equire any
time for preparation, but commenced at once with whatever came into
his head, pronouncing the first sentence of his story, very often
without any idea of what he was to say next.

On this occasion Beechnut began as follows:

"Once there was a girl about three years old, and she had a large
black cat. The cat was of a jet black color, and her fur was very soft
and glossy. It was as soft as silk.

"This cat was very mischievous and very sly. She was _very_ sly:
very indeed. In fact she used to go about the house so very slyly,
getting into all sorts of mischief which the people could never find
out till afterwards, that they gave her the name of Sligo. Some people
said that the reason why she had that name was because she came from
a place called Sligo, in Ireland. But that was not the reason. It was
veritably and truly because she was so sly."

Beechnut pronounced this decision in respect to the etymological
import of the pussy's name in the most grave and serious manner, and
Malleville and Phonny listened with profound attention.

"What was the girl's name?" asked Malleville.

"The girl's?" repeated Beechnut. "Oh, her name was--Arabella."

"Well, go on," said Malleville.

"One day," continued Beechnut, "Sligo was walking about the house,
trying to find something to do. She came into the parlor. There was
nobody there. She looked about a little, and presently she saw a
work-basket upon the corner of a table, where Arabella's mother had
been at work. Sligo began to look at the basket, thinking that it
would make a good nest for her to sleep in, if she could only get it
under the clock. The clock stood in a corner of the room.

"Sligo accordingly jumped up into a chair, and from the chair to the
table, and then pushing the basket along nearer and nearer to the edge
of the table, she at last made it fall over, and all the sewing and
knitting work, and the balls, and needles, and spools, fell out upon
the floor. Sligo then jumped down and pushed the basket along toward
the clock. She finally got it under the clock, crept into it, curled
herself round into the form of a semicircle inside, so as just to fill
the basket, and went to sleep.

"Presently Arabella came in, and seeing the spools and balls upon
the floor, began to play with them. In a few minutes more, Arabella's
mother came in, and when she saw Arabella playing with these things
upon the floor, she supposed that Arabella herself was the rogue