"Such a cute little chap," said Everychild. Then he spoke to the
child. "Where are you going, little boy?" he asked.

The little boy looked at Everychild blankly. He looked at him quite a
long time. Then he looked at the other members of the band. Finally
he looked at Everychild again, still with a blank expression. But at
last he replied, "I want to go home, but I dasn't."

The band of travelers all laughed at this; whereupon the little boy
looked at all of them, one after another. He still had his finger in
his mouth, where he kept crooking it and uncrooking it.

Then Cinderella asked: "Why dare you not go home?"

The little boy lowered his eyes until they rested on the ground.
"Because I dasn't," he said.

"But why?" persisted Cinderella.

A pause; and then, "Because I'll catch a lickin'."

It seemed to Everychild that the little boy was much too small to be
whipped; and he said with assurance, "You may go with us, if you will,
and then you'll never get a whipping again."

But the little boy only shook his head. Clearly there was a difficulty
in the way of accepting the invitation. And presently he began,
falteringly, "My brothers and sisters . . ."

"Oh," said Cinderella, understanding, "he doesn't want to leave his