Page:Samantha on Children's Rights.djvu/259

 And she slipped back to say a few words to them deserted Danglers, who looked as helpless and queer as planets might look when through some upheaval the sun wuz suddenly removed, and they wuz left hangin' round in space with nothin' to revolve round. I thought I hearn her say sunthin' about havin' to git a little rest, anyway; the idee I thought of anybody goin' to bed at that time of day, and sunthin' about seein' 'em all to-*night, and then she said she wouldn't say good-by, but awe revoir, and they all said it to her, shakin' hands with her and hangin' over her hand as if they wuz goin' to the fur Injys as missionaries liable to be eat up by savages, never to see her agin.

I spoze they referred to the "awe" they felt in seem' a young colt like that so uncommon active, what the "revoir" meant I don't know, unless it wuz some man by that name who owned a colt not nigh so smart as ourn. Yes, indeed, that colt well merits Josiah's enconiums so fur as smartness is concerned. He had led Mr. Grabhull and Josiah a tegus chase, but at last, as I could see, glancin' towards the lake, Josiah Allen had got a firm grip onto his mane and wuz leadin' him back, still wearin' the hat on his foreleg instead of his fore-*top. The hat wuz spilte.

The smartest creeters have their limitations. That colt could make light of Danglers and fashionable wimmen, step through their hats, tromple on 'em and leap over 'em, scatter 'em like leaves in a high gale, but when he come bunt up aginst the lake and whinnered at it, and it still lay calm and smooth before him and wuzn't danted, he gin up that the lake wuz too big a job for him to tackle and subdue, so he stood quite meek and wuz ketched. Presently the cavalcade drawed nigh to