“We weren’t!” cried Girlie indignantly. “It was a sand castle we were building.”
“Well, it’s a very interesting account, anyhow,” replied the Crow; “and you can’t expect newspaper accounts always to be quite correct, you know, can you? I was just reading it aloud to the Sphinx.”
“What was the use of that?” asked Girlie; “it can’t hear you.”
“Oh! can’t it, though,” said the Crow; “that’s all you know about it. It can hear better than you can, I’ll be bound; can’t you, old chap?” he said, speaking to the Sphinx.
The Sphinx did not reply, of course, but it seemed to Girlie that it smiled in a very knowing way.
“It doesn’t say much but it thinks a good deal, I can tell you,” the Crow went on. “It hasn’t lived all these four thousand years for nothing.”
“Good gracious! is it so old as that?” cried Girlie, while the others stared at it in amazement, the Bathing-machine Woman exclaiming with surprise,—
“Law! bless me, who’d have thought it, now?”
“Has it lived here all that time?” asked the Ancient Mariner after a pause.
“Yes,” replied the Crow, “of course; what a stupid question.”