As Franz passed the door looking up laggards , Tommy gave one last blot and flourish , and departed out the window , waving his paper to dry as he went . Nan followed , looking very important , with a large roll in her hand , and Demi escorted Daisy , both evidently brimful of some delightful secret . The museum was all in order , and the sunshine among the hop-vines made pretty shadows on the floor as it peeped through the great window . On one side sat Mr. and Mrs. Bhaer , on the other was a little table on which the compositions were laid as soon as read , and in a large semicircle sat the children on camp-stools which occasionally shut up and let the sitter down , thus preventing any stiffness in the assembly . As it took too much time to have all read , they took turns , and on this Wednesday the younger pupils were the chief performers , while the elder ones listened with condescension and criticised freely . `` Ladies first ; so Nan may begin , '' said Mr. Bhaer , when the settling of stools and rustling of papers had subsided . Nan took her place beside the little table , and , with a preliminary giggle , read the following interesting essay on , `` THE SPONGE `` The sponge , my friends , is a most useful and interesting plant . It grows on rocks under the water , and is a kind of sea-weed , I believe . People go and pick it and dry it and wash it , because little fish and insects live in the holes of the sponge ; I found shells in my new one , and sand . Some are very fine and soft ; babies are washed with them . The sponge has many uses . I will relate some of them , and I hope my friends will remember what I say . One use is to wash the face ; I do n't like it myself , but I do it because I wish to be clean . Some people do n't , and they are dirty . '' Here the eye of the reader rested sternly upon Dick and Dolly , who quailed under it , and instantly resolved to scrub themselves virtuously on all occasions . `` Another use is to wake people up ; I allude to boys par-tic-u-lar-ly . '' Another pause after the long word to enjoy the smothered laugh that went round the room . `` Some boys do not get up when called , and Mary Ann squeezes the water out of a wet sponge on their faces , and it makes them so mad they wake up . '' Here the laugh broke out , and Emil said , as if he had been hit , `` Seems to me you are wandering from the subject . '' `` No , I ai n't ; we are to write about vegetables or animals , and I 'm doing both : for boys are animals , are n't they ? ''
cried XXXXX ; and , undaunted by the indignant `` No ! ''
Dick Emil Franz Nan Tommy camp-stools first hop-vines sea-weed stools