"A moment later he heard his father cry out in alarm; and looking toward
the pasture where the two young mules were kept, he saw little Marion
just inside the fence.
"Daddy ran toward the baby as fast as he could; but he was just too late.
One of the mules kicked Marion, and he fell over in a little heap. The
mule, seeing Daddy coming, ran toward the other end of the pasture.
"Daddy picked up the limp little body and carried it to the house. The
baby lay so still that at first they thought he was dead.
"Milton was terribly frightened, and he cried almost all day; for he
knew this dreadful thing had happened because he did not latch the back
yard gate--and because he had told Daddy a lie about it.
"Poor little Marion was taken to the hospital. His spine had been injured,
and it was many, many months before he could sit up. And never again was
he able to run about like other children.
"It was a long time before Mother and Daddy found out how the baby came
to be in the pasture with the mules. But one day, after little Marion
had been brought home, Milton told Daddy the whole, sad story.
"'I'm very sorry,' said Daddy kindly, when he had finished.
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