Huckleberry was a very
good little chap, but he was quick-witted and rather forward, and often
made his father very angry by guessing his riddles; and so he needed a
good deal of parental counsel.
Nearly all that night, Huckleberry thought about what his father had
told him. But not at all as Old Riddler intended he should.
"What a fine thing it must be," said Huckleberry to himself, "to go out
into the world and teach people things. I'm going to try it myself."
So, the next day, he started off on his mission. The first person he
saw was a very small girl playing under a big oak-tree.
When the small girl saw the young gnome, she was frightened and drew
back, standing up as close against the tree as she could get.
But up stepped Master Huckleberry, with all the airs and graces he
could command.
"Can you tell me, my little miss," said he, "why an elephant with a
glass globe of gold-fish tied to his tail is like a monkey with one
pink eye and one of a mazarine blue?"
"No," said the small girl, "I don't know. Go away!"
"Oh," said Huckleberry, "perhaps that's too hard for you. I know some
nice little ones, in words of one syllable.
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