“Ebbero polli, they had chickens!”
Then they formed in echelon, by columns of fours, refused the left, and retired in great style on the double-quick. I was enchanted, and said:
“Now, doctor, that is something like! Chickens are the ticket, there is no doubt about it. What is the next squad?”
“The Imperfect.”
“How does it go?”
“Io Aveva, I had, tu avevi, thou hadst, egli aveva, he had, noi av—”
“Wait—we've just had the hads. What are you giving me?”
“But this is another breed.”
“What do we want of another breed? Isn't one breed enough? Had is had, and your tricking it out in a fresh way of spelling isn't going to make it any hadder than it was before; now you know that yourself.”
“But there is a distinction—they are not just the same Hads.”