When his mammy saw him, she said, "Epaminondas, what is that in your hands?"
"A puppy dog, mammy."
"A puppy dog!" cried his mammy. "Oh, Epaminondas! What makes you act so foolish? That's no way to carry a puppy. The way to carry a puppy is to tie a string around his neck and put him on the ground. Then you take the other end of the string in your hand and come along home. You hear me, Epaminondas?"
"Yes, mammy."
Epaminondas was going to be right the next time; he got a piece of string and put it in his pocket to have it ready.
The next day company came to see Epaminondas's mammy, and she had no bread for dinner. She called Epaminondas and said, "Run to 'the big house' and ask your granny to send me a loaf of bread for dinner."
"Yes, mammy," said Epaminondas. And off he ran.
Granny gave him a loaf just from the oven—a nice, brown, crusty loaf. This time Epaminondas was certainly going to do what mammy had told him.