THE BOOK OF BETTY BARBER.
“Saw what, in what book?” said Thirteen-fourteenths, angrily jumping to his feet, for he thought Half-term was only making excuses.
“In the Book of Betty Barber,” said Half-term. “Don’t you remember, she says, “I shall let my children paint all day long?”
Thirteen-fourteenths began to think.
“Don’t you know the Book of Betty Barber?” said Half-term. “Why, I read it through, and, by the way, I wonder how the Major is getting on with the Sharps and Flats, and good little Lucy, too. She promised to try to get into three verses.”
“I wonder where Lucy is,” said the Fraction. “I haven’t seen her lately. I hope she hasn’t got into Nonsense Land with her three verses. If she is there, she’ll find it is far easier to get in than to get out.”
“Dear, dear,” said Half-term, “I’m afraid that book has caused a great deal of mischief. But I should like to find out about Paint Land. Let us climb the tree.”
He jumped up from the ground, and began to climb the tree, and Thirteen-fourteenths followed him slowly.
“Mischief!” he said. “Mischief! He thinks the book has caused mischief, does he? If Lucy is lost in Nonsense Land—and she was talking nonsense the last time I saw her—I shall wish I had torn that book to pieces. Where did I put it? I know, in a hollow tree, and the trunk of this tree is hollow. I believe it was this very tree,” and Thirteen-fourteenths nearly tumbled out of the tree in his excitement. “It is not too late,” he cried. “I’ll go down this minute and tear the book up.”
But Half-term had reached the top of the tree, and he was calling loudly:
“Come up, come up. We must do something, we must get somebody to help. Look at Paint Land!”
Thirteen-fourteenths followed Half-term up to the top of the tree.
He looked across to Paint Land, and sighed.
“Yes,” he said, “it is as I thought.”
