"Are ye sick, Toby, or what is the matter with
ye?"
"No, I hain't sick," said Toby, with a sigh; "but I've been to the
circus, an' I got a good deal to eat."
"Oho! You spent that cent I give ye, eh, an' got so much that it
made ye sick?"
Toby thought of the six peanuts which he had bought with the penny
Uncle Daniel had given him; and, amid all his homesickness, he
could not help wondering if Uncle Daniel ever made himself sick
with only six peanuts when he was a boy.
As no one paid any further attention to Toby, he pushed back his
plate, arose from the table, and went with a heavy heart to attend
to his regular evening chores. The cow, the hens, and even the pigs
came in for a share of his unusually kind attention; and as he fed
them all the big tears rolled down his cheeks as he thought that
perhaps never again would he see any of them. These dumb animals
had all been Toby's confidants; he had poured out his griefs in
their ears, and fancied, when the world or Uncle Daniel had used
him unusually hard, that they sympathized with him. Now he was
leaving them forever, and as he locked the stable door he could
hear the sounds of music coming from the direction of the circus
grounds, and he was angry at it, because it represented that which
was taking him away from his home, even though it was not as pleasant
as it might have been.
Still, he had no thought of breaking the engagement which he had
made.
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