THE DULL BOY SCORED.
“Now, my sharp lads!” exclaimed the schoolmaster, “answer me this little riddle and there’s a holiday for the one who does it: Supposing a gentle little donkey was tied to a tree with a rope eight yards long, and a truss of hay was inviting his appetite at a distance of nine yards, how could he get at it without breaking or gnawing the rope?”
The hay, the donkey, and the difficulty were mentally seen, but not the answer to the ancient conundrum.
“All give it up?” asked the master.
“Yes, sir,” was answered in a chorus of disappointment.
Then the schoolmaster, naturally, exclaimed:
“So did the other little donkey, my lads.”
“Please, sir, the other day you said I was a dull boy, but may I answer?” asked a very little fellow, with a sly look.
“Certainly, Arthur; but you must be quick,” decided the man of knowledge.
“Well, then, sir,” the juvenile declared, “when he’d gone[Pg 39] eight yards, he’d be sure to reach the hay by keeping on four feet, and he’d have a foot over as well as his nose.”