The man laughed, and the little boy laughed, and then the man said, ‘Excuse me,’ to the mother and went past her out of the car. When the door had closed behind him the little boy said, ‘How much longer do we have to stay on this old train?’

‘Not much longer,’ the mother said. She stood looking at the little boy, wanting to say something, and finally she said, ‘You sit still and be a good boy. You may have another lollipop.’

The little boy climbed down eagerly and followed his mother back to her seat. She took a lollipop from a bag in her pocketbook and gave it to him. ‘What do you say?’ she asked.

‘Thank you,’ the little boy said. ‘Did that man really cut his little sister up in pieces?’

‘He was just teasing,’ the mother said, and added urgently, ‘Just teasing.’

‘Prob’ly,’ the little boy said. With his lollipop he went back to his own seat, and settled himself to look out the window again. ‘Prob’ly he was a witch.’

Charles

The day my son Laurie started kindergarten he renounced corduroy overalls with bibs and began wearing blue jeans with a belt; I watched him go off the first morning with the older girl next door, seeing clearly that an era of my life was ended, my sweet-voiced nursery-school tot replaced by a long-trousered, swaggering character who forgot to stop at the corner and wave good-bye to me.

He came home the same way, the front door slamming open, his cap on the floor, and the voice suddenly become raucous shouting, ‘Isn’t anybody here?’

At lunch he spoke insolently to his father, spilled his baby sister’s milk, and remarked that his teacher said we were not to take the name of the Lord in vain.

‘How was school today?’ I asked, elaborately casual.

‘All right,’ he said.

‘Did you learn anything?’ his father asked.

Laurie regarded his father coldly. ‘I didn’t learn nothing,’ he said.

‘Anything,’ I said. ‘Didn’t learn anything.’

‘The teacher spanked a boy, though,’ Laurie said, addressing his bread and butter. ‘For being fresh,’ he added, with his mouth full.

‘What did he do?’ I asked. ‘Who was it?’

Laurie thought. ‘It was Charles,’ he said. ‘He was fresh. The teacher spanked him and made him stand in a corner. He was awfully fresh.’

‘What did he do?’ I asked again, but Laurie slid off his chair, took a cookie, and left, while his father was still saying, ‘See here, young man.’

The next day Laurie remarked at lunch, as soon as he sat down, ‘Well, Charles was bad again today.’ He grinned enormously and said, ‘Today Charles hit the teacher.’

‘Good heavens,’ I said, mindful of the Lord’s name, ‘I suppose he got spanked again?’

‘He sure did,’ Laurie said. ‘Look up,’ he said to his father.

‘What?’ his father said, looking up.