with my egg money and sew them into a book and write the story in it. I can do what I like with my egg money. I think maybe I’ll write novels when I grow up as well as poetry. But Aunt Elizabeth won’t let me read any novels so how can I find out how to write them? Another thing that worries me, if I do grow up and write a wonderful poem, perhaps people won’t see how wonderful it is.
“Cousin Jimmy says that a man in Priest Pond says the end of the world is coming soon. I hope it won’t come till I’ve seen everything in it.
“Poor Elder MacKay has the mumps.
“I was over sleeping with Ilse the other night because her father was away. Ilse says her prayers now and she said she’d bet me anything she could pray longer than me. I said she couldn’t and I prayed ever so long about everything I could think of and when I couldn’t think of anything more I thought at first I’d begin over again. Then I thought, “No, that would not be honerable. A Starr must be honerable.” So I got up and said “You win” and Ilse never answered. I went around the bed and there she was asleep on her knees. When I woke her up she said we’d have to call the bet off because she could have gone on praying for ever so long if she hadn’t fell asleep.
“After we got into bed I told her a lot of things I wished afterwards I hadn’t. Secrets.
“The other day in history class Miss Brownell read that Sir Walter Raleigh had to lie in the Tower for fourteen years. Perry said “Wouldn’t they let him get up sometimes?” Then Miss Brownell punished him for impertinence, but Perry was in earnest. Ilse was mad at Miss Brownell for whipping Perry and mad at Perry for asking such a fool question as if he didn’t know anything. But Perry says he is going to write a history book some day that won’t have such puzzling things in it.
