I saw my cousin, Addison, who had a fairly good voice, join the "sheep," and then Theodora, Ellen, Kate and Thomas; but I could not escape the ordeal forever, and at last my turn came.

When Bear-Tone bade me sing the scale, fear so constricted my vocal cords that I squealed rather than sang.
"Sonny, there's lots of things a boy can do besides sing," Bear-Tone said as he laughingly consigned me to the outer darkness.

"It's no great blessing, after all." He patted my shoulder.

"I can sing a little, but I've never been good for much else.

So don't you feel bad about it." But I did feel bad, and, joining the "goats" outside, I helped to organize a hostile demonstration.