after racking her small brain for a minute or two.

"Pooh!" said the Donkey. "They're as common as, Pass the butter, or,
Some more tea, please. Ever hear, Fair words butter no parsnips?"

Buddie shook her head.

"The wolf does something every day that keeps him from church on
Sunday--?"

Again Buddy shook her head.

"It is hard to shave an egg--?"

Still another shake.

"A miss is as good as a mile? You can not drive a windmill with a pair
of bellows? Help the lame dog over the stile? A hand-saw is a good
thing, but not to shave with? Nothing venture, nothing have? Well, you
haven't heard much, for a fact," said the Donkey, contemptuously, as
Buddie shook her head after each proverb. "I'll try a few more; there's
no end to them. Ever hear, When the sky falls we shall all catch larks?
Too many cooks spoil the broth?"

"I've heard _that_," said Buddie, eagerly.

"It's a wonder," returned the Donkey. "Well, I have a very nice setting
of that." And he sang:

"Some said, 'Stir it fast,'