COUNTING THE CLOTHESPINS.
"How do you count the clothespins?"
Said mother to Bridget one day;
"You are always sure of the number,
Yet you cannot count, you say."
"Ah, missie," said blushing Bridget,
"Sure, an' I have a way." Next week, when the wash was over,
We watched what the girl would do,
And this is the way she counted
Her basket of clothespins through:
"You and your mate," counted Bridget,
"You and your mate, you." In handfuls of five she counted
The basket of pins throughout;
Two pairs of mates, one odd one,
She laid them in heaps about;
A funny method of counting,
But honest beyond a doubt. In parcels of five she laid them—
But still there was more to do;
She counted the fives together,
Five fives in a pile she threw—
"You and your mate," still counting,
"You and your mate, you." We laughed at her way of counting,
And she heard our merry din;
But she carried her head right proudly
As she brought the basket in:
"I've washed here a year," said Bridget,
"And never have lost a pin."
—Good Cheer.