"I—I—think it is splendid, just perfectly splendid! But I don't understand it at all, Cousin Paddy. I—I—Where is that great pile of mud I helped you build in the middle?" Jerry looked as foolish as he felt when he asked this.
"Why, I've dug it all away. That's what made the water so muddy," replied Paddy.
"But what did you build it for in the first place?" Jerry persisted.
"Because I had to have something to rest my sticks against while I was building my walls, of course," replied Paddy. "When I got the tops fastened together for a roof, they didn't need a support any longer, and then I dug it away to make this room. I couldn't have built such a big room any other way. I see you don't know very much about house-building, Cousin Jerry."
"I—I'm afraid I don't," confessed Jerry sadly.