SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

MCMULLEN WAS A lazy lout. He was hiding out in the mulberry bush one afternoon when he smelled the tarts a-baking. Following his nose to his mother’s kitchen, McMullen reached for a warm tart and received a rap on his fingers from Ma’s wooden spoon.

“Boy, get on your legs and get to workin’ in the fields,” said his ma. “Farmer Duffy is always willing to pay a hard worker. Earn some gold, then you can win yourself a sweetheart, build yourself a house, and be out from under my feet.”

“Nay, Mammy,” said McMullen, “’tis too hot a day for