COUNTING DICK 



FUNNY little Dick Sparrow had just learned 

 to count twenty, and he counted everything from 

 his playthings up to the people in church, un- 

 til one Sunday his mother had to tell him that 

 he simply must sit still. 



"Do you think there are lots of twenty peo- 

 ple here, mother?" he whispered, as he settled 

 down to see if he could possibly understand 

 what the minister was saying. 



Richard Morton Sparrow was his real name, 

 and he lived with his father and mother in 

 Rivcrdalc. He was just a mite of a chap. His 

 eyes were bright and roguish and he was al- 

 ways brimming over with fun and mischief. 

 Sparrow Dick his mother sometimes called him, 

 for often he reminded her of a little brown 

 sparrow in the quick way he would hop about 

 all day long, never seeming to get tired. 



Dick tried counting the first snow storm that 

 came to Riverdale, but the white flakes whirled 

 so fast through the air that the poor little fel- 

 low was ready to cry. 



179 



