Once the Potato Face Blind Man started talking about math and geography—where numbers come from, why we add and subtract before multiplying, when fractions and decimal points were invented, who named the rivers, and why some rivers have short, easy names while others have long names that wear out pencils.

The girl, Ax Me No Questions, asked the old man if boys always stay in their hometowns where they are born and grow up, or if they pack their bags and go somewhere else after they grow up. This question led the old man to tell about Johnny the Wham and Joe the Wimp and what he remembered about them:

Johnny the Wham and Joe the Wimp were two boys who used to live here in the Village of Liver-and-Onions before they left. They grew up here, carving their initials, J. W., on wishbones, peanuts, and wheelbarrows. If anyone found a wishbone, peanut, or wheelbarrow with the initials J. W. carved on it, they wouldn't know if it was Johnny the Wham or Joe the Wimp. They met on summer days, put their hands in their pockets, and traded grasshoppers learning to say yes and no. One kick and a spit meant yes. Two kicks and a spit meant no. One, two, three, four, five, six of a kick and a spit meant the grasshopper was counting and learning numbers. They promised what they were going to do after they left the village. Johnny the Wham said, “I’m going to sleep in money up to my knees with thousand-dollar bills all over me for a blanket.”

Joe the Wimp said, “I’m going to see things and shine, and I’m going to shine and see things.” They left. They did what they said. They went up into the grasshopper country near the Village of Eggs Over where the grasshoppers were eating the corn in the fields without counting how much. They stayed in those fields until those grasshoppers learned to say yes and no and learned to count. One kick and a spit meant yes. Two kicks and a spit meant no. One, two, three, four, five, six meant the grasshoppers were counting and learning numbers.