Dealings of Captain Sharkey and Other Stories of Pirates-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Ten year old twins. Constantine and Adolphus are chagrined to be shipped off to a private tutor in the country. Their lot appears worse when they meet their host and his family, consisting of a wife, son Aleck (who imagines himself the perfect student) and two little girls! On top of that, they are expected to study. Fun seems in short supply when they are not even allowed to pull the cow's tail, and there is no second dinner provided. This allegorical tale can be a simple, amusing story or a lesson to us all. - Summary by Lynne Thompson