Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered

95/260A respectful silence fell on the place. Sam looked at Joe and said,“Dat’s uh new idea ’bout varmints, Mayor Starks. But Ah laks it mahownself. It’s uh noble thing you done.” Everybody agreed with that.Janie stood still while they all made comments. When it was alldone she stood in front of Joe and said, “Jody, dat wuz uh mighty finething fuh you tuh do. ’Tain’t everybody would have thought of it,’cause it ain’t no everyday thought. Freein’ dat mule makes uh mightybig man outa you. Something like George Washington and Lincoln.Abraham Lincoln, he had de whole United States tuh rule so he freedde Negroes. You got uh town so you freed uh mule. You have tuh havepower tuh free things and dat makes you lak uh king uh something.”Hambo said, “Yo’ wife is uh born orator, Starks. Us never knoweddat befo’. She put jus’ de right words tuh our thoughts.”Joe bit down hard on his cigar and beamed all around, but he neversaid a word. The town talked it for three days and said that’s justwhat they would have done if they had been rich men like Joe Starks.Anyhow a free mule in town was something new to talk about. Starkspiled fodder under the big tree near the porch and the mule was usuallyaround the store like the other citizens. Nearly everybody took thehabit of fetching along a handful of fodder to throw on the pile. He almostgot fat and they took a great pride in him. New lies sprung upabout his free-mule doings. How he pushed open Lindsay’s kitchendoor and slept in the place one night and fought until they made coffeefor his breakfast; how he stuck his head in the Pearsons’ window whilethe family was at the table and Mrs. Pearson mistook him for Rev.Pearson and handed him a plate; he ran Mrs. Tully off of the croquetground for having such an ugly shape; he ran and caught up withBecky Anderson on the way to Maitland so as to keep his head out ofthe sun under her umbrella; he got tired of listening to Redmond’slong-winded prayer, and went inside the Baptist church and broke up