Ida a Novel by Gertrude Stein, Logan Esdale Read Free Book Online Page A

to.
    It happened quite often.
    How do you do they said and she said it to them and they said it to her. How do you do.
    Would you never rather be Ida, they said, never rather be Ida, she laughed, never, they said never rather be Ida.
    Of course not, of course she would always rather be Ida and she was.
    They all said everybody said, Never rather be Ida, it got to be a kind of a song.
    Never, never rather be Ida, never rather be Ida.
    Ida never heard anybody sing it. When she heard her name she never heard it. That was Ida.
    And so it was all over that is Frederick was all over, Ida left Texas just as it was.
    Before she left Texas she talked to Duncan. Old man Duncan they called him but he was quite young. He was forty-five and he had been a policeman and now he was a head of police and not in uniform, of course not, otherwise she would not have been talking to him.
    He said to her, where were you before you came to Texas. He asked her that after they had shaken hands several times together and it was evening. It often was evening in Texas.
    It is very easy to leave Texas, Ida said, not to Duncan, she just said it.
    There is no harm in leaving Texas, no harm at all.
    Ida said, I have not left Texas yet, but tell them, you and he, what are you, tell them that he has left Texas and tell them that you and he, well tell them about Texas, you and he.
    So then suddenly, she was called away, they thought in Ohio, but she was called away to wherever she was. Just like that Ida was called away.
    She was not there any more, because she was called away.
    Duncan told her, that is he did not tell her because she was called away, but anyway he told her that he had not left Texas.
    Duncan never did leave Texas except once when he went to Tennessee. But by that time he never wanted to leave Texas. No use saying that he only remembered Ida because he didn’t.
    Once upon a time there was a meadow and in this meadow was a tree and on this tree there were nuts. The nuts fell and then they plowed the ground and the nuts were plowed into the ground but they never grew out.
    After Ida left Texas she did not live in the country, she lived in a city. She lived in Washington.
    That is the way it went on. Washington is a city and a city well a city is well it is a city. Ida lived there.
    Once upon a time every time Ida lived in a city she was careful, she really was. She might lose it lose being careful but really every time she lived in a city she was careful. She was careful in Washington. All who came in would say to her, well Ida how about it.
    That is what did happen.
    By the time it was all comfortable for Ida and everybody knew better, she knew just what would not be there for her. And it was not. It just was not there for her.
    Just then somebody came in and he said here I am. He said to Ida if you were with me I would just say, say she is with me. By golly that is what we are like in Minnesota, Minnesota is just like that.
    Hello Ida, said some one. And they said, no Ida we are not. Ida said, no I am not.
    Ida felt that way about it. She said well sit down and cry, but nobody did, not just then.
    So life began for Ida in Washington.
    There were there Ida and two more, Ida kept saying to herself.
    There whether there whether whether who is not.
    That might have been the motto for Minnesota.
    She did have to see those who came from Minnesota and hear them say, Minnesota is not old, believe it or not Minnesota is not old.
    Ida began a daily life in Washington.
    Once upon a time there was a shotgun and there were wooden guinea hens and they moved around electrically, electricity made them move around and as they moved around if you shot them their heads fell off them.
    I thought I coughed said Ida and when I coughed I thought I coughed.
    Ida said this and he listened to her he was not from Minnesota.
    Once upon a time Ida stood all alone in the twilight. She was down in a field and leaning against a wall, her arms were folded and she looked very