By O. Henry
ReadOasis Step 3
(Part 1)

Note: To “whirl” means to spin, and a “whirligig” is a child's toy having a whirling or spinning motion. A “whirligig” is also something that spins, whirls, moves, or changes, like the spinning course of human events.

Justice of the Peace Ben Widdup sat in the doorway of his office smoking his pipe. The Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee looked blue-gray in the afternoon sky. A spotted hen walked down the main street, making foolish sounds.

Up the road cam...