Mrs. Pringle of Fairacre by Miss Read

Author:Miss Read [Read, Miss]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Domestic Fiction, Country Life - England, Fairacre (England: Imaginary Place)
ISBN: 9780618155880
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Published: 2001-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

'One in each ear!' roared Mrs Pringle. 'And I daresay he would have put more in his nose, and elsewhere, if we hadn't caught him. And could we get them out?'

I guessed correctly that this was only a rhetorical question intended to heighten the dramatic effect.

'With them being wet, you see,' resumed the lady, 'they was beginning to plump up - the peas, I mean, not his ears - and we tried everything, fingernails, pen knife, even a skewer -'

I must have shuddered.

'Well, we had to try,' said Mrs Pringle grumpily.

'Of course, of course.' I began to roll up a picture of a sleigh pulled by reindeer.

'So I said to Minnie, "It's no good you standing there hollering. Get on the Caxley with him and cut up to the Casualty. They'll have instruments for getting peas out of ear-'oles." Must be at it daily up there.'

'The best thing,' I agreed, still envisaging a meat skewer being twisted in the child's ear.

'So here I am, ten minutes late, and hampered, as you see.'

She cast a malevolent glance at the silent child who was now engrossed in scribbling energetically with his crayons. As far as I could see, he was drawing a tangle of multi-coloured wool, but it kept him quiet.

'I told Minnie I'd keep him till she got back, but there isn't another Fairacre till midday, unless she gets the Beech Green and walks the rest.'

She gave a sigh which rustled the pictures still on the wall. 'Children!' she groaned. 'D'you want them wash basins done too?'

'Yes please,' I said.

She pushed herself up from the desk where she had seated herself during the recital of her woes, and limped towards the lobby.

We continued our labours in silence.

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