"Oh, the prize!" cried the Shovel.
"That's so, we forgot all about it!" gasped the Rake.
"What was the prize to be?" asked the Pick. "I declare we did not settle on any. How stupid!"
"Until I see the prize I cannot give judgment," said the Elephant; "so the case will have to 'go over,' as I believe they say in Court, until the prize is brought here. Stop disputing now, and get me the prize!"
"Yes! Yes! The prize! The prize!" cried the Rake, the Shovel and the Pick, and away they scurried.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed another voice in the corner whence had come the three tools.
"What silly chaps!" came in another voice.
"To forget the most important thing of all—the prize!" added another.
"Who are you, if you please?" asked the Elephant, stepping down off the onion crate.
"I'm the Hoe," was the answer of the first. "If I had wished I could have told how useful I am. In fact, I think I will have a try for the prize."