“I don’t see why,” said Buddie, who had never heard the old rule.
“If you pick up one, the other is left, isn’t it?”
“But does it matter which one you pick up first?”
“Certainly not. How stupid you are!”
“Well, I’ll try this one,” said Buddie.
“That’s right,” said the Rabbit.
“There! I do hope I haven’t made any mistake,” said Buddie, when the operation was over. “Goodness! What are you crying about now? Do your eyes pain you?” For the Guinea-Pig continued to weep as if his little heart were broken.
“Oh, don’t mind him,” said the Rabbit. “He’s that way nearly all the time. Tell her the story of your life, old fellow,” he suggested, patting his weeping friend on the shoulder.
“Yes, do!” encouraged Buddie. “It must be very sad,” she remarked to the Rabbit.
“Yes—when you’ve heard it for the first time,” he replied. “Come,”—to the Guinea-Pig,—“cheer up!”