Sandy helped the laird to the horse, and boosted him up astride. In the dark, the rider was faced the wrong way to.
"Gie me the reins," the master ordered.
Sandy felt about the horse's rump, and, then cried out, clutching the tail:
"It waur the horse's head as fell off—nothin' left but the mane!"
"Gie me the mane, then," the laird directed stolidly. "I must een hae something to hold on."
So, presently, when he had the tail firmly grasped in both hands, and Sandy had mounted, the procession began to move. Whereat, the laird shouted in dismay:
"Haud on, Sandy! It's gaein' the wrang way!"
OUTWORN
Tiny Clara heard her mother say that a neighboring lady had a new baby. The tot puzzled over the matter, and at last sought additional information: