"Just for that," snapped Bobby, "I'll give you a bunch of them. Only these must be written down to be appreciated."
She produced a long slip of paper from her pocket, uncrumpled it, and began to read:
"'There was a fine lady named Cholmondely, In person and manner so colmondely That the people in town From noble to clown Did nothing but gaze at her, dolmondely.'
"It is--not!" said Chet. "That is only a play upon pronunciation."
"Carping critics!" exclaimed Lance. "Go ahead, Bobby. Let's hear the others."
As Bobby had been saving them up for just such an opportunity as this, she proceeded to read:
"'There lived in the City of Worcester A lively political borcester, Who would sit on his gate When his own candidate Was passing, and crow like a rorcester!"
"Help! Help!" moaned Chet, falling into the cook's rocking chair and making it creak tremendously.
"Don't break up the furniture," his sister advised him, as she took a peep at the pies in the oven.
"'Pies and poetry'!" exclaimed Jess. "Go ahead, Bobby. Relieve your constitution of those sad, sad doggerels."
Nothing loath, the younger girl, and with twinkling eyes, sing-songed the following:
"'There was a young sailor of Gloucester, Who had a sweetheart, but he loucest'er. She bade him good-day, So some people say, Because he too frequently boucest'er.'
"Isn't English the funny language?" demanded Chet, sitting up again. "And spelling! My! Do you wonder foreigners find English so difficult? Here's one that I found in an almanac at the drug store," and he fished out a clipping and read it to them:
"'A lady once purchased some myrrh Of a druggist who said unto hyrrh: "For a dose, my dear Miss, Put a few drops of this In a glass with some water, and styrrh."'"
"I promise not to offend again," said Lance. "Besides, I hope to taste some of the pie, and a pie-taster should not be a poetaster."
"I've run out of limericks myself," confessed Chet.
"But one more!" Bobby hastened to say. Then dramatically she mouthed, with her black eyes fastened on Chet:
"'Said Chetwood to young Short and Long, "Just list to my warning in song: If you know of the crime, For both reason and rhyme Betray it--and so ring the gong!"'"
The other girls burst out laughing at the expression on the boys' faces. Chet and Lance looked much disturbed, and Chet finally scowled upon the teasing Bobby and shook his head.