Then he went to her bedroom door and knocked with his knuckles as he had done for years in precisely the same fashion.
Rap--rap--rap.

"Hello, Merry! Time t' git up.

Broad daylight, an' birds a-singun'." Without waiting for an answer he went out to the barn and worked away at his chores.

He took such delight in the glorious morning and the turbulent life of the farmyard that his heart grew light and he hummed a tune which sounded like the merry growl of a lion.

"Poo-ee, poo-ee," he called to the pigs as they swarmed across the yard.
"Ahrr! you big, fat rascals, them hams o' yourn is clear money.