h, no," said Budge, "you didn't read it good a bit; _I'll_ tell you
how it is. Once there was a little boy named Joseph, an' he had eleven
budders--they was _awful_ eleven budders. An' his papa gave him a new
coat, an' his budders hadn't nothin' but their old jackets to wear. An'
one day he was carryin' 'em their dinner, an' they put him in a deep,
dark hole, but they didn't put his nice new coat in--they killed a kid,
an' dipped the coat--just think of doin' that to a nice new coat--they
dipped it in the kid's blood, an' made it all bloody."

"All bluggy," echoed Toddy, with ferocious emphasis. Budge continued:

"But there were some Ishmalites comin' along that way, and the awful
eleven budders took him out of the deep, dark hole, an' sold him to the
Ishmalites, and they sold him away down in Egypt. An' his poor old papa
cried, an' cried, 'cause he thought a big lion ate Joseph up; but he
wasn't ate up a bit; but there wasn't no post-office nor choo-choos,[1]
nor stages in Egypt, an' there wasn't any telegraphs, so Joseph couldn't
let his papa know where he was; an' he got so smart an' so good that the
king of Egypt let him sell all the corn an' take care of the money; an'
one day some men came to buy some corn, an' Joseph looked at 'em an'
there they was his own budders! An' he scared 'em like everything; _I'd_
have _slapped_ 'em all if _I'd_ been Joseph, but he just scared 'em, an'
then he let 'em know who he was, an' he kissed 'em an' he didn't whip
'em, or make 'em go without their breakfast, or stand in a corner, nor
none of them things; an' then he sent 'em back for their papa, an' when
he saw his papa comin', he ran like everything, and gave him a great big
hug and a kiss. Joseph was too big to ask his papa if he'd brought him
any candy, but he was awful glad to see him. An' the king gave Joseph's
papa a nice farm, an' they all had real good times after that."

"And they dipped the coat in the blood, an' made it all bluggy,"
reiterated Toddie.

"Uncle Harry," said Budge, "what do you think _my_ papa would do if he
thought I was all ate up by a lion? I guess he'd cry _awful_, don't you?
Now tell us another story--oh, _I'll_ tell you--read us 'bout--"

"'Bout Bliaff," interrupted Toddie.

"_You_ tell _me_ about him, Toddie," said I.

"Why," said Toddie, "Bliaff was a brate bid man, an' Dave was brate
little man, an' Bliaff said, 'Come over here'n an' I'll eat you up,' an'
Dave said, '_I_ ain't fyaid of you.'