When she came back, and sat down in her former
seat, the Cricket and the kettle were still keeping it
up, with a perfect fury of competition. The kettle's
weak side clearly being, that he didn't know when
he was beat.
There was all the excitement of a race about it.
Chirp, chirp, chirp! Cricket a mile ahead. Hum,
hum, hum -- m -- m! Kettle making play in the dis-
tance, like a great top. Chirp, chirp, chirp! Cricket
round the corner. Hum, hum, hum -- m -- m! Ket-
tle sticking to him in his own way; no idea of giv-
ing in. Chirp, chirp, chirp! Cricket fresher than
ever. Hum, hum, hum -- m -- m! Kettle slow and
steady. Chirp, chirp, chirp! Cricket going in to fin-
ish him. Hum, hum, hum -- m -- m! Kettle not to be
finished. Until at last they got so jumbled together,
in the hurry-skurry, helter-skelter, of the match, that
whether the kettle chirped and the Cricket hummed,
or the Cricket chirped and the kettled hummed, or
they both chirped and both hummed, it would have
taken a clearer head than yours or mine to have de-
cided with anything like certainty.
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