The small boy stood at the garden gate and howled and howled and howled.
A passing lady paused beside him.
"What's the matter, little man?" she asked in a kindly voice.
"O-o-oh!" wailed the youngster. "Pa and ma won't take me to the pictures to-night."
"But don't make such a noise," said the dame, admonishingly. "Do they ever take you when you cry like that?"
"S-sometimes they do, an'—an' sometimes they d-d-don't," bellowed the boy. "But it ain't no trouble to yell!"
CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
"We were bounding along," said a recent traveller on a local South African single-line railway, "at the rate of about seven miles an hour, and the whole train was shaking terribly. I expected every moment to see my bones protruding through my skin. Passengers were rolling from one end of the car to the other. I held on firmly to the arms of the seat. Presently we settled down a bit quieter; at least I could keep my hat on and my teeth didn't chatter.
"There was a quiet-looking man opposite me. I looked up with a ghastly smile, wishing to appear cheerful, and said:
"'We are going a bit smoother, I see.'
"'Yes,' he said, 'we're off the track now,'"