I get through. Pay strict
attention."

"Yas 'm," he readily agreed.

She chose an article describing the keen sense of smell in animals.
Miss Minerva was not an entertaining reader and the words were long and
fairly incomprehensible to the little boy sitting patiently at her side.

Again his thoughts wandered, though every now and then he caught a word
or two.

"What animals have the keenest sense of smell, William?" was her query
at the conclusion of her reading.

"Billy goats," was Billy's answer without the slightest hesitation.

"You have goats on the brain," she said in anger. "I did not read one
word about billy goats."

"Well, if 'taint a billy goat," he replied, "I do' know what 'tis 'thout
it's a skunk."

"I bought you a little primer this morning," she remarked after a short
silence, "and I want you to say a lesson every day."

"I already knows a lot," he boasted. "Tabernicle, he 'an' Mercantile
both been to school an' they learnt me an' Wilkes Booth Lincoln. I knows
crooked S, an' broken back K, an' curly tail Q, an' roun' O, an' I can
spell c-a-t cat, an' d-o-g dog an' A stands fer apple."

That night he concluded his ever lengthy prayer at his kinswoman's knee
with:

"O Lord, please make for Aunt Minerva a little baby, make her two of
'em. O Lord, if you got 'em to spare please make her three little babies
an' let 'em all be girls so's she can learn 'em how to churn an' sew.
An' bless Aunt Minerva and Major Minerva, f'r ever 'nd ever. Amen."

As he rose from his knees he asked: "Aunt Minerva, do God work on
Sunday?"

"No-o," answered his relative, hesitatingly.

"Well, it look like He'd jest hafter work on Sunday, He's so busy jest
a-makin' babies. He makes all the niggers an' heathens an' Injuns an'
white chillens; I reckon He gits somebody to help him. Don't you, Aunt
Minerva?"

CHAPTER VII

RABBITS' AND OTHER EGGS

Billy was sitting in the swing. Jimmy crawled over the fence and joined
him.

"Miss Cecilia's dyeing me some Easter eggs," he said, "all blue and pink
and green and yelluh and every kind they is; I tooken her some of our
hen's eggs and she is going to fix 'em for me and they'll be just like
rabbit's eggs; I reckon I'll have 'bout a million. I'll give you one,"
he added generously.

"I want more 'n one," declared Billy, who was used to having the lion's
share of everything.

"You all time talking 'bout you want more 'n one egg," said Jimmy