Well, the Man in the--I mean the Man (but I nearly forgot what I have
just said)--the Man turned to the south and began walking briskly
along the road, for he had made up his mind to do as the alderman had
advised and travel to Norwich, that he might eat some of the famous
pease porridge that was made there. And finally, after a long and
tiresome journey, he reached the town and stopped at one of the first
houses he came to, for by this time he was very hungry indeed.
A good-looking woman answered his knock at the door, and he asked
politely,
"Is this the town of Norwich, madam?"
"Surely this is the town of Norwich," returned the woman.
"I came here to see if I could get some pease porridge," continued the
Man, "for I hear you make I the nicest porridge in the world in this
town."
"That we do, sir," answered the woman, "and if you 'll step inside I
'll give you a bowl, for I have plenty in the house that is newly
made."
So he thanked her and entered the house, and she asked,
"Will you have it hot or cold, sir?"
"Oh, cold, by all means," replied the Man, "for I detest anything hot
to eat."
She soon brought him a bowl of cold pease porridge, and the Man was so
hungry that he took a big spoonful at once.
But no sooner had he put it into his mouth than he uttered a great
yell, and began dancing frantically about the room, for of course the
porridge that was cold to earth folk was hot to him, and the big
spoonful of cold pease porridge had burned his mouth to a blister!
"What 's the matter?" asked the woman.
Pages:
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84