CHARLIE was ten years old, and his teacher thought he should begin to
write compositions. So she gave him a list of words, and told him to
write a letter or story, and put them all in.
The words were these: Begun, Write, Boy, Hook, Two, Black, Said, Basket,
Knife, Chair, Eyes, Ground.
Charlie went home; and, before he went out to play in the afternoon, his
mother said, "You had better work a while on your composition."
"Oh, I never can do it!" he said. "Mother, you try too, and see if you
can write one." So she took his list and wrote this true story,--
"A little _boy_ with roguish _black eyes_ was
sitting on the floor, playing with some spools
that he had taken from his mother's work-_basket_,
which she had left in a _chair_. All at once he
saw a cow coming up the yard. He dropped every
thing, and ran to drive her out. She threw up her
head, and looked so fierce, that he was afraid she
would _hook_ him, and back he ran to the house.
"Then he spied a fruit-_knife_ on the _ground_,
where he had left it when he was eating an apple
in the morning. He picked it up, and carried it to
his mother, who had just _begun_ to _write_, and
she _said_, that, if he would keep still about
_two_ minutes, she would attend to him."
"There," said mamma, "I have put in all the words: now you try,
Charlie."