separated a green slip from the letter and held the two covered while he
read. "Well, well," he said. "Our little Shakespeare!" With a disdainful
grunt Jake tossed the letter to Jimmy.

Eagerly, Jimmy took the letter and read:

Dear Mr. James:

We regret the unconscionable length of time between your submission and
this reply. However, the fact that this reply is favorable may be its
own apology. We are enclosing a check for $20.00 with the following
explanation:

Our policy is to reject all work written in dialect. At the best we
request the author to rewrite the piece in proper English and frame
his effect by other means. Your little story is not dialect, nor is it
bad literarily, the framework's being (as it is) a fairly good example
of a small boy's relating in the first person one of his adventures,
using for the first time his father's typewriter. But you went too far.
I doubt that even a five-year-old would actually make as many
typographical errors.

However, we found the idea amusing, therefore our payment. One of our
editors will work your manuscript into less-erratic typescript for
eventual publication.

Please continue to think of us in the future, but don't corn up your
script with so many studied blunders.

Sincerely,