PIECES OF LAUGHTER AND FUN by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

calls pa Ed, don't worry about it. As long as he stays well and happy, it doesn't matter which year he's living in."
    The days went by, and grandpa seemed settled in and happy. Part of the time he knew he was visiting the O'Dells. Other times he thought he was at home, or even back in Canada. He could remember good stories, and many evenings he entertained us with tales of the early days before he came to Michigan.
    "Grandpa Hobbs," Roy said one evening. "Did you see a lot of wild animals when you were young?"
    "Yes, indeed," grandpa replied. "Lots that you don't see hereabouts. Caribou, and wolves, big brown bears and a few black ones. Now that's a critter you want to stay away from. Especially them as has cubs. You heard anyone ever say 'mean as a bear with a sore paw'?"
    We nodded.
    "That's not mean at all, compared to a bear with cubs," grandpa declared. "That old she-bear will attack anything in sight to protect her family. You just steer a wide path around her when you see her next time, you hear?"
    "We're not likely to see any, grandpa. There aren't any black bears in our woods anymore," Reuben told him. "Pa says he hasn't seen one for years."
    "I saw one yesterday when I was following the river up north of here," grandpa said. "I went right on by and let her be."
    We knew that grandpa hadn't left the house yesterday, but we didn't question him. We just enjoyed listening to his tales.
    Thanksgiving approached, and he was still with us. The boys and I came home early the day before the vacation began. Grandpa was dozing by the fire, and ma looked up in surprise.
    "What are you doing here so soon? Is someone sick?"
    "Oh, no, ma. Who would get sick the day before Thanksgiving?" Reuben teased her. "Miss Gibson let us leave early today as long as we promised to do some extra work this weekend."
    "That's nice. What do you have to do?"
    "Every class is different," Roy told her. "I have to do a geography map."
    "And I have a mathematics puzzle to solve," Reuben put in.
    "What about you, Mabel? Did your class get an assignment?"
    "We got the best one of all," I assured her. "We have to learn some lines from Shakespeare!"
    Ma looked impressed. "I declare. That will be something. What lines are they?"
    "Here, I'll show you," I said, and ran over to my books. "I put the paper right in here."
    I opened the book I thought contained the lines, but the paper wasn't there. After shaking each book in turn, I knew I had forgotten it.
    "Oh, no!" I wailed. "I left the paper at school! Now what will I do? I'll have a failing mark if I don't learn it, ma."
    The commotion awakened grandpa. He peered over at me, curious why I was shaking the books so frantically.
    "Eh? What's this?" he inquired.
    "Mabel has some lines from Shakespeare to learn for school. She seems to have left them there, grandpa," ma explained to him.
    "What were they about, Mabel?" ma asked me. "I probably don't know them, but Reuben might."
    "Not me," Reuben declared. "I can't remember Shakespeare any longer than it takes to learn it."
    "It was about a good name, ma," I said. "I just read it once."
    Then a most unusual thing happened. Grandpa's voice rose clear and strong.
    Good name, in man or woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls.
    Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
    'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
    Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed.
    We all turned and stared at grandpa. When he had finished, I shouted, "That was it, ma! Oh, please write it down quickly before grandpa forgets it."
    Grandpa chuckled. "Not likely to forget that, child. I learned that when I was a boy in school."
    "Do you remember any other poetry, grandpa?" ma asked him. "That was amazing."
    "Well, yes," grandpa answered modestly. "Know lots of poems. Lots of Bible, too. Can recite the whole Book of Philippians."
    "Can you really? The whole book?" I asked.
    "Yep. When you have time to listen, I'll recite it