Part 6 (1/2)
”Oh! Well, I'll tell you up to where the Beast died.”
”_Fought_ he died,” she corrected eagerly.
”Yes. Well----”
”How much will that be? As much as I said?”
I nodded. The preliminary business settled, she gave a little sigh of happiness, put her arms round her knees, and waited breathlessly for the story she had heard twenty times before.
”Once upon a time there was a man who had three daughters. And one day----”
”What was the man's name?”
”Margery,” I said reproachfully, annoyed at the interruption, ”you know I _never_ tell you the man's name.”
”Tell me now.”
”Oswald,” I said after a moment's thought.
”I told Daddy it was Thomas,” said Margery casually.
”Well, as a matter of fact he had two names, Oswald _and_ Thomas.”
”Why did he have two names?”
”In case he lost one. Well, one day this man, who was very poor, heard that a lot of money was waiting for him in a s.h.i.+p which had come over the sea to a town some miles off. So he----”
”Was it waiting at Weymouf?”
”Somewhere like that.”
”I spex it must have been Weymouf, because there's lots of sea there.”
”Yes, I'm sure it was. Well, he thought he'd go to Weymouth and get the money.”
”How much monies was it?”
”Oh, lots and lots.”
”As much as five pennies?”
”Yes, about that. Well, he said good-bye to his daughters and asked them what they'd like him to bring back for a present. And the first asked for some lovely jewels and diamonds and----”
”Like Mummy's locket--is that jewels?”
”That sort of idea. Well, she wanted a lot of things like that. And the second wanted some beautiful clothes.”
”What sort of clothes?”
”Oh, frocks and--well, frocks and all sorts of--er frocks.”