All the men who heard him laughed. And they went to work again, and the little boy turned to the man who was holding him.
"I've got to go now," he said, "and play in that pile of sand."
"All right," said the man. "You play there just as long as you want to."
So the little boy went over to the man who was hoeing the white stuff. It wasn't so white as it had been and it was thicker, just about like nice mud.
And his cat came up from somewhere. The little boy didn't know where she had been, but he didn't pay any attention to her. He just stood and watched the man.
"What are you making?" he asked at last.
"I'm making mortar," the man said. "They put it in the cracks of the wall, to hold it together."
"Oh," said the little boy. "Well, would you like to have me help you?"
"You might bring me a load of sand," said the man, "if you want to. I shall have to put in more sand."
So the little boy went to his cart, and he threw out his hoe. He wasn't careful where he threw it, and the handle of the hoe hit the cat.