"
"I should think it _would_ be," said Buddie. "Won't you sing something
else?"
"I'm a little hoarse," apologized the singer.
"That's what you want to be, isn't it?" said Buddie, misunderstanding
him.
"Hee-haw!" laughed the Donkey. "Is that a joke? I mean my _throat_ is
hoarse."
"And the rest of you is donkey!" cried Buddie, who could see a point as
quickly as any one of her age.
"There's something to that," said the other, thoughtfully. "Now, if the
_hoarseness_ should spread--"
"And you became _horse_ all over--"
"Why, then--"
"Why, then--"
"Think of another old saw," said the Donkey, picking up his lute.
"No; I don't believe I can remember any more old saws," said Buddie,
after racking her small brain for a minute or two.
"Pooh!" said the Donkey. "They're as common as, Pass the butter, or,
Some more tea, please. Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?"
Buddie shook her head.
"The wolf does something every day that keeps him from church on
Sunday--?"
Again Buddy shook her head.
"It is hard to shave an egg--?"
Still another shake.
"A miss is as good as a mile? You can not drive a windmill with a pair
of bellows? Help the lame dog over the stile? A hand-saw is a good
thing, but not to shave with? Nothing venture, nothing have? Well, you
haven't heard much, for a fact," said the Donkey, contemptuously, as
Buddie shook her head after each proverb.
Pages:
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45