"George Washington's--this great man we were telling you of. One day George Washington's father gave him a little hatchet for a----" "Gave who a little hatchet?" the dear child interrupted with a gleam of bewitching intelligence. Most men would have betrayed signs of impatience, but we didn't. We know how to talk to children, so we went on. "George Washington. His----" "Who gave him the little hatchet?" "His father. And his father----" "Whose father?" "George Washington's." "Oh!" "Yes, George Washington. And his father told him----" "Told who?" "Told George." "Oh, yes, George." And we went on, just as patient and as pleasant as you could imagine. We took up the story right where the boy interrupted; for we could see that he was just crazy to hear the end of it. We said: "And he told him that----" "Who told him what?" Clarence broke in. "Why, George's father told George." "What did he tell him?" "Why, that's just what I'm going to tell you. He told him----" "Who told him?" "George's father. He----" "What for?" "Why, so he wouldn't do what he told him not to do. He told him----" "George told him?" queried Clarence. "No, his father told George----" "Oh!" "Yes; told him that he must be careful with the hatchet----" "Who must be careful?" "George must." "Oh!" "Yes; must be careful with the hatchet----" "What hatchet?" "Why, George's." "Oh!" "Yes; with the hatchet, and not cut himself with it, or drop it in the cistern, or leave it out in the grass all night. So George went round cutting everything he could reach with his hatchet. At last he came to a splendid apple tree, his father's favorite, and cut it down and----" "Who cut it down?" "George did." "Oh!" "--but his father came home and saw it the first thing, and----" "Saw the hatchet?" "No; saw the apple tree. And he said, 'Who has cut down my favorite apple tree?'" "What apple tree?" "George's father's. And everybody said they didn't know anything about it, and----" "Anything about what?" "The apple tree." "Oh!" "--and George came up and heard them talking about it----" "Heard who talking about it?" "Heard his father and the men." "What was they talking about?" "About this apple tree." "What apple tree?" "The favorite apple tree that George cut down." "George who?" "George Washington." "Oh!" "So George came up and heard them talking about it, and he----" "What did he cut it down for?" "Just to try his little hatchet." "Whose little hatchet?" "Why, his own; the one his father gave him." "Gave who?" "Why, George Washington." "Who gave it to him?" "His father did." "Oh!" "So George came up and he said, 'Father, I cannot tell a lie. I----'" "Who couldn't tell a lie?" "Why, George Washington. He said, 'Father, I cannot tell a lie. It was----'" "His father couldn't?" "Why, no; George couldn't." "Oh, George? Oh, yes." "'--it was I cut down your apple tree. I did----'" "His father did?" "No, no. It was George said this."