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Show 40 Hunnie came through the back gate, his feet scraping along the path, his face in a pout. Karl asked, "What's the matter? Was Francis X teasing you again? It looked like...." Hunnie walked right past him. "Hunnie, I'm talking to you! Didn't you hear me? Answer me," Karl said, following his brother onto the back porch as particles of soot and ore began to fall silently, peppering the grass, garden, and path. The little boy turned to face Karl. "Don't call me Hunnie," he said. "What do you mean don't call you Hunnie? Who are you supposed to be?" "My real name is Henry," he answered. "That's who I'm supposed to be." "Well, for Pete's sake, what brought this on? Did that Francis X...?" "Hunnie is a girl's name," Henry declared. "It is not. It's your own special nickname. Say, wait a minute, I bet you're thinking of Honey Kratzer. Honey is her nickname, just like Hunnie is yours, but they're spelled two different ways," Karl tried to explain. "I know you don't understand about spelling, Hunnie, but. ..." "My name is Henry!" he shouted, running through the back door into the kitchen. Annoyed, Karl muttered, "That Francis X, I'll wipe up the street with him, putting stupid ideas into Hunnie's head like that." Karl |
