“No, but if you knew the meaning of it, you would answer very promptly, so the joke is on you. The speaker can, of course, tell us.”
The Clove Doll’s cheeks flushed even redder than before, and wished with all her heart she had not used the large word of which she was so proud.
“I am sure I cannot tell what it means. It’s what I am, and it’s the way my story begins.”
“Who knows what the very large word used by the very small one means?” asked the Stick Doll, of the audience.
The Pepper and Salt Twins now stepped forward. They swayed from side to side and in sing-song tones cried:
“Un means not. Undeveloped means not developed; developed means finished.”
“Excellent memory you have,” said the Stick Doll.
“They’ve been peeking in that big book, too; I saw them,” cried the Vinegar Cruet. “Any one could do that.”
“Tell tale tit, your tongue shall be slit,” sang the whole crowd.