17 lines
896 B
Plaintext
17 lines
896 B
Plaintext
From "Life on the Mississippi":
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I know how a prize watermelon looks when it is sunning
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its fat rotundity among pumpkin vines; I know how to tell
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when it ripe without "plugging" it; I know how inviting
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it looks when it is cooling itself in a tub of water under
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the bed, waiting; I know how it looks when it lies on the
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table in the sheltered great floor space between house and
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kitchen, and the children gathered for the sacrifice and
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their mouths watering; I know the crackling sound it makes
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when the carving knife enters its end, and I can see the
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split fly along in front of the blade as the knife cleaves
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its way to the other end; I can see its halves fall apart
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and display the rich red meat and the black seeds, and the
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heart standing up, a luxury fit the elect; I know how a
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boy looks behind a yard-long slice of that melon, and I
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know how he feels; for I have been there.
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