"On one occasion of the DINNER misery," resumed she, "there happened
to be a stranger lady present, who seemed to be very much shocked by
what the Victims had to undergo, and to pity them very much; so she
said she would set them a nice little puzzle to amuse them till the
second course arrived. But now, what do you think the puzzle was?
It was a question, and this was it. 'Which is the harder thing to
bear--to have to wait for your dinner, or to have no dinner to wait
for?'

"I do not think the little Victims would have quite known what the
stranger lady meant, if she had not explained herself; for you see
THEY had never gone without dinner in their lives, so they had not an
idea what sort of a feeling it was to have NO DINNER TO WAIT FOR.
But she went on to tell them what it was like as well as she could.
She described to them little Tommy Brown, (whom they envied so much
for having no lessons to do,) eating his potatoe soaked in the
dripping begged at the squire's back-door, without anything else to
wait--or hope for. She told them that HE was never teazed as to how
he sat, or even whether he sat or stood, and then she asked them if
they did not think he was a very happy little boy? He had no trouble
or bother, but just ate his rough morsel in any way he pleased, and
then was off, hungry or not hungry, into the streets again.

"To tell you the truth," pursued Aunt Judy, "the Victims did not know
what to say to the lady's account of little Tommy Brown's happiness;
but as the roast meat came in just as it concluded, perhaps that
diverted their attention. However, after they had all been helped,
it was suddenly observed that one of them would not begin to eat. He
sat with his head bent over his plate, and his cheeks growing redder
and redder, till at last some one asked what was amiss, and why he