"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, you can believe me or not just as you please, but the first thing he did was to ask her what Kulosis reminded her of, which struck her as most strange in the start out. But she told him as it did n't remind her of nothin' but shoes an' let it go at that, an' she says it was plain as then he had to think of somethin' as it could remind somebody of, an' she says he certainly did have to think a long while an' when he said finally as it reminded him of four noses.
"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, Mrs. Macy says she never heard the beat of that in all her born days, an' her mind went back to her childhood days an' a uncle she had, an' the Lord 'll surely forgive her for thinkin' as he'd surely been drinkin'; she says she was so took aback that he see it in her face an' told her right then an' there as it was a memory system. Seems as the key to the whole is as you must reduce everythin' to Mother Goose so as not to need the brains as you've growed since, an' the minister told Mrs. Macy as she'd find it most simple to apply. He went on to ask her what did four noses remind her of, an' she says she thought she see the whole game at that an' told him as quick as scat that they reminded her of Kulosis, but oh, my, seems that ain't the way it goes a tall, an' he begin an' explained it all over again, an' where he come out in the end was as four noses would just naturally remind any one as had more brains'n Mrs. Macy of 'Two legs sat upon three legs.' You know the rhyme in Mother Goose where the dog is four legs an' gets the mutton as is one leg in the man's lap?
"'Mrs. Macy was just about plum paralyzed at that.'" Page [179].
"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, you can maybe understand as Mrs. Macy was just about plum paralyzed at that! Her story is as she just stood afore him with her mouth open like a Jack-o'-lantern's, wonderin' what under the sun she was goin' to be asked to remember next, an' when he said that was all, an' for her just to simply tear up the paper, she forgot all about Luther Stott's wife on the back an' tore up the paper. He said for her to go right along to town fully an' freely relyin' on 'Two legs sat upon three legs' to get her her shoes, an' she says what with bein' so dumbfoundered, an' what with him bein' the minister into the bargain, she went along to the station thinkin' as maybe she'd be able to do it.
"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, I wish you could hear Mrs. Macy for that ain't nothin' but the beginnin', whatever you may think, an' the rest gets awfuller an' awfuller!
"In the first place talkin' so long for the minister made her have to run for the train, an' you know what Mrs. Macy is on a run. She said she got so hot, as she was not only on a run but mostly on a pour all the way to town. Why, she says it was most terrible an' she says nothin' ever give her such a idea as she was a born fool afore, for with it all she had to keep on sayin' 'Two legs sat upon three legs' as regular as a clock, an' she was so afraid she'd forget it that she did n't dare even take her usual little nap on the way an' so had no choice but to land all wore out.
"Well, as soon as she was landed she remembered about Luther Stott's wife bein' on the back of the piece of paper an' consequently tore up along with her shoes, an' she says the start she got over rememberin' havin' torn up Luther Stott's wife drove what 'Two legs sat upon three legs' was to remind her of clean out of her head, not to speak of havin' long since lost track of the way to get any connection between that an' her shoes.
"Well, Mrs. Lathrop, I only wish you'd of been there to hear! She says nobody ever did afore! She says she went up one street an' down another like a lost soul, lookin' for a policeman. She says she felt she did n't know where to find nothin'. She could n't look for Luther in the directory 'cause he's long dead an' only his wife lives there, an' as for her shoes she was clean beside herself. She says she was so mad at the minister as she'd have throwed away her baptism an' her marriage then an' there just because it was ministers as done 'em both to her, if there'd been anyway to get 'em off. Finally she just put her pride into her pocket, went into a shoe store an' asked 'em openly if 'Two legs sat upon three legs' reminded 'em of anythin' in the way of shoes. She says the man looked at her in a way as passed all belief an' said it reminded him more of pants than shoes.