“Dear Miss——, Please excuse my boy scratching hisself, he’s got a new flannel shirt on.”
“A country schoolmaster received from a small boy a slip of paper which was supposed to contain an excuse for the non-attendance of the boy’s brother. He examined the paper, and saw thereon:
“Kepatomtogoataturing.”
Unable to understand, the small boy explained to the master that his big brother had been “kept at home to go taturing”—that is, to dig potatoes.
“Tommy,” said the school teacher, “you must get your father to give you an excuse the next time you stay away from school.”
“That’s no use, teacher. Dad’s no good at making excuses; mother bowls him out every time.”