"Nah, they cain't. How kin they? They'd cut their feet all topieces."

"They kin so. I seen 'em do it. The time I went with UncleDavid I seen a man, a Japanee . . . . Yes, sharp. Cut paper with'em. . . . A-a-ah, I did so. I guess I know what I seen an' whatI didn't."

The little kids breathe easier, but fearing another onslaught, makeall haste to call attention to the most fascinating one of all, thepicture of a little kid standing up on top of his daddy's head.And, as if that weren't enough, his daddy is standing up on ahorse and the mule is going round the ring lickety-split. And,as if these circumstances weren't sufficiently trying, that littleshow-boy is standing on only one leg. The other is stuck up inthe air like five minutes to six, and he has hold of his toe with hisarm. I'll bet you can't do that just as you are on the ground, letalone on your daddy's head, and him on a mule that's going likesixty. Now you just try it once. Just try it. . . . Aa-ah! Toldyou you couldn't.

Now, how the show-actors can do that looks very wonderful to you.It really is very simple. I'll tell you about it. All show-actorsare born double-jointed. You have only two hip-joints. They havefour. And it's the same all over with them. Where you have onlyone joint, they have two. So, you see, the wonder isn't how theycan bend themselves every which way, but how they can keep fromdoubling up like a leg-rule.