234 Zom Seven Years Odd.

hold the blackberries. Tom jumped across
the ditch, and began to pull them.

“Take care,” said Archie. “ You'll scratch
yourself.”

“T don’t mind scratching myself,” said
Tom, “as long as my eyes aren’t scratched
out. Of course that wouldn’t do, because
then I couldn’t see the blackberries.”

Archie did not like jumping across the ditch
and being scratched, so he left it to Tom;
but he did a great deal of work in a quiet
way. When Tom came toa blackberry much
bigger and blacker than the others, he ate it
himself. Sometimes there were three or four
on one stalk bigger and blacker than the rest,
which he was obliged to eat. This took up a
good deal of time. Archie did not eat so
many, but then he did not pick so many,
because he could not reach them without
getting scratched. They picked and ate very
busily till it was dinner-time, and the basket
was nearly full.

“T’ve had enough,” said Tom. “ Let’s go
home.”