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Harriet was a very good whiner. She practiced and practiced, and so of course she got better and better at it. Practice makes perfect.

Some children hardly ever whine. Can you believe that? So of course they never get to be very good at it.

"Can I have a piece of that blueberry pie?" Harriet asked her mother while her mother was fixing dinner.

Guests were coming, and her mother wanted everything to be very nice.

"No, Harriet. The pie is for after dinner. We're having roast beef."

Children like Harriet are not interested in roast beef when they are interested in pie.

"I want a piece of pie," whined Harriet. She used her best whiny voice.

"I said no, and I mean no," said Harriet's mother. She always liked to say what she meant.

Harriet's mother started to make some nice tomato aspic.

Harriet kept whining, "Can I have some pie, can I have some pie?"

Harriet's mother kept saying that when she said no she meant no. Harriet's mother tried to concentrate on the aspic, but that was very hard to do because Harriet was whining.

Good whiners make it very hard for anyone to think of anything else.

"Why don't you color in your nice new coloring book?" asked Harriet's mother.

"I want some pie now," whined Harriet.

"Dinner will be ready pretty soon," said Harriet's mother.

"But I want some pie now," whined Harriet.

A good whiner sticks to one subject. A good whiner never gives up.

Harriet kept whining, and her mother kept trying to get dinner ready.

"I want some pie," whined Harriet, and her mother burned the gravy.

"All right, all right," her mother said. She was very tired of hearing Harriet whine.

Harriet stopped whining while she had her piece of pie. She always rested up between whines. That's what good whiners always do.