't have to
carry in wood or pull weeds out of the garden, or feed the chickens, or
get the multiplication table, or--or--do anything else;" and he gave one
vast yawn, stretching his mouth so wide, and keeping it open so long,
that it really seemed as if he never would get it together again. When it
did shut, his eyes shut with it, for the fellow was too lazy to hold them
open.

"Ha! ha! lazy fellow! lazy fellow!"

Larkin heard some one say this, and raised up his head to see who it was.
Not finding any one about, he thought he must have been dreaming. So he
just gave one more yawn, opening his mouth like the lid of an old tin
coffee-pot, and keeping it open nearly a minute. Then he stretched
himself upon the grass again.

"Ha! ha! lazy fellow! lazy fellow!"

This time there seemed to be half a dozen voices, but Larkin felt too
lazy to look up.

"Ha! ha! very lazy fellow!"

Larkin just got one eye open a little, and looked around to see where the
sound came from. After a while, he saw a dozen or more very odd,
queer-looking creatures, sitting on the broad, round leaves of the
water-lilies, that floated on the surface of the lake. These little
people had white caps, for all the world like the white lily blossoms
that were bobbing up and down around them. In fact, it took Larkin some
time to make out clearly that they were not lilies. But finally he saw
their faces peeping out, and noticed that they had no hands, but only
fins instead. Then he noticed that their coats were beautifully mottled,
like the sides of the pickerel, and their feet flattened out, like a
fish's tail. Soon he saw that others of the same kind were coming up, all
dripping, from the water, and taking their places on the leaves; and as
each new-comer arrived, the others kept saying,

"Ha! ha! lazy fellow! very lazy fellow!"

And then the others would look at him, and shake their speckled sides
with laughter, and say, "Lazy fellow! ha! ha!"

Poor Larkin was used to being laughed at, but it was provoking to be
laughed at by these queer-looking folk, sitting on the lilies in the
water. Soon he saw that there were nearly a hundred of them gathered.

"Come on, Joblilies!" cried one of them, who carried a long fish-bone,
and seemed to be leader; "let's make a Joblily of him."

Upon that the whole swarm of them came ashore. The leader stuck his
fish-bone in Larkin, and made him cry out. Then they all set up another
laugh, and another cry of "lazy