Once upon a time there lived an old beggar-man. His name was Johnny Clarke but the people used to call him "Poor Martin" because he nearly always came begging on St. Martin's day. His clothes were ragged and torn. He wore a black soft hat and he always had the leaf of it turned up on the two sides. He used strings for laces on his boots,. He would not walk straight along the road but he used to be jumping from side to side. Johnny had very peculiar ways about him. He was always pretending to be light-headed so that people would take pity on him. When he would come into a house on a cold day he would run to the fire and sit down, his feet on the ashes and his two hands held over the fire. He had his feet so near the fire that the strings which tied his boots would burn. Even though he saw them burning he would not pretend to see themShay Carberry