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 understanding of what they were saying. He did grunt Amen at in-between times.

To-day in the morning, when the mamma was in the other room, I did take down from its hook the papa's big coat. I did put it onto me and it did trail away out behind. I like to wear the papa's big coat. Jenny Strong, who comes to visit us, says the reason I like to wear the papa's big coat is because it makes me more grown-up. She's wrong. The reason I like to wear the papa's big coat is because it has pockets in it—big ones—nice ones to put toads and mice and caterpillars and beetles in. That's why I like to wear the papa's coat. Why, when I go walking in the papa's big coat, nearly the whole nursery can go along. This morning, just as I was making a start out the door to the nursery, the mamma came into the kitchen. She did hurry to the door and I did hurry out. But she caught me by the end of the coat. She did get that coat off of me in a quick way. She hung it back on its nail. When it was hung on its nail in the proper way, she gave to me a shoulder-shake. And I did go to feed the chickens.

After I did feed the chickens all, and have some conversations with them, I went in to get the lard-pail that does have my school lunch in it. While I was putting my jacket on, the mamma did tie a new piece of asfiditee around my neck to keep me from having disease. It was a big piece of asfiditee.