"Oh, I am so glad. I do want a wicket-keeper, and Dorothy can't wicket-keep a bit."
"I DO WANT A WICKET-KEEPER!"
A stoutly-made little fellow of eight, to his mother, who happened to be extremely thin:
"Oh, mother, I do believe you must be the very sweetest woman in the world!"
"Thanks very much, Lawrence. But why so affectionate? What do you want?"
"I don't want anything. I only know you must be the very sweetest woman in the world."
"Really, you are too flattering. Why this sudden outburst of affection?"
"Well, you know, I've been thinking over the old, old saying, 'The nearer the bone the sweeter the meat.'"
Children, I think, have the art of "leading up" to jokes better than adults. They hear some strange remark, they naturally analyse it, and it suggests an application. For instance, this brat possibly objected to some portion of meat at table. His mother had reminded of the old saying, "The nearer the bone the sweeter the meat." Thin mother,—there's the application.