stands to reason that I should before now, if I ever wuz a-goin' to.

It took place at family prayers, which they held regular at Uncle
Ezra's.

It wuz right in the hite of sugarin'. They had more'n two hundred maple
trees, and they had tapped 'em all, and they had run free, and they had
to sugar off every day, and sometimes twice a day.

That mornin' they had a big kettle of maple syrup over the stove, and
Uncle Ezra and Aunt Tryphenia and mother wuz all a-kneelin' down pretty
nigh to the stove. It wuz a cold mornin', and I wuz a-settin' with my
little legs a-hangin' off the chair a-watchin' things, not at that age
bein' particular interested in religion.

Uncle Ezra made a long prayer, a tegus one, it seemed to me; it wuz so
long that the kettle of sugar had het up fearful, and I see with deep
anxiety that it wuz a-mountin' up most to the top of the kettle.

Of course I dassent move to open the stove door, or stir it down, or
anything--no, I dassent make a move of any kind or a mite of noise in
prayer time. So I sot demute, but in deep anxiety, a-watchin' it sizzle
up higher and higher and then down agin, as is the way of syrup, but
each time a sizzlin' up a little higher.

Wall, finally Uncle Ezra got through with his prayer, and dear good Aunt
Tryphenia begun hern. She spoke dretful kinder moderate, but religious
and good as anything could be.

I well remember what it wuz she wuz sayin'--