You wouldn’t know about that, though, would you, sir? Fine tall gentleman like yourself. But it’s true. One good thing is that people often mistake me for being much younger than I am, and that makes them take pity on me. Especially the women, the ones that have their own children at home. And especially the poor ones, who know that there isn’t much keeping their own little ones from begging in the streets like me. Not that I’m begging now, sir. I wouldn’t want you to think that, not for a minute. I had a change in my fortunes, sir, you see. You might not know it from looking at me – not yet, anyway. But it’s true all the same. And if I hadn’t been so small, it would never have happened. You see, one of the bad things about being small is that most of the other beggar lads on the streets are bigger. And if you’re bigger, you can throw your weight around, so to speak. You can choose the best place to beg and no one’s going to bother you, provided you don’t annoy the shopkeepers and scare off their custom.
