It seems he was over at the Lowbridge Road school the other day and took a notion to examine the fourth class in spelling . They have the summer term there yet , you know , with the spring and fall vacations , being rather backward people on that road . My niece , Ella Baker , goes to that school and she it was who told me the story . The teacher was not feeling well , having a dreadful headache , and she went out to get a little fresh air while Mr. Pryor was examining the class . The children got along all right with the spelling but when Whiskers began to question them about the meanings of the words they were all at sea , because they had not learned them . Ella and the other big scholars felt terrible over it . They love their teacher so , and it seems Mr. Pryor 's brother , Abel Pryor , who is trustee of that school , is against her and has been trying to turn the other trustees over to his way of thinking . And Ella and the rest were afraid that if the fourth class could n't tell Whiskers the meanings of the words he would think the teacher was no good and tell Abel so , and Abel would have a fine handle . But little Sandy Logan saved the situation . He is a Home boy , but he is as smart as a steel trap , and he sized up Whiskers-on-the-moon right off . ` What does `` anatomy '' mean ? ' Whiskers demanded . ' A pain in your stomach , ' Sandy replied , quick as a flash and never batting an eyelid . Whiskers-on-the-moon is a very ignorant man , Mrs. Dr. dear ; he did n't know the meaning of the words himself , and he said ` Very good -- very good . ' The class caught right on -- at least three or four of the brighter ones did -- and they kept up the fun . Jean Blane said that ` acoustic ' meant ' a religious squabble , ' and Muriel Baker said that an ` agnostic ' was ' a man who had indigestion , ' and Jim Carter said that ` acerbity ' meant that ` you ate nothing but vegetable food , ' and so on all down the list . Whiskers swallowed it all , and kept saying ` Very good -- very good ' until Ella thought that die she would trying to keep a straight face . When the teacher came in , Whiskers complimented her on the splendid understanding the children had of their lesson and said he meant to tell the trustees what a jewel they had . It was ` very unusual , ' he said , to find a fourth class who could answer up so prompt when it came to explaining what words meant . He went off beaming .
But Ella told me this as a great secret , Mrs. Dr. dear , and we must keep it XXXXX such , for the sake of the Lowbridge Road teacher .
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