink Sniggers.
Jink ran away to the front door. And Missus Sniggers and the five
children waited. Bling-bling the bell began ringing and--listen--the
door of the clock opened and the hat ashes shovel fell out. "Oh lah de
dah, get out of here in a hurry," said Missus Sniggers.

Well, the children ran out and dug a big pail of hat ashes with the
hat ashes shovel. And they made two hats for Snoo Foo. One was a
crooked hat. The other was a straight hat. And they put the crooked
hat on crooked and the straight hat on straight. And there stood Snoo
Foo in the front yard and everybody who came by on the street, he
would take off his hat to them, the crooked hat with his arm crooked
and the straight hat with his arm straight. That was the end of the
fuss between the Sniggers children and it was Jink, the littlest one
of the biggest, and Junk, the littlest one of the littlest, who
settled the fuss by looking clean into each other's eyes and laughing.
If you ever get into a fuss try this way of settling it.

[Illustration]

Three Boys With Jugs of Molasses and
Secret Ambitions

In the Village of Liver-and-Onions, if _one_ boy goes to the grocery
for a jug of molasses it is just like always. And if _two_ boys go to
the grocery for a jug of molasses together it is just like always. But
if _three_ boys go to the grocery for a jug of molasses each and all
together then it is not like always at all, at all.

Eeta Peeca Pie grew up with wishes and wishes working inside him. And
for every wish inside him he had a freckle outside on his face.
Whenever he smiled the smile ran way back into the far side of his
face and got lost in the wishing freckles.

Meeny Miney grew up with suspicions and suspicions working inside him.
And after a while some of the suspicions got fastened on his eyes and
some of the suspicions got fastened on his mouth. So when he looked a