"Tha'rt booath cloise seeted and cloise fisted, aw think, and if tha wor
cloiser maathed sometimes ther'd be less din."

"Thear tha goaas agean. Aw've spakken, have aw. Aw'll tell thi what
it is, tha can't bide to be tell'd o' thi faults, but aw'm nooan gooin
to be muzzled to suit thee."

"Why, lass, it isn't oft tha oppens thi maath for nowt, tha generally
lets summat aght."

"Well, an' when tha oppens thine, tha generally lets summat in, soa
we're abaght straight."

"Aw wish we wor, lass, for aw'm stoled o' this bother, an' if ther isn't
a mule i'th' garden nah, ther's summat else, for if that isn't Slinger,
aw wor niver soa capt i' my life. Why, he looks as fat as a pig. Oppen
th' door, an' ax him in, for it's th' first time aw've seen him sin he'd
his heead in a pooltice."

"Gooid day, Slinger; ha ta gettin on?"

"Oh, meeterly just. Aw thowt a callin when aw went past afoor, but ther
wor sich a din, aw thowt ther mud be a mule i' th'"--

"What does ta say," says Molly. "Has ta come here to taunt me? "Aw've
been tell'd abaght that mule afoor this afternooin."

"Molly," said Jim, "tha caps me. Doesn't ta know what folk mean when
they say there's a mule i' th' garden? They mean there's a bit of a