“And he calls everything else to eat 'A B.' Now why would he call milk 'bugala' an' bread an' butter 'A B'?”
The School-teacher saw that this mystery attaching to the child was dear to the woman, and he could not disturb it.
“Little children are very wonderful,” he said.
“They are wonderful,” the woman continued. “Just think of the things they learn when they are real little.”
She jerked her head toward the dog remaining behind her in the road.
“Why, he learned Jim's name when he was awful little. He called him 'Nim' an' that's purty near right.”
Her face again became deeply thoughtful.
“I'd like to know if his word 'nim,' like he says 'nun bugala,' has anything to do with Jim's name. It sounds like it, but I don't see how it could be, because 'nim' means something that he don't like, an' he does like Jim. He's powerful fond of Jim.”
The School-teacher thoughtfully considered the problem.
“It might be that he has watched you give Jim the things that you did not want to eat yourself, and so he came to the conclusion that all such food belonged to Jim. It would not mean that he did not like Jim. It would only mean that the things that did not taste right to him ought to be given to Jim. They were not good things, they were 'nim' things.”