who thou is by t' way thou favvours thy mother. Thou'll have heerd tell
o' thy uncle, Ned Bowker, that lives ower by Sally Abbey; he's my
father, so I reckon thou an' me's cousins.'

"Now Doed had heerd his mother tell about his Uncle Ned, an' when t' lad
said that Ned Bowker were his father, he gat a bit aisier in his mind;
but for all that he didn't altogether like t' looks o' him. Howiver,
they gat agate o' talkin', and Doed let on that he were fearful fain o'
squirrels. You see, he kept all nations o' wild birds an' wild animals
down at his house; he'd linnets an' nanpies i' cages, and an ark full o'
pricky-back urchins. But he'd niver catched a squirrel; they were ower
wick for him, an' he wanted a squirrel more nor owt else i' t' world.

"When Melsh Dick heard that--for o' course t' lad was Melsh Dick
hissen--he said that if Doed would coom wi' him, he'd sooin gie him what
he wanted. He'd bin climmin' t' trees an' had catched a squirrel an'
putten it i' t' basket he'd browt his dinner in.

"Well, lile Doed hardlins knew what to do. 'Twere gettin' lat, an' there
were summat about t' lad that set him agin him. But then he bethowt him
o' t' squirrel, an' t' squirrel were ower mich for him. So he said to
Melsh Dick that he'd gan wi' him an' fotch t' squirrel, but he munnot
stop lang, or fowks would consate that he'd lossen his way i' t' wood
an' would coom seekin' him. When Melsh Dick heerd him say that he'd coom
wi' him, his een fair glistened, an' he set off through t' wood wi' lile
Doed followin' efter him. T' wood was full of gert oak-trees, wi' birks
set amang 'em that had just begun to turn colour. Efter a while they gat
to a dub i' t' middle o' t' wood; 'twere no bigger nor a duck-pond, but
t' watter was deep, an' all around t' dub was a ring o' espin-trees wi'
their boughs hingin' ower t' watter. Eh! 'twas a grand seet, sure enif,