H. Yes; poor William has hardly any playthings, except a few old ones that I have given him.
M. Then how do you amuse yourselves?
H. Oh! he is so very clever, he is always making me laugh and trying to please me; and then he can keep a secret; he never tells any body what I say.
M. Pray what good is there in that? Do you say things that are wrong, and such as you would be ashamed of, if other persons knew them?
H. No, I don’t mean that; but it is so nice to have a secret.
M. Then, I suppose, if you say any thing that is silly or foolish, William never tells you it is wrong?
H. Oh, he can say foolish things as well as I; and then he tells me so many funny stories; there’s Puss in Boots, and I don’t know how many more, and there’s his story about Old Uncle Natty.
M. What! do you mean his Uncle Nathaniel?
H. Yes, mamma; William one day asked him for three-pence to buy a pound of cherries, but he would only give him a penny, and William always calls him—
M. Stop, Henry; I am afraid William is a naughty boy, and I do not wish to hear such a story as that.