Walter was busy doing his home lessons; he wanted to get them finished
quickly, so that he could join his playmates at a game of cricket before
it was time to go to bed. He was nearly at the end, and the page was
just as neat as it could be--for Walter worked very carefully--when, in
turning the paper over, he gave the pen which was in his hand a sharp
jerk, and a great splash of ink fell in the very middle of the neat,
clean page.
"Oh, dear!" cried Walter, "all my work is wasted. I shall get no marks
for this lesson unless I write it all over again; and I wanted so much
to go out and have a game." However, he was a brave boy, and his mother
was glad to notice that he set to work quietly, and soon had it written
over again. When bedtime came, she said: "Walter, your accident with
the ink made me think of a story. Shall I tell it to you?"
"Oh, yes, mother! please do," said Walter, for he loved stories.