Here's a short story:

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. 

DESCRIBES A HAPPY HOME AND A HAPPIER MEETING. 

In a small wayside cottage in the outskirts of one of those picturesque villages which surround London, an old woman sat at the head of a small deal table, with a black teapot, a brown sugar-basin, a yellow milk jug, and a cracked tea-cup before her. 

At the foot of the same table sat a young man, with a large knife in one hand, a huge loaf of bread in the other, and a mass of yellow butter in a blue plate in front of him. 

The young man was James Slagg; the old woman was his mother. Jim had no brothers or sisters, and his father chanced to be absent at market, so he had the "old lady" all to himself. 

"Well, well, Jim," said Mrs Slagg, with a loving look at her son's flushed face, "you've told me a heap o' wonderful tales about telegrumphs, an' tigers, an' electricity an' what not. If you was as great a liar as you was used to be, Jim, I tell 'ee plain, lad, I wouldn't believe one word on it. But you're a better boy than you was, Jim, an' I do believe you--indeed I do, though I must confess that some on it is hard to swallow." 

"Thank 'ee, mother," said Jim, with a pleasant nod, as he cut an enormous slice from the loaf, trowelled upon it a mass of the yellow butter, and pushed in his cup for more tea.  (End of story)

Provide your best guess for the following question. Give ONLY the guess, no other words or explanation.

For example:

Guess: <most likely guess, as short as possible; not a complete sentence, just the guess!>

Here are a few examples of questions and answers:

Question: Who sat at the foot of the table?
Guess: an old woman

Question: What did she have before her?
Guess: a black teapot, a brown sugar-basin, a yellow milk jug, and a cracked tea-cup

Question: What was her name?
Guess: Mrs Slagg

Question: Who sat at the foot of the table?
Guess: a young man

Now answer the following question in the same format.

Question: What was he holding in one hand?

a large knife