"Oh, surely you know there is. How could you tell stories else?"
"I never think when I tell stories," said Martin. "I give them a push and let them swing."
"Oh but," said Jane, "it is very dangerous to speak without thinking. One might say anything."
"One does," agreed Martin, "and then anything happens. But people who think before speaking often end by saying nothing. And so nothing happens."
"Perhaps it's as well," said Joyce slyly.
"Yet the world must go round, Mistress Joyce. And swings were made to swing. Do you think, Mistress Jane, if you sat in the swing I should think twice, or even once, before giving it a push?"
Jane considered this, and then said gravely, "I think, Master Pippin, you would have to think at least once before pushing the swing to-night; because it isn't there."
"What a wise little milkmaid you are," said Martin, looking about for the skipping-ropes.
"Yes," said Jessica, "Jane is wiser than any of us. She is extremely wise. I wonder you hadn't noticed it."
"Oh, but I had," said Martin earnestly, fixing the swinging ropes to their places. "There, Mistress Jane, let me help you in, and I will give you a push."