The little boy listened with a very sober face. Finally he said:
“Why did you use to tell mother that story?”
“Because that is the way to silence teasing children,” replied the other grandmother. “They used to do just the way it tells in the story in my great-grandmother’s time.”
Again there was a pause. The knitting-needles clicked fast.
“Am I a teasing child?” asked the little boy at last.
“No, you are not, bless your little heart!” said the other grandmother. “Mother’s-mother likes to tell you stories. Only you should not sit quiet too long. You ought to play now.”
The little boy went close to the other grandmother’s side, and looking up into her face, he said very coaxingly:
“But I am going away to-morrow, little mother’s-mother. Won’t you tell me one more story?”
“Run out and see if the sun is setting,” said the other grandmother. “If it has not yet gone down I will tell you another story.”