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diff --git a/old/69760-h/69760-h.htm b/old/69760-h/69760-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index ec558a8..0000000 --- a/old/69760-h/69760-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4759 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8"> - <title> - Brothers and sisters, by Abbie Farwell Brown—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> - <style> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.tdr {text-align: right;} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-indent: 0; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; -} - -.x-ebookmaker .blockquot { - margin-left: 7.5%; - margin-right: 7.5%; -} - -.indentright {margin-right: 4em;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph2 {text-align: center; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;} - -div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -div.titlepage p {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 2em;} - -.xlarge {font-size: 150%;} -.large {font-size: 125%;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold; text-align: center;} - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} -img.w100 {width: 100%;} - -.illowe28_125 {width: 450px;} -.illowe31_25 {width: 500px;} - -.x-ebookmaker .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -p.drop-cap { - text-indent: -0.35em; -} -p.drop-cap2 { - text-indent: -0.75em; -} -p.drop-cap:first-letter, p.drop-cap2:first-letter -{ - float: left; - margin: 0em 0.15em 0em 0em; - font-size: 250%; - line-height:0.85em; - text-indent: 0em; -} -.x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap, .x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap2 { - text-indent: 0em; -} -.x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap:first-letter, .x-ebookmaker p.drop-cap2:first-letter -{ - float: none; - margin: 0; - font-size: 100%; -} - -.antiqua { - font-family: Blackletter, Fraktur, Textur, "Old English Text MT", "Olde English Mt", "Olde English", Gothic, serif, sans-serif;} - -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; - padding: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -</style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Brothers and sisters, by Abbie Farwell Brown</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Brothers and sisters</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Abbie Farwell Brown</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Ethel C. Brown</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January 10, 2023 [eBook #69760]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David E. Brown and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROTHERS AND SISTERS ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide"><img src="images/coversmall.jpg" width="450" alt=""></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1>BROTHERS AND SISTERS</h1> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_0"></span></p> -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i004"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i004.jpg" alt="POOR LITTLE KITTY, HOW COLD SHE MUST BE"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">“POOR LITTLE KITTY, HOW COLD SHE MUST BE”<br> (<span class="smcap">Page <a href="#Page_6">6</a></span>)</p></figcaption> -</figure> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt=""></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<p class="ph2">BROTHERS AND<br> -SISTERS</p> - -<p>BY<br> - -<span class="xlarge">ABBIE FARWELL BROWN</span></p> - -<p>ILLUSTRATED BY<br> -<span class="large">ETHEL C. BROWN</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_titlelogo.jpg" alt=""></div> - -<p>BOSTON AND NEW YORK<br> -HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY<br> -<span class="antiqua">The Riverside Press, Cambridge</span><br> -1906</p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="center"> -COPYRIGHT 1906 BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN<br> -<br> -ALL RIGHTS RESERVED<br> -<br> -<i>Published September 1906</i></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>For permission to reprint the several -chapters of this volume thanks are due to -<i>The Churchman</i>,—“The Garden of Live -Flowers,” “April Fool,” “The Dark -Room,” “The Pieced Baby,” “The -Alarm;” to <i>The Congregationalist</i>,—“The -Japanese Shop,” “Brothers and Sisters;” -to <i>Good Housekeeping</i>,—“Buried -Treasure;” and to <i>The Kindergarten -Review</i>,—“The Christmas Cat.”</p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - -<table> - -<tr><td class="tdr"><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td class="tdr" colspan="2"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">I.</td><td> The Christmas Cat</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1"> 1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">II.</td><td> The Christmas Cat’s Present</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_10"> 10</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">III.</td><td> The Japanese Shop</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19"> 19</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IV.</td><td> April Fool’s Night</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_28"> 28</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">V.</td><td> The April Fool</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_38"> 38</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VI.</td><td> The April-Fool Journey</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_48"> 48</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VII.</td><td> The Dolls’ May-Party</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_57"> 57</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">VIII.</td><td> The Dark Room</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_66"> 66</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">IX.</td><td> The Garden of Live Flowers    </td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_86"> 86</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">X.</td><td> Buried Treasure</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_97"> 97</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XI.</td><td> The Pieced Baby</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_106"> 106</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XII.</td><td> The Alarm</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_120"> 120</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIII.</td><td> Brothers and Sisters</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_131"> 131</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdr">XIV.</td><td> Tommy’s Letter</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_145"> 145</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> - -<table> -<tr><td>“Poor little kitty, how cold she must be” (<i>page <a href="#Page_6">6</a></i>)</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_0"> <i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“See what Santa has brought the Christmas cat”</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_16"> 16</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>The littlest baby white rabbit</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_24"> 24</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>“I am April Fool”</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40"> 40</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Kenneth found that it was a wall of glass</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_44"> 44</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>She lifted poor Matilda and set her up on the window seat</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_64"> 64</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>In tiptoed a little figure</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_74"> 74</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Living flowers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_92"> 92</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>The sand stretched out like a great sheet of paper</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_98"> 98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>Awakened by a little silvery laugh</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_108"> 108</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>They were Tommy and Mary Prout</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122"> 122</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>What a shriek of joy went up</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_142"> 142</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[1]</span> - -<p class="ph2">BROTHERS AND SISTERS</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I<br> - -<small>THE CHRISTMAS CAT</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">IT was the day before the day before Christmas, -and there came a big snowstorm, -so that Kenneth and Rose were shut up in -the house. Now that was a very hard thing -to bear, for as every one knows, the last two -days before Christmas are the longest, slowest -days in the whole year. But if one has to stay -in the house and just <i>think</i>, it seems as though -the time would never go by.</p> - -<p>If it had been a pleasant day they could -have gone out of doors to skate, or to coast, or -to play any number of jolly games which they -now remembered sadly. Perhaps they would -have gone to their cousin Charlie’s house, -which was in the next block but one beyond -theirs. Perhaps their papa would have taken<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[2]</span> -them down town for a last look at the Christmas -shops, and the wonderful toys, some of -which they hoped Santa Claus would remember -to bring to the Thornton house. There -were ever so many nice things which they -could have done to make the time pass away, -if only it had been a pleasant day. But now -there seemed nothing in the world to do.</p> - -<p>Kenneth and Rose wandered dismally about -the house. They peeped into the play-room, -where the toys were lying about looking very -lonely, as though they would say,—</p> - -<p>“O Kenneth! Do come and play with us. -Please, Rosie, don’t go away and leave us all -alone!”</p> - -<p>But Kenneth and Rose were tired of all -the old toys, they had played with them so -many, many times. They hoped that Santa -would bring them some new ones on Christmas -morning, if Christmas morning would -ever, ever come!</p> - -<p>In the dining-room Rose’s old doll, Matilda, -was lying face downward on the sofa, quite<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span> -heart-broken because she had been so long -deserted. Rose looked at her, then she turned -her back sadly.</p> - -<p>“Matilda is growing very ugly,” she said. -“No wonder she hides her face, with only -one eye and a broken nose. I still love her -very much, but I do so hope that Santa will -not forget how much I need a new dollie.”</p> - -<p>They went down into the kitchen, with a -vague hope that Katie might find them something -to do. But Katie was too busy baking -the Christmas pies and cake to bother with -children. She would not even give them a bit -of dough to play with.</p> - -<p>“Whisht!” she cried, flapping a dishcloth -at them fiercely, “Rin out o’ me kitchen, you -childer! I can’t have ye fussing about here -this day, niver a bit. Rin off an’ play somewheres -else, like a good little lad and lassie, -now.”</p> - -<p>Run off and play! Where should they run, -and what should they play? There was no -one to help them. Papa was down town in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span> -spite of all the snow. Kenneth wished that -he too was a big man who could go out of -doors in spite of all the snow. Mamma was -busy in the library with secrets of her own, -and would not let them in. Rose wished that -she too was a big lady who could have secrets -all by herself. Then she would not mind -however hard it might storm outside.</p> - -<p>Kenneth flattened his nose against one dining-room -window, and Rose flattened her nose -against the other, and they stared out at the -snow smoothly spreading itself over everything, -just as Katie was frosting the cake -downstairs. Big drifts were piling up beyond -the curbstones, and in the doorways opposite. -Now and then a sleigh floundered past, the -horses making their way with difficulty. Supposing, -oh, supposing that it should storm for -two whole days, and the snow should grow -so deep that even Santa Claus’s reindeer could -not get through with the gifts for their Christmas -stockings!</p> - -<p>Suddenly Kenneth jumped right up in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span> -air and cried, “Look, Rose!” And at the same -moment Rose pressed her nose even flatter on -the window and said, “O Kenneth, what is -it?”</p> - -<p>Something tiny and black was moving along -through the snow on the sidewalk. It gave -little hops, each time sinking down almost -out of sight, stopping to rest between jumps -as though it were very tired. The children -watched it breathlessly.</p> - -<p>At last it came to the long flight of steps, -which looked like a smooth toboggan-slide -of snow. But the little black creature seemed -to know what was underneath the cold white -covering, for it hopped bravely up on the lowest -step, then up and up, step by step, to the -landing, where the snow was not so deep. And -now the children could see it plainly.</p> - -<p>“Why, it’s a poor little kitty!” cried Kenneth, -almost pushing the glass out of the window -with his small, cold nose, so eager was -he to watch the little stranger.</p> - -<p>“And she has come to our ownty-donty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span> -steps!” echoed Rose. “Poor little kitty, how -cold she must be!”</p> - -<p>Just at that moment the wet little black -thing looked up at the window where Rose -stood, and just as if she had heard what Rose -said, the poor kitty answered very sadly, “Mi-a-o-ow!”</p> - -<p>All this time it had been snowing harder -and harder, and already the tracks which the -kitty had made in the snow were blotted out -of sight. At the same moment Kenneth and -Rose made a dash for the front door. “We -mustn’t let the poor kitty stay there,” said -Kenneth, “she will be all drowned in the -snow, and frozen, too.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we must bring her in and make her -nice and warm,” said Rose.</p> - -<p>So they opened the front door, and stood at -the head of the steps calling, “Kitty, kitty!” -very gently, while the snow whirled in about -their ankles.</p> - -<p>“Mi-a-ow!” answered the black cat, but -this time she spoke more cheerfully. “Thank<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> -you!” she seemed to say. “May I really come -in?”</p> - -<p>“Come in,” said Kenneth.</p> - -<p>“Poor kitty, do come in!” cried Rose, -holding out her hand invitingly. And the -black cat walked in.</p> - -<p>She was very wet and draggly, but Kenneth -took her in his arms and carried her upstairs. -Rose ran before, and they knocked on the -library door, where their mamma was hidden -with her secrets.</p> - -<p>“Mamma, Mamma! Come here a minute!” -they cried. “Come and see what we -have found. Come quick, Mamma!”</p> - -<p>In a minute their mamma came hurrying, -and opened the door just a tiny little crack, -through which she peeped at them. But when -she saw what Kenneth had in his arms she -came out quickly, shuttling the door carefully -behind her (to keep the Christmas secrets from -running away, I suppose).</p> - -<p>“What have you found, Kenneth?” she -cried, holding up her hands.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span>“A kitty, a poor kitty, lost in the snow,” -said Kenneth.</p> - -<p>“We had to take her in and make her warm -and comfy at Christmas time, didn’t we, -Mamma?” said Rose.</p> - -<p>“Please, Mamma, you will let us keep her, -won’t you?” they both pleaded.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thornton hesitated. The cat was very -wet and homely. She had meant to give the -children a pretty little kitten some day. But -just then the poor hungry animal looked up -and gave a pitiful “Mi-a-ow,” and Mrs. -Thornton remembered how dreadful it was -that any living creature should be miserable -and cold and homeless at the happy Christmas -time.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you may keep her, children,” she said. -“Keep her and make her have a merry Christmas.”</p> - -<p>Kenneth and Rose took the little cat downstairs -and gave her a good dinner. “But you -shall have a better one on Christmas Day,” -promised Kenneth. Rose found a tiny basket<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> -and made a bed beside the fire in the dining-room. -And there the black cat slept all -the afternoon, she was so tired, and so glad to -rest and to be warm. Rose sat beside her, -stroking her soft fur, and Kenneth sat at the -other side of the fireplace trying to think up -a good name for the new kitty, so that the -time went before they knew it, and they had -forgotten to wish it were Christmas day.</p> - -<p>“What have you named the little cat?” -asked their papa when the children showed -him their new pet that evening.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kenneth has thought of the loveliest -name!” cried Rose, jumping up and clapping -her hands. “We are going to call her Christine,—because -she is a little Christmas cat. -Isn’t that a beautiful name, Papa?”</p> - -<p>And Papa said that he thought it was a very -beautiful name indeed.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II<br> - -<small>THE CHRISTMAS CAT’S PRESENT</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">THE next morning when Kenneth and -Rose awoke, it was bright and fair. The -storm had cleared away, and the whole world -was white and wonderful with spangled snow. -Now the children could play out of doors as -much as they liked, and the time went so fast -that they almost forgot to wish Christmas -would hurry up. Their cousin Charlie came -over to play with them, and they built snow -forts and snowballed one another; they made -big statues of snow in the back yard and shoveled -the sidewalks and the front steps nicely. -Before they knew it it was evening again,—Christmas -eve, and their mamma was inviting -them to come and see her secret in the -library.</p> - -<p>And what do you think the secret was? -When the folding doors were thrown open<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -there was a glare of light and a smell of -woodsy green, and Kenneth and Rose and -their cousin Charlie cried “Oh!” they were -so surprised. For there stood a beautiful -Christmas tree, glittering with spangles and -icicles and silver balls and tiny candles.</p> - -<p>Kenneth and Rose and Charlie danced -around the tree, and they had a beautiful time -finding the little bags of candy which were -hidden for each of them among the green -branches.</p> - -<p>“It was a lovely, lovely secret,” whispered -Rose in her mamma’s ear. “And when I grow -up I will make one just like it for my dolls.”</p> - -<p>When all the candles had sputtered and -gone out, Charlie’s papa came to take him -home. And after that it was time to go to bed. -But first they must hang up their stockings -for Santa Claus to fill. They tied them up -over the fireplace in the library,—Kenneth’s -long black stocking and Rose’s shorter brown -one. Then Kenneth said,—</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mamma, we must hang up a stocking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -for Christine. I am sure Santa will want -to remember the poor little Christmas cat.”</p> - -<p>“I know!” cried Rose. “I will hang up -one of my little summer socks. That will be -just right for a little kitty-cat’s Christmas.”</p> - -<p>So she brought one of her short white socks -and they hung it up in the chimney-place -right between the other two stockings,—between -Kenneth’s and Rose’s. And Christine -looked pleased. Then everybody said good-night, -and the children went to bed.</p> - -<p>It was very, very early in the morning when -Kenneth opened his eyes and said out loud, “It -is Christmas Day! Oh, at last it is Christmas -Day!” Then his eyes opened very wide indeed, -and he said nothing at all. The bedposts -looked so queer!</p> - -<p>Kenneth scrambled over and examined them. -On each post at the foot of the bed was a big -yellow orange. These were the first signs of -Christmas, and they kept Kenneth busy for -some minutes. But when he had eaten one of -the oranges he could not wait any longer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>He ran to Rose’s room and thumped on the -door. “Merry Christmas, Rose! Wake up!” -he cried, poking in his head. But already Rose -was wide awake, and was sitting up in bed -eating one of the oranges which had grown -on her bedposts, too, during the night.</p> - -<p>“Merry Christmas yourself,” cried Rose, -jumping out of bed. “Let us run and wake -up papa and mamma.”</p> - -<p>So they trotted down the hall to mamma’s -room and thumped on the door. “Merry -Christmas, Mamma! Merry Christmas, Papa!” -they cried. “We are going down to look at -our stockings and see whether or not Santa -really did come last night.”</p> - -<p>Papa and mamma sighed a little, for they -were still very sleepy. But mamma said, “Well, -children, you may go down. But first you -must put on your clothes, so that you will not -take cold. Papa and I will be there in a little -while.”</p> - -<p>Kenneth was dressed first. He ran downstairs -to the library, and sure enough! there<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -hung the three stockings, bulgy and knobby -and queer. He shouted up the stairs, “Oh, -Rose! Hurry, hurry! He really came, -Santa Claus came, and he did not forget even -Christine.”</p> - -<p>In a minute down came Rose, with her -shoes half buttoned and her curls all tangled. -She could not wait this morning to make -everything just right.</p> - -<p>They seized their stockings and sat down -on the floor to pull out the “plums,” like -little Jack Horner. In Kenneth’s stocking -he found a big red apple, and a bag of lovely -marbles. Under these was a new game in a -box, and a horn of candy. Kenneth dived -down lower and found a toy cart, and a top, -and a baby camera. At last he reached the -toe of the stocking, where there was just one -thing left. “I think it is a stick of candy,” -said Kenneth. But when it came out, it was -a jack-knife with four blades. You can imagine -how pleased Kenneth was.</p> - -<p>As for Rose, what do you suppose she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -found in her stocking? She had a red apple, -too, and a horn of candy. Then there was a -cunning pocket-book, and a little coral necklace -in a velvet box. There was a red rubber -ball and a harmonica, and away down in the -little brown toe of her stocking hid a tiny -doll’s watch and chain. But the best gift of -all poked its head out of the top of her -stocking and smiled at her the very first thing. -It was a lovely little doll, with yellow curls -like Rose’s own, and blue eyes, and a white -dress with blue ribbons.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you dear doll!” cried Rose, hugging -her tightly. “I knew that Santa would bring -you to me! You are ever so much prettier -than Matilda, and I shall call you Alice.”</p> - -<p>Now Papa and Mamma came down, and -they were eager to see what was in Christine’s -stocking. “Let us take it down to -the dining-room where Christine is,” said -Mamma. “Katie tells me that there are some -queer-looking bundles there for you, which -Santa could not crowd into your stockings.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>With a whoop of joy Kenneth ran down -the stairs to the dining-room, and Rose followed -as fast as she could, carrying the little -white sock with the presents for the Christmas -cat. She went up to the basket beside -the fire, where Christine lay just as they had -left her the night before.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Kitty, see what Santa has brought -you,” said Rose, holding out the little bulgy -stocking. Then she stared hard into the -basket where Christine lay. “Oh-h-h! Kenneth!” -she cried. “Come here quick! See -what Santa has brought the Christmas cat!”</p> - -<p>For there, cuddled close up against Christine’s -black fur, were two tiny round things -mewing with baby voices; one little black -kitten, and one as yellow as Rose’s curls, both -with their eyes shut tight.</p> - -<p>“Well, well!” said papa. “Santa could -not get those into Kitty’s stocking, so he -brought them here. Isn’t it a lovely present -for a little Christmas cat?”</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i031"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i031.jpg" alt="SEE WHAT SANTA HAS BROUGHT THE CHRISTMAS CAT"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">“SEE WHAT SANTA HAS BROUGHT THE CHRISTMAS CAT”</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p>“Of course they both belong to Christine,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -said Kenneth, “but may I not call one of -them mine, and the other one Rose’s?”</p> - -<p>“I want the yellow one,” said Rose.</p> - -<p>“I like the black one best,” said Kenneth, -“so that is all right.” But Christine licked -both the kittens with her pink tongue and -purred happily.</p> - -<p>“I like them both best, and they are both -mine,” she seemed to say.</p> - -<p>Then the children took out the presents -from the little white sock. There was a pretty -collar and a bow of ribbon,—yellow, which -was Christine’s most becoming color. And -there was a little bunch of catnip instead of -candy. Santa seemed to know just what a -little cat would best like. But nothing seemed -to please Christine so much as the tiny balls -of black and yellow fur in her basket. And -the children did not blame her. For indeed, -of all their Christmas gifts,—except Alice, -the new doll, and Kenneth’s jack-knife,—they -each liked best the kitten which they -had chosen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>“I shall call my kitten Buff,” said Rose, -touching the little yellow ball gently.</p> - -<p>“And mine shall be Fluff,” said Kenneth, -who liked to make rhymes sometimes. “Oh, -I am so glad that we took Christine in out -of the snow, Rose! For if we hadn’t, perhaps -Santa would never have thought of -leaving us these dear little kittens.”</p> - -<p>And I shouldn’t wonder if Kenneth was -right.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER III<br> - -<small>THE JAPANESE SHOP</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">ONE day, not very long after Christmas, -Mrs. Thornton said to Rose,—</p> - -<p>“Rose, dear, I am going to the Japanese -Shop to buy a wedding present, and I think -you would like to go, wouldn’t you?”</p> - -<p>“What is a Japanese Shop?” asked Rose.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is a very wonderful shop,” said her -mamma. “I can’t begin to tell you about all -the curious things which they sell in a Japanese -Shop. You must come and see for yourself.”</p> - -<p>So Rose put on her hat and coat and went -with her mother to the Japanese Shop. What -a wonderful place it was, indeed! Rose felt -just as if she were in some strange, new kind -of Fairyland, such as she had never before -heard about. Everything was colored so bright -and beautiful! There were such queer-shaped -things sitting about on the floor and standing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -up in the corners! Curious lanterns swung -from the ceiling, and tall screens of black and -gold, with pictures of wonderful long-legged -birds flying across, made dark nooks, in which -strange bronze animals lurked surprisingly. -Everything smelt sweet and rich, too, almost -with the Christmas-tree fragrance of mamma’s -holiday secret.</p> - -<p>Rose wandered about by herself while her -mother was looking at the funny lamps hiding -under colored umbrellas, which she called -wedding presents, though Rose did not understand -why. They did not interest her like -Christmas presents, which were very different. -But over in a corner, all by itself, Rose found -something which she thought would make -the loveliest Christmas present,—the most -wonderful Christmas present that any little -girl could have. And oh! how she wanted -it for her very own!</p> - -<p>It was a toy garden; the kind that is put -into the guest-room of a Japanese house to -amuse visitors.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>My! It was a wonderful little garden,—a -real, truly live garden, with growing trees and -plants and moss. But it was all so tiny that -it could stand on a little table no wider than -Rose’s arm was long. And though the trees -were really, truly grown-up trees, a great deal -older than Rose,—older even than her mamma, -whom Rose thought very old indeed,—they -were no taller than Rose’s little hand.</p> - -<p>This is the way the garden looked. First, -it was almost square and there was a little stone -wall all around it, about an inch high. In the -middle of the garden was a hill built of rocks, -and on the top of the hill was a lawn of green -moss, with a tiny pagoda, or Japanese house, -no bigger than a match-box. The sides of the -hill sloped down, very green and smooth, and -at the foot was a little brook of real water, -winding around the whole garden. The tiniest -path of sand crept zig-zag down the hill to a -bit of a red bridge that crossed the brook, for -the people in the house at the top of the hill -to use. And all along the brook grew little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> -baby plants, and the wonderful dwarf trees -that I told you about. Pine-trees they were, -most of them, and the pine needles had fallen -on the ground and had turned rusty brown, -just as everyday pine needles do. Only these -were ten times smaller. Rose wondered who -lived in the little house at the top of the hill, -and she said to herself:—</p> - -<p>“Oh, how I wish I were little enough to -live in that dear little house, and play in that -sweet little garden, and climb up into those -darling little trees! Oh, how I wish I could -be littler!” And that was something which -Rose had never before wished.</p> - -<p>Just then Rose heard a cough behind her, -and looking around she saw that the funny -Japanese Man who kept the store was standing -close at her elbow. He was smiling very pleasantly, -so Rose said to him:—</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mr. Japanese Man! I think you can -tell me who lives in the dear little house and -plays in the dear little garden and paddles in -the dear little brook. Will you, please?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>The Japanese Man bowed and grinned, and -looked at Rose for a minute without saying -anything. Then he went away to the other -end of the store. Presently he came back, and -he had something in his hands. He set a little -Somebody down beside the house on the top -of the hill; and it was a tiny little old man -made of china-stuff, in a long green gown, -with a knob of hair on the back of his head, -like a lady.</p> - -<p>“<i>He</i> live in house, litty ol’ man,” said the -Japanese. “And these, his animals; live in -garden.” As he said this the Japanese Man -set down on the bridge the littlest baby white -rabbit, and in the brook a tiny-winy duck, -which floated on the water, and under one -of the trees a wee-wee mouse, with pink -ears.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Rose, clapping her hands. -“Oh! how I wish I could be little enough -to play there with them. Are they alive, Mr. -Japanese Man?”</p> - -<p>The Man grinned more than ever. Then<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -he came close up to Rose and whispered -behind his hand, as though it were a great -secret:—</p> - -<p>“No, not alive <i>now</i>. But after dark, when -moon shines, and store all empty—all big -folks gone away—then all come alive. My—my! -Litty ol’ man walk down hill, go -fishy in brook. Duck say ‘<i>Quack quack!</i>’ -Litty rabbit hop so-so over bridge. Litty -mouse cry ‘<i>Wee, wee!</i>’ and climb up pine-tree. -My! Litty girl like to see?”</p> - -<p>“Oh! Have <i>you</i> ever seen?” cried Rose -with her eyes very wide.</p> - -<p>But just then her mamma came back, with -a bundle under her arm, which was probably -a little Wedding Present, though Rose did -not care enough about it to inquire. But -she was very sorry when the Japanese Man -bowed politely and walked away to the other -end of the store. She had wanted to ask him -a great many more questions.</p> - -<p>“Come, Rose,” said her mother; “we must -go home now.”</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i041"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i041.jpg" alt="THE LITTLEST BABY WHITE RABBIT"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">THE LITTLEST BABY WHITE RABBIT</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>“O Mamma! I want it!” sighed Rose wistfully.</p> - -<p>“Want what? The garden? Oh, my Dear! I -cannot buy you that,” said her mamma sadly; -“it costs dollars and dollars. But maybe I -could buy you the mouse, or the duck, or the -rabbit, or the little old gentleman up there. -Would you like one of them, Dear?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no!” cried Rose. “It would be -dreadful to take them away from their lovely -garden. I wouldn’t have one of them for -anything. Think how lonesome he would be -when it grew dark and they all came alive!”</p> - -<p>On the way home Rose told her mamma -the great secret, which the Japanese Man had -told her. And her mamma thought it was all -very strange indeed, and said she wished that -she too was little enough to play in the wonderful -garden with Rose and that interesting -family.</p> - -<p>When they reached home Rose told Kenneth -all about the toy garden, and the secret -which the Japanese Man had told her. But<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span> -Kenneth only said, “Pooh! I don’t believe a -word of it,” which was very disappointing. -But, of course, Kenneth had not seen the -garden, nor heard the Japanese Man tell the -secret, which made a great difference.</p> - -<p>When it was dark Rose went to bed, and -in a little while her mamma came to kiss her -good-night. Rose held her tightly by the -hand and made her sit down on the edge of -the bed, where the moonlight shone like silver.</p> - -<p>“O Mamma!” she whispered. “Think of -the shop, all dark and empty now, with just -one moonbeam shining on the little garden -in the corner. And the little old man comes -alive, <i>pop</i>! like that! Now he goes walking -out of his house, down the little path over -the hill. And the bunny-rabbit scampers in -front of him, <i>hoppity-hop</i>! Can’t you see him, -Mamma? Now they come to the little bridge; -the funny duck says ‘<i>Quack, quack!</i>’ and -swims away round and round the garden. -Now the little old man sits down under one -of the tiny pine-trees and begins to fish in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -brook. And the wee-wee mouse runs up and -down the tree and nibbles the cheese which -the old man has in his pocket for bait. O -Mamma, I can see it all, just as plainly! I -wish I were there.”</p> - -<p>“I can almost see it, too,” said Mamma.</p> - -<p>“O Mamma, I think I could grow little -just as easily as they could come alive. Don’t -you?” said Rose.</p> - -<p>Her mother answered, “We-el, perhaps.”</p> - -<p>But she would never take Rose to the Japanese -shop after dark, to see whether or not -it could be done. Maybe she was afraid that -Rose might grow little and stay little always—which -would have been a dreadful thing -for her mamma. But Rose thinks that she -herself would like it very well indeed,—to -live always in that wonderful garden with -the mouse and the duck and the rabbit and -the funny little old man,—if only Kenneth -would grow little, too. But Kenneth does -not want to grow little. He is trying just as -hard as he can, every day, to grow big.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IV<br> - -<small>APRIL FOOL’S NIGHT</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">ON the night of April Fool’s day Kenneth -had a strange adventure. It was -Kenneth’s way to direct his dreamland journey -toward Fairyland, where, if he but knows -the secret how, a child can have the pleasantest -possible times. On this particular night -Kenneth shut his eyes tight and said the -magic words which are the ticket on the -Fairy Railroad; and presto! as usual, he -found himself spinning through space into -the realm where he would be. He kept his -eyes shut tight, however, for every wise child -knows that he must not peep during that -wonderful journey, nor try to find out how it -is done, or he will never be able to go again. -It was only when a soft little jounce told him -that the trip was over that Kenneth opened -his eyes and ventured to look around.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>Yes, there he was, sure enough! He -remembered the glittering Christmas-tree -avenue which led up from the station. He -remembered the beautiful flower beds on -either side of the path—fairy beds where the -flowers could talk prettily, and answer any -questions which a child might ask. He remembered -the white marble palace which -gleamed beyond the Christmas trees, a palace -full of wonder and delight. He hastened -toward it up the hill. Yes, this was certainly -the Fairyland of his dreams, where he always -had such a lovely, lovely time; where all -that he wished came true in the most marvelous -way, and where delightful surprises -were continually happening to give him pleasure. -Kenneth smacked his lips already at -thought of the goodies he would have to eat, -and his fingers wriggled eagerly, longing to -clutch the wonder-toys which he knew were -growing somewhere about for him, when he -had time to look for them.</p> - -<p>Now there was no one to meet him at the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -station, and Kenneth thought this strange. -For he had expected to find his usual guide, -a pretty little gauze fairy in spangled white, -with a wand and crown and all the dainty -ornaments which fairies wear. Kenneth was -not greatly troubled, however, for he had -been to Fairyland so often that he knew the -country very well indeed, and he was not at -all bashful nor afraid to help himself if he -should see anything which pleased him.</p> - -<p>He began briskly to walk up the avenue, on -either side of which the flowers nodded and -smiled at him, saying, “Good evening, Kenneth. -How are you to-night?”</p> - -<p>Kenneth laughed and nodded back, thinking -to himself, “How very pretty they look! -I never before saw them so gorgeous and -beautiful. They must be perfumed with extra -sweetness; I will go and see.” And, stepping -up to a great bed of lilies, he bent over them, -giving a deep, deep sniff; for Kenneth loved -dearly the fragrance of flowers.</p> - -<p>“Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!” Kenneth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> -sneezed, and sneezed again, so that his head -almost fell off. “Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!” -He reeled and staggered as he turned away. -And all the flowers laughed so that they -nearly snapped their slender stalks. They -seemed to find it a great joke.</p> - -<p>“You dreadful flowers! You are full of -snuff! Achoo!” he cried indignantly.</p> - -<p>“Aha! Aha! You know all about it!” -cried the flowers. “The trick is not new to -you; but is it not funny? Aha! Aha!”</p> - -<p>Kenneth did not think it at all funny as -he ran on up the pathway, sneezing painfully -at every step. At last he paused to wipe his -eyes. “Achoo! Achoo!” Poor boy! He was -fairly weak with his efforts, and spying a -little seat near by under a tree, thought he -would sit down to rest a minute and get -his breath before going on his way. It was a -funny little seat, like a great toadstool, and it -looked very comfortable. But no sooner had -Kenneth seated himself, than the wretched -thing sank down into the ground, leaving<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -him with a bump on the gravel of the -avenue.</p> - -<p>“Aha! Aha!” cried the flowers, tittering -foolishly when they saw Kenneth sprawling. -“Oh, how funny you do look! What a good -joke! How clever! We shall die laughing!”</p> - -<p>“You are very silly flowers,” said Kenneth, -pouting. “You laugh at nothing at all. I -never knew you to be so disagreeable.” And, -trying to look very dignified in spite of his -dusty jacket, he jumped up and strode down -the avenue. The inviting little round seats -seemed to have sprung up everywhere like -mushrooms since his last visit, but he was too -cautious to sit down again, although he was -very tired.</p> - -<p>Kenneth walked so fast to escape the mortifying -laughter which rang from the flower-bells, -that he had almost passed the last -Christmas tree before he remembered the -magic fruit which they always bore for him.</p> - -<p>“Hello!” he cried. “I meant to look for -a new jack-knife. I always find just what I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -want on these trees. Why, yes—there is -one now, right over my head. Oh, what a -beauty!” He reached up to grasp it as it -swung about a foot above his nose. But at the -very moment when Kenneth stretched out his -hand, the tree gave a sudden jerk and up flew -the knife quite out of reach.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Kenneth, stamping his foot -angrily. “What made it do that?”</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” snickered the flowers, who had -been peeping at him from a distance. “What -a joke! Try again, Kenneth.” And Kenneth -tried again and again, jumping after the knife -more frantically each time. But it was of no -use. A malicious breeze, or some other cause, -seemed to bend the tree away from him whenever -he reached toward it. And at last he -gave up in disgust.</p> - -<p>“I wanted a fountain pen, too,” he said to -himself. “There ought to be one on another -tree. Yes, here it is.” And once more Kenneth -reached eagerly for the shining black -thing that dangled close by his hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>Pop! Kenneth was half blinded by a -stream of water that spurted into his eye. It -was no fountain pen, but a fountain pop-gun -that had gone off when he touched it.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” shrieked the flowers, in a perfect -madness of delight. Kenneth sat down -on the grass to wipe his eyes and dry the -little river that was running most uncomfortably -up his coat sleeve. But my! How -quickly he sprang up again! The grass that -looked so tempting and soft was a cruel snare. -For some one had wickedly planted it with -pins or needles. Poor Kenneth! This was -too much.</p> - -<p>It is no fun to find one’s self a human pincushion. -He began to cry, and even then he -heard the voices of the flowers sounding -faintly, and they were laughing still. He -glanced toward them angrily, then tucked his -hands into his pockets and resolved not to let -them see him cry. He marched away up the -avenue without a glance into the Christmas -trees, although they dangled the most interesting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -bundles before his face and seemed -trying to tempt him to pluck their magic -fruit. He also kept off the grass more carefully -than if there had been a staring signboard -to warn him.</p> - -<p>Now just outside the palace grew a thicket -of magic nut bushes. Here Kenneth always -stopped on his way to the greater wonders -inside, to crack a nut and to have a pleasant -surprise. Yes, there at the foot of the marble -steps was the thicket, green as usual, and full -of brown nuts, mysteriously knobby and promising. -Kenneth picked one and knelt down -on the gravel to crack it with a stone. But -instead of the beautiful velvet cloak, magically -folded into a tiny parcel, or a dwarf pony -which would quickly grow full-sized, or a -picture-book with moving figures on its pages, -such as he had found at other times, the nut -was stuffed with dusty cobwebs, which were -of no use to any one, least of all to Kenneth.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Kenneth, in disappointment, -and then he distinctly heard a queer voice<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -cry, “April Fool!” He looked up and -around, but there was no one to be seen.</p> - -<p>“April Fool!” cried the voice again. “Ha, -ha! Kenneth has <i>such</i> a sense of fun! He is -a great joker himself; ha, ha!” Kenneth -thought it must be one of the flowers, though -the voice sounded different. He wished the -good Fairy would come to him. His chin -began to quiver, when he heard the same -queer voice tittering behind the thicket of -nut bushes. There was a little summer-house -close by, and into this Kenneth ran to hide -the tears which would come into his eyes. -What a disagreeable country it was, this -Fairyland which he had loved so well! He -came here to be happy; but all these ugly -tricks fairly spoiled the pretty place. He said -to himself that he would never come again. -Just then he spied a large, square envelope -fastened to the side of the summer-house by -a thorn. It was addressed, “For Kenneth.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that means me,” he cried, very -much surprised. “Perhaps it is a letter from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -my good Fairy to explain why she has not -come to meet me.” And he tore it open -eagerly.</p> - -<p>It was a fat, bulky letter of several sheets. -This was very exciting, for Kenneth had not -received many letters in his short life. He -unfolded the first sheet. From the middle of -the page stared at him these words printed in -huge red letters:—</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="large">APRIL FOOL!</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER V<br> - -<small>THE APRIL FOOL</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">KENNETH looked at it angrily, then -turned over the other pages. They -were just the same as the first one. He tore -up the sheets and threw them on the ground. -It was only an April Fool letter, after all!</p> - -<p>“April Fool!” cried a voice, echoing the -same hateful words. “April Fool! Ha! ha! -What a joke!” It was a funny little voice, -louder than those of the flowers, and, instead -of being silvery sweet like theirs, it was harsh -and disagreeable. Kenneth glanced up, and -there, perched on the railing of the summer-house, -was the queerest little fellow, making -the most horrible faces. With a bound the -figure sprang inside, and Kenneth saw him -more clearly. He was certainly a fairy, for -he had wings, gauzy and beautiful, growing -from his shoulders. But his dress was unlike<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> -that of any fairy whom Kenneth had met. -It reminded him, however, of pictures that -he had sometimes seen in books. This fairy -wore a suit half of red and half of yellow; -one leg and one shoe were red and the other -yellow. His doublet was divided likewise, -and likewise the funny hood which he wore -about his shoulders. The borders of his costume -were cut into points, and from every -point hung a little bell that jingled and jangled -mischievously whenever the imp moved -about—which was continually. His cap had -two long pointed ears, and in his hand he -carried a wand, on the end of which was a -copy of himself dressed in red and yellow, -and tinkly with many bells. He was a very -funny figure, and his mouth stretched from -ear to ear in a grin which made Kenneth -laugh, too. But Kenneth soon stopped laughing; -for there was something about the imp’s -smile that was not kindly, and that made one -half afraid.</p> - -<p>“Who are you?” asked Kenneth, trying to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -seem very bold. “And what are you laughing -at? I don’t see anything so very funny at -this moment.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t you?” grinned the imp. -“April Fool! I do. I am April Fool. Why, -don’t you know me?” And turning around -he showed Kenneth a large placard, such as -he had himself often made, pinned to one -of the points of the imp’s doublet. “<span class="smcap">April -Fool</span>!” it read. Kenneth began to understand.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you are April Fool, are you?” he -said. “I never saw you before.”</p> - -<p>“Ho! You never <i>saw</i> me? No, but you -have used my name often enough. You remember -April Fool’s day every year? Aha! -Those were good tricks you played, though -to be sure most of them were old enough—old -as I am, and that <i>is</i> old indeed, I can tell -you, my little joker. But they are good jokes, -are they not? One never tires of them, does -one?” And again he grinned at Kenneth -maliciously.</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i059"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i059.jpg" alt="I AM APRIL FOOL"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">“I AM APRIL FOOL”</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>“N-no,” said Kenneth, doubtfully, looking -again at the pieces of the torn April -Fool letter and rubbing his eyes, which still -smarted from the snuff. “But I think jokes -are funnier when one looks on, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha!” laughed the imp. “That is -the best joke of all. Why, some folk seem to -think as you do. But not I! Now I love a -good joke for its own sake better than anything -else in the world. I am always in it, -for <i>I am</i> the joke itself. Ha, ha!”</p> - -<p>“Then it is you who have made all these -things happen to me,” said Kenneth angrily. -“What do you mean by it?”</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha! Don’t you know what night -it is? To-morrow is the first of April! What -can you expect in Fairyland except the very -biggest of jokes? This is my night. But -come, now, don’t be sulky. It is only a joke -after all, and you are such a joker yourself that -you ought to take these little matters very -cheerfully. Come with me.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want to come with you,” said<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> -Kenneth, hanging back. “I want to go -home.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense, you cannot go home yet,” answered -the imp. “It is not nearly morning. -Now that you have come you must stay -here until the time is up.”</p> - -<p>“Then I want my good Fairy guide,” said -Kenneth.</p> - -<p>“Ho!” cried the other in scorn. “She is -too silly-kind, too goody-goody. She has no -real sense of fun, poor thing.”</p> - -<p>“I like her fun best,” insisted Kenneth. -“Please take me to her.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well,” said April Fool carelessly. -“If you insist I will bring you to her. -But first you must have something to eat, for -it is a long journey. Are you not hungry, -poor boy?”</p> - -<p>Kenneth confessed that he was very hungry. -“Then we will go to the kitchen garden,” -replied the imp; “and there you can feast as -much as you like.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes! I have been to the kitchen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span> -garden,” cried Kenneth, brightening. “The -good Fairy took me there; it is a lovely -place!”</p> - -<p>He followed April Fool out of the summer-house -into a narrow path leading on and on -and on between green hedgerows full of blossoms. -Overhead the birds sang sweetly, and -the sky was blue. Kenneth began to feel very -happy. At last, in the distance, he caught -sight of the kitchen garden, as he well remembered -it, with its tall pie-fruit trees, its -cooky bushes, its eclair plants, and its ice-cream -fountains. The glimpse made him so -hungry that he could hardly wait to be there, -and he ran ahead, outstripping April Fool -himself.</p> - -<p>“That is right! Hurry, my boy!” cried -the imp heartily. And Kenneth skipped on -happily. But suddenly <i>bump</i>! went his head -and his knee against something hard, and he -came to a dizzy stop, hardly knowing what -had happened. There lay the kitchen garden -just beyond, but something had stopped him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span> -and would not let him pass, something which -he could not see.</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha! April Fool again!” laughed the -imp, holding his sides for merriment. “Don’t -you see through this joke? Why, it is perfectly -transparent.”</p> - -<p>Sure enough! Kenneth put out his hand, -and found that it was a wall of glass, which -stretched across the path from hedge to hedge; -a gateless wall which he could by no means -climb over, but through which he could -plainly see all the dainties on the other side. -Kenneth groaned. “Oh, I am so hungry! -What a cruel, cruel joke!”</p> - -<p>“Jokes do seem cruel sometimes,” admitted -April Fool; “but they are <i>such</i> fun! -Oh, my, oh, my! How queer you did look -when you bumped against that wall!” and -he burst out laughing once more.</p> - -<p>“Well, are you going to let me in?” asked -Kenneth, trying to keep his temper, though -he thought the joke in very poor taste, like -most of April Fool’s tricks.</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i065"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i065.jpg" alt="KENNETH FOUND THAT IT WAS A WALL OF GLASS"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">KENNETH FOUND THAT IT WAS A WALL OF GLASS</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>“Oh, no, we cannot enter here,” said the -imp. “This is only an impracticable window. -We shall have to go around by another way, -a détour of some miles. But this time I really -promise to take you to the kitchen garden.”</p> - -<p>Kenneth was very angry, but he began to -suspect that he must let April Fool have his -own way on this night. They turned back -down the narrow path and began a long, tiresome -journey round about and round about -to the garden which they had already seen so -near.</p> - -<p>And what a journey that was! beset by so -many surprises, shocks, and practical jokes that -Kenneth was nearly frantic before they had -seen the end. They were crossing a bridge -over a pretty little stream, when in the middle—<i>crash</i>! -The whole structure gave way, -and down they fell, with a sickening sinking -feeling—fully three feet! Then the bridge -came to rest on the magic springs which were -made to complete this jouncy joke. After this -their way led through a pitch-black cavern,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -which was so silent that Kenneth could hear -his heart beat as he felt his way along. Suddenly -there was an awful roar, like the growl -of hundreds of wild beasts let loose. Kenneth -screamed with fright, but the imp cried out, -“April Fool!” And immediately the cave -was filled with light, showing only an innocent -sound-machine which had made all this -commotion.</p> - -<p>They came within sight of a broad brook, -which the imp said they must cross. Kenneth -took off his shoes and stockings to wade and -stepped down to the margin. But what was -his anger to find that it was only a wide mirror -over which they were able to pass dry-shod. -That was a famous joke, to judge by -the imp’s shrieks of laughter when he saw -Kenneth put out his foot to wade into the -glassy stream. But Kenneth had become so -tired of such fun that he did not even smile.</p> - -<p>Kenneth grew thirsty, and they stopped to -drink at a fountain which gushed clear and -sparkling by the wayside. But at the first<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -draught Kenneth found his mouth full of -horrid, briny water, such as one swallows by -mistake when one is bathing in the sea. Poor -boy! This made him all the thirstier, but -he was resolved not to show April Fool how -wretched and unhappy he really was.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VI<br> - -<small>THE APRIL-FOOL JOURNEY</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap2">AT last, however, when Kenneth was so -tired and faint that he could hardly walk -another step, they came to the kitchen garden. -There were the pie trees and the raspberry -shrubs, the caramel plants and the bonbon -hedge, brown with luscious chocolates.</p> - -<p>“Now, help yourself,” said the imp cordially. -And without further invitation Kenneth -fell to. A fine cream pie lay under one -of the trees, from which it had just fallen. -Kenneth cut a wedge out of it with the knife -which was sticking conveniently in the tree-trunk, -and began to eat it ravenously. But -faugh! What dreadful stuff! It was frosted -with soapsuds instead of whipped cream!</p> - -<p>“April Fool!” cried the imp, dancing -up and down, for this was the best joke of -all.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>“Oh!” whimpered Kenneth, “I hope -they are not all April-Fool goodies.” And he -ran to the next tree. But a bite was all he -needed to prove that he must not trust his eyes -this April Fool’s night. The mince pies were -made of sand and sawdust, with pebbles for -plums. The sponge cake was indeed a real -sponge. The doughnuts were of India rubber; -they might be fine for a teething baby to bite, -but they were a poor lunch for a hungry boy. -The griddle-cakes were rounds of leather, -nicely browned on both sides. The salad was -made of tissue paper; the chocolates were -stuffed with cotton wool and other horrid -stuff; while the maple sugar, upon which -Kenneth was perfectly sure he could rely, -turned out to be yellow soap—clean, but not -appetizing.</p> - -<p>Even the eggs, growing innocently white -upon the egg-plant, turned out to be hollow -mockeries; some humorous little boy seemed -to have blown their insides away, as a great -joke. Once Kenneth would have thought that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -a very funny idea. But now he sat down and -cried and cried, he was so disappointed and -so hungry.</p> - -<p>“Boo hoo! Boo hoo!” sobbed Kenneth. -“I want to go home. I don’t like Fairyland -one bit!”</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha!” laughed the imp. “April Fool! -This isn’t Fairyland at all; this is April Fool -Land, and you are <i>It</i>. But come, I really think -you have had enough of it. I will take you -to the true Fairyland, and give you over to -your kind, good, serious Fairy guide. Shall -we go? <i>One, two, three—out goes he!</i>” And -with a snap of his fingers, Kenneth found himself -outside the tantalizing kitchen garden, -walking toward his good Fairy’s real, truly -palace, which gleamed comfortingly through -the trees.</p> - -<p>At first he dared not think that it was really -so; he suspected another joke of April Fool’s. -But at last he spied the good Fairy herself, -standing at the top of the long flight of marble -steps which led up to the palace. Kenneth<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -ran forward and waved his hand eagerly, he -was so anxious to exchange guides and to be -rid of the hateful imp. But the Fairy did not -seem to see him. She was shading her eyes -with her hand and looking off over the Christmas -trees, appearing troubled.</p> - -<p>“Humph!” growled the imp. “There she -is, looking for you. And how eager you are -to leave me, now that you have enjoyed all -the jokes I had to play. Well, good-by! You -have only to walk up the staircase to your -goody-goody Fairy, and you will be safe from -me. I cannot pass into that palace, where the -fun is of a different kind from mine.”</p> - -<p>“It is a great deal nicer than yours, for it is -always kind,” retorted Kenneth, “and yet it -is just as funny.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, go and look for it, then,” cried -the imp, and without another word he disappeared.</p> - -<p>Kenneth was much relieved to see him go. -He set his foot on the lowest stair and eagerly -began the ascent of the marble flight. But no<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -sooner had he lifted his foot to the second step -than the staircase itself began to move under -him, so that he had to step quickly to keep -from falling. Horrible! What did this mean? -“April Fool!” cried a voice behind him. -“Ha! ha! It is my last joke, and it is a rare -good one. You are on a treadmill staircase, -Kenneth. You must climb fast or you will -fall down and be ground up inside the machine. -Hurrah! Step lively, please! Quicker, -quicker! Maybe you will reach the top by -to-morrow morning.”</p> - -<p>Kenneth had to work his little legs faster -and faster and faster, as the great staircase -revolved under him. Yet however he strove -he reached never a step nearer the top, but -remained always in the same spot. And the -Fairy still looked away over the tops of the -Christmas trees, without seeing him.</p> - -<p>“Ha! ha!” laughed the imp; but his voice -was fainter than it had been, and Kenneth -hoped it was fading away. The poor boy was -so exhausted that he felt he could not keep<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span> -up for long. His legs ached and his head -ached dizzily, and his poor back, bent over -the whirling staircase, ached most of all. “I -cannot bear it,” he said to himself, panting -and out of breath. “I cannot move my legs -any faster. I cannot breathe. I must sit down, -even if I do go under to be ground into little -pieces.”</p> - -<p>Without more ado Kenneth sat down on -the staircase, closing his eyes and shuddering -with fear of what might happen next. But -what happened? The staircase merely stopped -with a jerk—and stood still.</p> - -<p>“April Fool!” cried the far-off voice of -the imp. “You might have done it long ago. -April Fool—Fool—Fool!” and the voice -faded away into a mere sigh of the breeze.</p> - -<p>At the same moment Kenneth heard a sweet -call from the top of the staircase. “Kenneth, -Kenneth!” it said, in silvery tones quite unlike -the imp’s harsh ones. And, looking up, he saw -his good Fairy coming swiftly down the staircase -toward him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>“Oh, good Fairy,” sobbed Kenneth, “I -have had such a dreadful time looking for -you! Please stay by me, and do not let that -bad, bad April Fool find me again.”</p> - -<p>The good Fairy leaned over Kenneth and -put her hand on his head. “Poor boy!” she -said. “Has April Fool been playing his tricks -on you? This was his night, you know. He -said you were a friend of his, so we had to let -him have his joke with you. He is indeed a -horrid fellow, and I hope he is no longer your -friend.”</p> - -<p>“No, he will never be my friend again,” -cried Kenneth.</p> - -<p>“I like my own kind of jokes a great deal -better,” said the Fairy: “pleasant surprises, unexpected -kindnesses, pain turned into pleasure, -and disappointment into joy. One can play -those jokes all through the year. But it is too -late for any of them to-night. You must go -back home now, Kenneth.”</p> - -<p>“I am quite ready to go,” said Kenneth -wearily, for even a pleasant joke had no charms<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -for him now, he was so tired. The Fairy took -him by the hand and led him back to the -station. They passed the magic nut bushes, -but Kenneth did not pause. They walked -under the tempting Christmas trees, but he -did not look up. They went between the -rows of flowers, gently tittering on either side, -but Kenneth did not so much as glance at -them. The kind Fairy held his hand, and -April Fool could play no tricks upon him -now.</p> - -<p>At the station the Fairy guide kissed Kenneth -sweetly, and closed his eyes with her -wand. “Come again to-morrow night,” she -murmured, “and naughty April Fool will be -gone for another year. Then you shall come -into my palace and we will play some happy -tricks.”</p> - -<p>Then she spoke the magic words of his -return ticket, and Kenneth, with his eyes -closed, felt a spring, a rush, and a whirling -about his head. But he never peeped until -he felt once more the gentle jounce that told<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -him the end of his journey had come. Then -with his fists he rubbed his eyes and, winking -sleepily, opened them to find himself snugly -lying in bed, with the morning sun shining -into his window.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VII<br> - -<small>THE DOLLS’ MAY-PARTY</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap2">ALICE had never gone to a party before. -Of course Rose, who was almost six -years old, had gone to a great many. But -Alice, who was her newest doll, was very -young. She had come, you remember, on -Christmas day, at the same time with Buff -and Fluff; and the kittens had never yet been -to a party either.</p> - -<p>Matilda, who was Rose’s old doll, had been -to almost as many parties as Rose herself. -But Matilda was not invited to this party. -Only the youngest and prettiest dolls were -invited to this party, for it was to be a May-Party, -where every one has to look as beautiful -as possible. Poor Matilda had only one eye -and a broken nose.</p> - -<p>Ernestine, who was Lilian’s doll and who -lived in the next block to Rose and Alice, sent<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -out the invitations to ten dolls and their little -mammas. They were to come at two o’clock -in the afternoon of May Day for a picnic at -her house. And every one was to bring a luncheon -in a little basket, just as if it were a -really truly picnic in the summer woods, instead -of a cold city May.</p> - -<p>Rose dressed Alice in her prettiest white -muslin gown, with a blue sash and the dear -little watch which had come in the Christmas -stocking. Alice’s yellow hair was curled and -tied with a blue bow, and she looked so much -like her little mother that Mrs. Thornton -could not help laughing when they started for -the picnic together. But Rose did not see -anything very funny about it. Every one said -that she looked like her own mother, and why -should not Alice look like Rose?</p> - -<p>At the very last moment, when they were -starting for the party, Rose ran back upstairs -to the play-room, where the old Matilda sat -in her little chair by the fireplace.</p> - -<p>“You poor dear old thing,” said Rose, hugging<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -her tight, “I never before went to a -party without you, and it seems very cruel to -leave you all alone. But please remember that -I still love you dearly, though you have only -one eye, and your nose is broken, and you -aren’t pretty like Alice. I can’t take you to -parties any more, because people would laugh -at you. But you have had a great many good -times, haven’t you, Matilda? while Alice -hasn’t been yet to a single party. I must -make Alice have a good time now, for she is -my youngest child. Good-by, Matilda dear, -and don’t you be lonesome while we are -gone.”</p> - -<p>Then Rose kissed the poor old doll and set -her back in the little chair beside the fireplace. -But Matilda looked very sad when the little -mother went out of the door with the new -doll in her arms, and it almost looked as if -there was a real tear on her faded cheek under -the one remaining eye.</p> - -<p>When the front door banged behind them, -Matilda fell forward onto the carpet and lay<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> -there face downwards all the while that Rose -and Alice were at the May-Party.</p> - -<p>The party was held in Lilian’s dining-room. -The floor was covered with a green -rug which had flowers on it, and which looked -like the real grassy out-doors of the country. -In the middle of the room, instead of a -dining-table, was a little May-pole, as tall as -Rose’s head, with a wreath of flowers at the -top and pretty colored ribbons hanging down -all around it.</p> - -<p>On one side was a throne with three little -steps leading up to it, for the May Queen to -sit on. And on top of the throne lay a beautiful -crown of real flowers for the Queen to -wear.</p> - -<p>First of all, the dolls were stood up in a -long row, so that the prettiest one might be -chosen. There was Ernestine herself, the -hostess, who was a fat wax doll as big as a -real baby, with flaxen hair and four white -teeth. Ernestine was very accomplished, for -she could say “Papa” and “Mamma,” but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> -she was not nice and huggable and pretty like -Alice. (At least, that was what Rose -thought.)</p> - -<p>Then there was Marjorie, who had black -hair, and Helen-Grace-Antoinette, who wore -a real satin dress that came from Paris; and -Bébé, who was in long clothes and who was -thought by all the little mothers, except her -own, too babyish for a May-Party. There -was Yo-San, who was a lovely Japanese -lady; and Toto, a little boy sailor doll, the -only gentleman present,—and of course <i>he</i> -couldn’t be the May Queen! Then there were -Blanche, and Beatrice, and Dinah who was -black,—everybody wondered why she came -to the party. Last of all, there was Alice. She -was smaller than Blanche and Beatrice, but -she wore a watch tucked into her sash. No -other doll had a watch.</p> - -<p>Each little girl wrote on a piece of paper -the name of the doll which, next to her own, -she thought prettiest. No one could vote for -her own doll, for of course each little mother<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span> -would think her own child the best, and -there would have to be ten queens.</p> - -<p>Lilian’s mamma counted the votes. And -what do you suppose? Alice was elected to -be May Queen! It was all on account of the -watch. You can imagine how proud Rose -was.</p> - -<p>They set Alice on the throne and put the -crown of real flowers on her yellow curls, and -she looked so pretty that Rose had to rush up -and kiss her the very first thing. And all the -other little girls wanted to kiss her, too.</p> - -<p>Then the dolls danced around the May-pole, -each one holding the end of one of the -colored ribbons, till the pole was twisted all -the way down and looked like a big stick -of striped candy. The dolls seemed to enjoy -it very much, but their mammas were a bit -dizzy afterwards.</p> - -<p>Then it was time for the picnic. Everybody -sat down cross-legged on the green -grass rug and opened the little lunch-baskets. -First they spread a napkin on the grass, just<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -as one does at a real picnic, and set all the -cakes and cookies and sandwiches on it, -where every one could reach for herself. And -they ate without any plates or knives or forks, -which was great fun. But there were no ants -to come and eat up the crumbs.</p> - -<p>There were little cunning cakes, and figs -and dates, grapes and apples, and some molasses -candy. And there was lemonade to -drink,—just like a grown-up picnic.</p> - -<p>After they had eaten everything they played -games around the May-pole until it was almost -dark, and then it was time to go home. -But before they went Ernestine, who gave the -party, carried up to the throne a big tissue-paper -basket full of flowers, and gave it to the -May Queen, kneeling down before Alice on -the lowest step of the throne, just as they do -in plays. And Rose was so proud that her -face turned as pink as one of the roses in the -May Queen’s lovely basket. Each doll had a -dear little nosegay to take home, but only the -Queen had a whole basket full of flowers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>“You dear, lovely Queen Alice!” cried -Rose, as she hugged her dollie tight on the -way home. “I am so proud of you, and I -love you better than anything in the world -except Papa and Mamma and Kenneth and -Cousin Charlie,—oh, yes, and Matilda. I -had almost forgotten poor Matilda.”</p> - -<p>Rose was quiet for a minute, and then she -whispered to Alice, “Don’t you think you -ought to give some of these lovely flowers to -poor Matilda, who didn’t go to the party and -who isn’t pretty any more?”</p> - -<p>Alice was a sweet little doll, and was quite -willing to share her flowers. So as soon as the -front door was opened Rose ran upstairs to -the play-room with the May Queen on one -arm and the basket of flowers on the other. -There she found poor Matilda lying face -downward on the carpet.</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i087"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i087.jpg" alt="SHE LIFTED POOR MATILDA AND SET HER UP ON THE -WINDOW SEAT"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">SHE LIFTED POOR MATILDA AND SET HER UP ON THE -WINDOW SEAT</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p>“Oh, you poor, poor dollie!” cried Rose. -“Did you feel so badly as that? Well, don’t -cry any more. Here is your dear little sister, -the May Queen, who has come to share her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> -lovely flowers with you. We both love you -so much that we are going to make you our -Play-Room Queen. See!”</p> - -<p>Then she lifted poor Matilda and set her -up on the window seat, as if she were on a -throne. And she took the beautiful flowers -out of Alice’s basket and made a wreath -which she placed on the old doll’s scraggly -hair. And she pinned a lovely rose on Matilda’s -dress.</p> - -<p>“Now you look very nice and dear,” said -Rose, as she kissed her on her battered cheek. -“Good-night, Queen Matilda of the play-room. -Isn’t this almost as good as being May -Queen?”</p> - -<p>And Matilda looked as if she thought it -was. She seemed to be smiling with her ugly -mouth. And when Rose softly shut the door -of the play-room the old doll looked almost -pretty,—in spite of her one eye and broken -nose,—sitting there on the window seat, with -Alice, the beautiful May Queen, at her feet.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER VIII<br> - -<small>THE DARK ROOM</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">IN the middle of June Kenneth came down -with the scarlet fever. This was very -unpleasant for Kenneth, and for Kenneth’s -papa and mamma, who were just making -ready to move the family down to the Island -for the summer. It was very hard for Rose, -too; for of course she could not play with -Kenneth nor even see him for fear lest she -too should catch the fever. It was a terrible -thing for Rose not to see Kenneth for days -and weeks.</p> - -<p>They decided to send her away into the -country, to the farm where Aunt Mary and -Uncle John with Rose’s cousin Charlie Carroll -had gone to live. Aunt Mary said that she -would be glad to play for a while that Rose -was her own little girl, for poor Aunt Mary -had no little girl of her own. And Charlie<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -thought that it would be great fun to have a -little sister; for you see he had never had one. -And that is why he did not make a very -good kind of brother at first.</p> - -<p>Rose had not been in the country long before -she began to miss Kenneth more than -ever,—more even than she had expected. It -was all Charlie’s fault.</p> - -<p>Charlie had his naughty days,—every one -has naughty days, sometimes, until he learns -better. But it happened unfortunately that -Charlie’s naughtiest time came the very day -after Rose arrived in the country, when she -was feeling especially lonesome, and before -she was acquainted with the new house and -the barn and the new pets and playthings. She -began to be homesick almost as soon as her -father said good-by to her and went away to -the train which would carry him home to -Mamma and Kenneth and the city. But she -was still more homesick the next morning, -when she woke up and remembered that she -was not going to see Kenneth all that long,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -bright, beautiful, out-of-doorsy day. So you -see she needed very much that Charlie should -be extra kind and good to her.</p> - -<p>Charlie’s mamma lay awake that morning -smiling to herself to think how nice it -was that Rose was going to be Charlie’s little -sister for a time, and how happy he would -make her in this beautiful country, showing -her the new kittens, and the rabbits, and old -Brindle’s little calf, and the flower-garden,—all -the things which Charlie had enjoyed so -much since he had come into the county to -live. But that was before she knew this was -Charlie’s naughty day.</p> - -<p>From the moment when he first opened his -eyes and got out of the wrong side of the bed, -Charlie was in trouble, and his mother had to -speak to him so many times that she was -ashamed to have Rose hear.</p> - -<p>After breakfast, when Rose cried eagerly, -“Oh, Charlie, now will you show me everything?” -Charlie sulked and said, “Oh, -bother!” And when Rose followed him out<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -into the garden, he tried to run away from -her. But Rose could run fast too, and he -soon found her panting at his heels.</p> - -<p>“What makes you run so fast, Charlie?” she -asked. “I can hardly keep up with you.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t want you to keep up with -me,” he answered, turning his back on her -and slapping his stick at a poor sunflower. -“You had better go back to the house. I -don’t want to play with you.”</p> - -<p>Rose’s eyes filled with tears and she said, -“What makes you so bad to me, Charlie? -I haven’t seen you for a long time, but I -thought you were a nice, pleasant boy, like -Kenneth. Oh, how I wish I could go back -to Kenneth!”</p> - -<p>“Go home as soon as you please,” said Charlie -rudely. “I don’t want you for a sister if -you are so fussy and cross.”</p> - -<p>“I am not fussy and cross!” cried Rose indignantly. -“You have been very impolite and -horrid to me, and I am ashamed of you!”</p> - -<p>Then, I am sorry to say, Charlie did a very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span> -naughty thing. He pushed Rose roughly, so -that she fell down and bruised her poor little -knee. She tried not to cry, but the tears would -come. And when she saw Charlie disappear -around the corner of the house with his hands -in his pockets, as if he did not care at all, she -began to sob.</p> - -<p>“I wish I had not come to the country!” -she whimpered.</p> - -<p>Now from the parlor window Charlie’s -mother had seen this last naughtiness, and -straightway she went after her boy, who was -kicking his toe against the piazza steps.</p> - -<p>“Charlie, you have been a very naughty -boy,” she said. “You have hurt your little -cousin, and I must punish you. What makes -you so bad to-day? I thought you and Rose -would have such pleasant times together!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like girls,” said Charlie sulkily. -“They are telltales and cry-babies. I am -glad I pushed her.”</p> - -<p>“Charlie!” exclaimed his mother, much -shocked. “Go right up to the dark room<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span> -and sit down in a chair and stay there until -you are sorry. When you are truly sorry you -can come out and tell Rose.”</p> - -<p>“I shan’t ever be sorry,” said Charlie obstinately. -“And I will never tell her that I -am.”</p> - -<p>“Then you will have no supper to-night,” -said his mother firmly. “Go, now. Do as I -tell you, Charlie.”</p> - -<p>Charlie knew that it was not safe to linger -when his mother spoke in that tone. He -stamped up the three flights of stairs and opened -the door of the dark room. It was a spare -chamber that was seldom used, save on Charlie’s -naughty days. The blinds were closed -tight, and not a ray of the beautiful summer -sunshine could enter. Instead, there was a -gloomy, greenish dimness, which was not at -all pleasant. And the room was very, very still. -The rest of the world seemed a long way off.</p> - -<p>Charlie dragged a chair into the middle of -the room and sat down, kicking the rungs with -his feet. It was all Rose’s fault. He had given<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> -her only a tiny push, and it could not have hurt -her much. She was such a cry-baby and telltale! -Of course it must have been she who had -told his mother all about it. He could hear the -faint sound of old Carlo barking outside, and -fancied he caught echoes of Rose’s happy -laughter. Yes, undoubtedly the mean little -thing was playing with Carlo, enjoying herself -in the beautiful sunshine as if nothing had happened, -while he was shut up in the old dark -room! Charlie thought of all the fine things -he had planned to do this day, if something -had not gone wrong from the very beginning.</p> - -<p>A great fly buzzed against the window pane, -and for a time Charlie was interested in watching -it bump its foolish head again and again. -But he soon grew tired of the sight and sound. -What a stupid way to spend a beautiful day, -watching an old fly in a dark room! How the -minutes dragged that usually galloped away -too fast! He had only to say that he was sorry, -and he might come out. But he was not sorry, -and he would never tell Rose so.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>The time dragged on. The fly had ceased -to buzz, and Carlo to bark. There was no -sound inside or outside the dark room. Probably -Rose had gone to ride. Mamma had promised -to take them to the lake, where they -could learn to row. What fun that would -have been! Now Rose was enjoying it alone. -Selfish little thing!</p> - -<p>Charlie began to fidget. The chair was hard -and uncomfortable; he thought he must have -been sitting there for hours. Luncheon time -was over and gone. It must be almost evening. -Surely it was growing even darker in the -dark room. How could he ever bear to stay -there all night alone—without any supper, -too! He began to feel very hungry indeed. -Suppose he should starve to death! That would -make Rose feel badly enough. He hoped it -would break her heart. A tear rolled down -the side of his nose at the thought of his -sad fate.</p> - -<p>Just then he heard a sound outside the door. -The knob turned, and in tiptoed a little figure<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span> -in white, with yellow hair and blue ribbons. -It was Rose. Her face was tear-stained, and -she looked piteously at him without speaking. -Charlie frowned, and turned his head away. -He was not sorry.</p> - -<p>Rose stood first on one foot and then on the -other, glancing shyly at Charlie, as if hoping -that he would speak. But he only sulked and -kicked the chair-rung harder. At last she -dragged another chair from a corner of the -room, placed its back to his, climbed up into -it and sat down.</p> - -<p>“H’m!” thought Charlie, “She has been -naughty too. Now Mamma sees that I am -not the only bad one. I wonder how long -she will have to stay here.”</p> - -<p>They sat silent for a long time, back to -back. Then Charlie heard a sniff behind him. -He knew that Rose was crying. “I am glad -of it!” he said to himself. “I am glad she -was naughty and had to be punished. Usually -girls are not punished like boys. They are -lucky, and manage to escape.”</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i099"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i099.jpg" alt="IN TIPTOED A LITTLE FIGURE"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">IN TIPTOED A LITTLE FIGURE</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>Another little sniff from Rose; then a long -silence. At last she spoke, in a half-sobbing -voice: “It is beautiful out of doors. But it -is horrid in this dark room.” Charlie made -no reply. Presently Rose tried again. “How -long have you got to stay here, Charlie?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” he answered gruffly; “all -night, perhaps.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” Rose’s tone was startled, and again -there was a long silence.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you going to have any supper, -Charlie?” she asked wistfully.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Charlie. “Are you?”</p> - -<p>“N-no,” said Rose hesitating, and then -she gave a very long sigh.</p> - -<p>Charlie chuckled. She had “told” of him. -It was her fault. Since he had to suffer, it was -some comfort to think that she must do so -also. He was not a bit sorry.</p> - -<p>“I wish we could have gone to the lake,” -sighed Rose again. “I s’pect Aunt Mary went -without us.” At this tantalizing thought -Charlie retorted angrily:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>“If you had not been a cry-baby and a -telltale, mother wouldn’t have punished me, -and we could both have gone.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t tell!” cried Rose indignantly. -“I wouldn’t have told if you had broken my -leg off. I can’t bear telltales, and I wouldn’t -be one for anything.”</p> - -<p>“Well, how did mother know, then?” -asked Charlie, somewhat less crossly.</p> - -<p>“I s’pose she looked out of the window -and saw you push me, and I s’pose she saw -that I was mis’able.”</p> - -<p>“Cry-baby!” taunted Charlie scornfully.</p> - -<p>“I am not a cry-baby,” said Rose, with a -quaver in her voice. “It took all the skin -off my knee—look!—and it hurts awfully -when I bend it around, <i>so</i>. But I never told -Aunt Mary, and she doesn’t know. I cried -a little because—because you hurt my feelings; -that was why.”</p> - -<p>“Humph!” grunted Charlie, looking at -the bruised, tender little knee. He tried to -make light of it, but his cheeks reddened,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span> -and he felt ashamed. Rose was such a little -thing, after all.</p> - -<p>Rose writhed in her seat. “Must you stay -in the chair all the time?” she asked over -her shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Charlie briefly.</p> - -<p>“It is so hard! I thought—if we could -stand up, or sit down on the floor—maybe—but -anyway we might play something else, -some kind of <i>quiet</i> game; Twenty Questions, -or—or something. Would you like to do -that, Charlie?” She twisted about in the -chair and eyed the back of his head wistfully. -Charlie hardened his heart.</p> - -<p>“No,” he said crossly. “I don’t want to -play anything in this horrid old dark room.”</p> - -<p>“It isn’t quite so lonesome now that I am -here, is it?” asked Rose anxiously. Charlie -made no reply. “I thought you might be glad -for company,” she went on. “I don’t mind -being here—much. But it <i>is</i> nicer outside. -There is Carlo—hear him bark! And there -are the sunshine and the birds and flowers—and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -everything. Oh, it is lovely here in the -country! I thought we would have such good -times together, Charlie, as we used to do when -you lived in the city, only here it is much nicer. -You have so many lovely things to show me, -Aunt Mary said. But now”— She stopped -short as if afraid of hurting his feelings.</p> - -<p>“How long have you got to stay here?” -asked Charlie, wishing that she would go -away.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t know,” she answered; “perhaps -all night. But I hope not.”</p> - -<p>“Why, what did you do that was so bad?” -asked Charlie, turning half around, in surprised -interest.</p> - -<p>“I? Oh, I—I—I didn’t do anything,” -stammered Rose.</p> - -<p>“Then why did Mamma send you here?” -he demanded.</p> - -<p>“She didn’t send me. She doesn’t know -I’m here. She thinks that I am in the summer-house -with Carlo and my dolls, where she -left me—hours ago.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>“Then what did you come here for?” -Charlie looked at her sternly. She dropped -her eyes and fidgeted with the ruffle of her -dress.</p> - -<p>“I—I came because I didn’t want you -to be punished all alone. P’rhaps if I hadn’t -come to your house you would not have -been naughty at all; so it was partly my fault. -I am so sorry, Charlie! I shall stay here as -long as you do.”</p> - -<p>Charlie whirled around in his chair and -sat back resolutely. He would <i>not</i> be sorry. -Yes, it had been her fault; she had made him -angry. Let her stay and be unhappy!</p> - -<p>They sat very still for a time, then Charlie -felt a little hand steal around the chair-back -and touch his gently. But he jerked away.</p> - -<p>“Are you angry, Charlie, because I came?” -asked the soft little voice. “If you are very -angry, I will go away. But I had much rather -stay here in the dark with you. I—I am so -lonesome without Kenneth, and you are all the -brother I have now. Won’t you let me be your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -little truly sister and do as I would if you were -Kenneth? When I knew you were shut up -here it made me so unhappy that I couldn’t -play. I couldn’t even enjoy the sunshine and -the flowers. If you go without your supper, so -shall I. And if you stay here all night, I—I -<i>think</i> I shall not be afraid to stay with you. -But I hope Auntie will let you out before -then.”</p> - -<p>“No, she will not,” said Charlie, positively. -“I know she will not.”</p> - -<p>“Not if I ask her? Not if I tell her that it -makes me very sad to have you here?” Rose’s -voice trembled.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Charlie, “I don’t think I shall -<i>ever</i> come out.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Rose in horror. “Then we -shall die here together. We shall starve to -death like the Babes in the Woods; but there -will be no Robin Redbreasts to cover us with -leaves. Oh, Charlie! Surely Aunt Mary would -not be so cruel.”</p> - -<p>Charlie could not bear to have any one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -think so of his kind mother. “Mamma is -not cruel,” he said. “If I stay here it is my -own choice. I could come out now, if I chose -to—to say—something.”</p> - -<p>Rose clapped her hands. “Oh, say it, say it -now, Charlie!” she cried.</p> - -<p>At that moment a bell rang invitingly from -downstairs. “Do say it, Charlie,” she begged. -“There is the supper bell, and I am so hungry, -aren’t you?”</p> - -<p>Charlie was very hungry, but he bit his lip -and answered, “No, I will not say it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, why not?” begged Rose. “What -is it that you must say? Is it so very hard?”</p> - -<p>“Well,—I must say that I am sorry because -I pushed you.” Charlie blurted out the -words with a gulp of shame.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Charlie! And you are not sorry?” -Rose pleaded.</p> - -<p>“No, I am not sorry.”</p> - -<p>“Not a little bit?”</p> - -<p>“No, not one bit.”</p> - -<p>Rose gave a little sigh and sank back in her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> -chair. “Well, then I s’pose we must stay here -and be hungry. For of course you mustn’t -say it unless you are really and truly sorry—not -even for the sake of supper. But oh! I -know there is going to be jelly-roll. I saw -Maggie making it this morning.”</p> - -<p>Charlie kicked the chair hard. “Let’s try -to think about something else,” went on -Rose cheerfully; “then perhaps we shall forget -to be hungry. Let’s talk about—about -Carlo.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, do keep still!” grumbled Charlie. “I -don’t want to talk at all.” Rose was silent for -some minutes. Then she began to speak again, -half to herself.</p> - -<p>“I think I will go home to-morrow, if I -don’t starve before that. I will go to Kenneth, -who will be so glad to see me, even if he is -sick. Maybe I shall catch the fever and die. -But that would be better than living where I -have no little brother to love me. After I am -gone, Charlie can come out, for of course -Auntie will not ask him to tell me he is sorry<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> -if I am not here to listen. Then Carlo and -the rabbits and Brindle and the calf will all -be glad to see Charlie again, and no one will -miss me, for I am only a silly little girl who -spoils the beautiful country so that no one is -happy here any more.” Here Rose gave a -great sob. Charlie wriggled uncomfortably -in his chair.</p> - -<p>“I say, Rose, don’t talk like that. I don’t -want you to go home. It wasn’t your fault. -I was very bad to you,” he stammered.</p> - -<p>“But it was my fault, too,” cried Rose -eagerly. “I ought not to have said you were -impolite and horrid. Even when you pushed -me—”</p> - -<p>“I am sorry I did that, Rose,” interrupted -Charlie quickly. “I am, truly. I didn’t -mean to hurt you.”</p> - -<p>Once more the little hand stole around the -chair-back and crept into his own. Charlie -did not drop it this time. “You said it!” -cried Rose. “Oh, Charlie! I am so glad! -Now we can go down to supper.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>Charlie stared. “Said it? What do you -mean? What have I said?”</p> - -<p>“Why, you said <i>It</i>; that you were sorry,” -cried Rose, clapping her hands. “So it is all -right now.”</p> - -<p>Charlie looked rather silly. “I—I didn’t -mean to say it,” he faltered. “I said I would -never say it, and I meant what I said. But I -<i>am</i> sorry, and now I am glad I said I was.” -This sounded very queer, but Rose knew what -he meant, and was quite satisfied.</p> - -<p>At this moment the door opened and -Charlie’s mamma appeared, looking anxious.</p> - -<p>“Oh, here you are, Rose, my child,” she -said. “Who would have thought to find -you here! I was so worried. We have been -looking for you all over the place. Have -you been here all this beautiful afternoon, -you poor little thing?” She looked reproachfully -at Charlie.</p> - -<p>“I wanted to stay here,” said Rose cheerfully. -“But I am glad it is time to come -out now.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>“Come, then, Dearie; you must be very -hungry,” said Charlie’s mother, taking Rose’s -hand and leading her towards the door. But -Rose hung back.</p> - -<p>“You come too, Charlie,” she smiled.</p> - -<p>“Mamma,” said Charlie bravely, “I am -sorry I was naughty to Rose. I have just told -her so. She is a <i>brick</i>, and I wish she was -going to be my truly sister always. For the -rest of her visit I am going to make her have -the best time she ever knew.”</p> - -<p>Then the supper bell rang again, anxiously, -and the two children took hold of hands, -scampering down the stairs like hungry puppies -when they hear their master’s whistle.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER IX<br> - -<small>THE GARDEN OF LIVE FLOWERS</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap2">AFTER Kenneth recovered from the -scarlet fever and Rose came back to -the city, the Thornton family went away -for the summer to their island down in Maine, -which the children loved better than any other -place in the whole world.</p> - -<p>It was a very wonderful island, and though -Kenneth and Rose had gone down there as -many years as they could remember, they were -continually finding something new which they -had never seen before. They liked to play -that it was a desert island and that they were -Robinson Crusoes who were exploring to see -what they might find. And they were always -hoping to come upon a mysterious footprint, -or something like that.</p> - -<p>One particular day they were scrambling -about on the rocks, a long way from the foot<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -of the cliff on which perched their summer -home. They had never before happened to -climb down to this particular spot, because it -was such a steep scramble. From the top of -the cliff it did not look interesting at all. I -dare say nobody had ever before been on that -part of the island, except perhaps the Prout -children, who lived not far away all the year -round. It was a bad landing-place; no boat -could ever come in from the sea on account -of the big waves that dashed up on the sharp -rocks. And nobody would ever have thought -of scrambling down the cliff and over those -rough boulders unless, like Columbus, he was -an adventurous explorer looking to see what -he might find. But you see, that is just what -Kenneth and Rose were. They were explorers, -and they had their eyes wide open to see what -there might be in this new place.</p> - -<p>They hopped over the little rocks and -climbed over the big ones; they crawled over -some and slid down others which were very -slippery. For the tide had gone out, and here<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> -and there the rocks held little pools which -the sun had not dried.</p> - -<p>There were shells and seaweed and starfish -in these pools, but the children did not stop -to gather them, for they had seen others just -like them often before. They scrambled on -towards a big, big rock that stood up right -across the way between the cliff and the -foamy water.</p> - -<p>“We can’t go any further,” said Rose.</p> - -<p>“Oh, we must go further,” answered Kenneth. -“Perhaps there is some big discovery -just beyond. Why, Rose, supposing Columbus -had stopped the first time he was discouraged, -he would never have discovered America. -And then where should we be now?”</p> - -<p>Rose could not answer that question. So -they decided to go on. Kenneth helped Rose -and Rose helped Kenneth, and they scrambled -and climbed and puffed and panted, and -bumped their knees on the rock, which was -the hardest one that they had ever climbed. -But at last they came to the top; and beyond,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span> -down below, was a flat rock which the tide had -just washed clean as a spandy floor.</p> - -<p>“Pooh!” said Kenneth. “I don’t think -<i>that</i> is very much to find. I hoped there would -be at least a cave.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s go down,” said Rose. “I think it -looks nice. See, there is a shelf over the edge. -Perhaps there is a cave or something under -this big rock. I want to go down and see.”</p> - -<p>So they began to slide and scramble again; -and it is a great deal easier to slide down than -up, as every one knows. In a very few moments -Kenneth landed on all fours on the flat -shelf of rock, and in another minute Rose -bumped down beside him. And then Rose said -“Oh!”</p> - -<p>Now perhaps you think that she said “Oh!” -because she had bumped her little nose on the -hard rock. But that was not the reason. Rose -scarcely ever cried, even when she bumped -herself hard, for she was a brave little girl, the -nicest kind of a sister for a boy to have.</p> - -<p>No; Rose said “Oh!” because she had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -made a discovery. There was something under -the shelf of rock down which they had slid. -There was a pool of water; a long, shallow pool -of sea-water as cold as ice, into which Rose -had plunged her foot. But that was not all. -It was a tiny, beautiful sea-garden full of -flowers.</p> - -<p>Kenneth cried “Oh!” too, when he saw -where Rose was pointing, and in a minute -the two children were lying flat on their stomachs -staring at the wonderful garden. My! -But I wish you could have seen how wonderful -it was. I must try to tell you how it looked.</p> - -<p>In the first place, the bottom of the basin, -the rocky pool in which some of the sea-water -had been glad to linger when the rest ran away -with the tide,—this bowl was of a brilliant -pink, bright as Rose’s own pink cheeks. It -was covered with a thick painted coating like -coral, and I suppose some kind of little animal -like a coral-creature had made it so. In -the next place, up from the pinkness grew tiny -plants of seaweed, green and brown and yellow,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span> -branching and spreading out like little -trees and bushes, and waving in the water just -as trees do in the wind. Among the seaweed -lived pink and purple and yellow starfish and -little crawling periwinkles carrying their shell -houses upon their backs. Here and there a -funny little hermit-crab scuttled busily about, -keeping tightly hold of the shell which he -had stolen to be his home. Among the leaves -of the seaweed trees Rose spied a tiny conger -eel moving to and fro, waving his fins as though -they were wings, this queer ocean bird!</p> - -<p>But what made Kenneth and Rose cry “Oh, -oh, oh!” three times out loud and clap their -hands with joy, was the living flowers.</p> - -<p>Living flowers! You have read in fairy-books -about flowers that came alive? But this -is no fairy-story, and these flowers were real, -truly live flowers,—flowers that were happy -and hungry, that ate and drank and moved, -opening and closing whenever they chose.</p> - -<p>Some of the flowers were brown,—little -brown sacks, with a daisy flower growing out of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> -the end, waving its petals to and fro to catch its -dinner of tiny unseen things that live in the -water. Some of the flowers were green, some -were yellowish pink, some pale greenish blue. -And they were all wide open under the water, -staring up through it at the blue sky.</p> - -<p>One flower was like a little ripe, red strawberry, -growing from the roof of the cave; just -the size and shape of a juicy strawberry, and -looking good enough to eat. Each blue flower-star -had a white centre, and when Rose put her -little finger down very carefully into this mouth, -it closed its petals tightly, for it thought it had -found a nice bit of dinner. It was a funny, -tickly feeling, and Rose drew away her finger -quickly, but very gently so as not to hurt the -sea-flower. Then Kenneth put his finger into -the mouth of one of the pinkish flowers, and -the petals did not move. He tickled the -flower gently, and it seemed to like the feeling, -which I dare say was as new to the flower as -the flower was to Kenneth. For the children -had never before seen a garden of live flowers.</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i119"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i119.jpg" alt="LIVING FLOWERS"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">LIVING FLOWERS</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span>For a long time they lay and watched the -wonderful little pool and the beautiful flowers, -that moved their petals so gracefully in the -water. And they never noticed that a storm -was gathering out to sea. But by and by they -saw that the flowers were closing one by one, -closing tightly and not opening again.</p> - -<p>“Why, what makes the flowers go to -sleep?” cried Rose sorrowfully. “It is not -night yet, and garden flowers do not close till -the sun sets.”</p> - -<p>“It is growing dark,” said Kenneth. -“There is a cloud coming over the sun.”</p> - -<p>Sure enough! A heavy cloud rolled over -the sun, and all the sea-flowers closed their -eyes tightly, just as earth-flowers do at night. -Then Kenneth and Rose sat up and looked -around. My! They were surprised! A heavy -fog was rolling in from sea, and it was going -to rain very soon. They had been so interested -in the flowers that they had not thought -of this.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it is going to rain!” cried Rose.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>“The flowers have warned us just in time. -Let us hurry home, Kenneth, before the fog -shuts down so that we cannot see the way.” -For they knew how cruel the fogs were about -the island, so thick and heavy that the fishermen -themselves were afraid of being caught -in them, and of losing the way home.</p> - -<p>The children jumped up and said good-by -to the beautiful garden. Then they climbed, -slid, hopped, and scrambled back over the -rocks towards home, racing with the storm. -And they reached the house just as the first -drops of rain began to fall. They rushed up -onto the piazza, where their mamma was -looking anxiously for them.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mamma,” they cried both together, -“we have seen a garden of live flowers.”</p> - -<p>“Pink and blue and red!” cried Rose.</p> - -<p>“And they closed tight so as to let us -know that the storm was coming,” said Kenneth.</p> - -<p>“What, you have found a pool of sea-anemones?” -cried their mother, delighted. “I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span> -am so glad! I did not know there were any -on this island.”</p> - -<p>“And will you come with us to-morrow -to see them?” begged Rose. “We will show -you, but it is going to be a great secret. Sh! -Don’t let any one hear!”</p> - -<p>“I am not a good climber,” said their -mother, shaking her head. “I am afraid I -cannot get down that steep cliff. But you -must take your Aunt Claire, who is coming -to-morrow. She will love to go with you, I -know.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, is Aunt Claire coming to-morrow? -Hurray!” cried Kenneth. For the children -thought that their Aunt Claire was great fun.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes! We will take Aunt Claire to see -the flowers,” said Rose. “But we mustn’t -tell any one else.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you must keep the discovery a great -secret,” said their mamma. “Some one might -want to transplant the little flowers, and that -would be a great pity. You must let them -live there in their own sea-garden just as they<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span> -are. But what clever little explorers you were -to find them!”</p> - -<p>And, indeed, it is not every one who can -discover a garden of live flowers outside a -fairy-book. But this was nicer than any fairy-book, -as their Aunt Claire said when Kenneth -and Rose showed it to her the very next day -after she came to the island. And she ought -to know, for she writes fairy-books and tells -stories better than any one else, so the children -think.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER X<br> - -<small>BURIED TREASURE</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">ONE day Kenneth and his father went -out fishing with Captain Prout. Rose -and Aunt Claire did not care to go, because -they did not enjoy fishing. But instead they -decided to spend the morning on the sandy -beach, not far from the cottage, which was -a grand play-room and bathing-place for the -children. It was the only sandy beach on -that rocky island.</p> - -<p>Rose ran ahead of her Aunt Claire, and as -soon as she reached the beach she sat down to -pull off her shoes and stockings. For in this -lovely play-room she never wore shoes, nor -even sandals, but ran around with bare toes on -the smooth, soft floor, making funny little -tracks just as the sandpipers do. But of course -Rose’s footprints were larger than their three-toed -ones.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>When they reached the beach they saw -that the tide was very low, and that the sand -stretched out like a great sheet of paper, -smooth and white, without a mark upon it, -from the seaweed line to the water. For it -was early in the morning, and they were the -very first persons on the spot. Yesterday they -had made houses of sand and had dug deep -wells all up and down the beach. But in the -night the sea had stolen up and swept everything -smooth again, even wiping out the -tracks of feet which had crossed and criss-crossed -it everywhere,—Aunt Claire’s tennis -shoes, Kenneth’s and Rose’s little bare footprints, -the deep tread of the clam-digger’s -rubber boots, and the sandpipers’ light steps. -The beach looked like a field covered with -newly fallen snow on which nothing has yet -made a mark.</p> - -<p>Then Aunt Claire, who was always having -splendid ideas, thought of a lovely game to -play upon this smooth whiteness.</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i127"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i127.jpg" alt="THE SAND STRETCHED OUT LIKE A GREAT SHEET OF PAPER"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">THE SAND STRETCHED OUT LIKE A GREAT SHEET OF PAPER</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p>“Oh, Rose,” she cried, “let us play a new<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> -kind of hide-and-seek. I will shut my eyes, -and you take this pretty whirly-shell which -we found yesterday and hide it somewhere in -the sand. Then I will try to find it by following -the track of your bare feet.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, goodie!” said Rose, clapping her -hands. “That is a nice game. Play I am a -pirate going to hide my treasure in the ground, -and you are another pirate hunting for it. -Blind your eyes, Auntie. Blind them tight, -and don’t you peek!”</p> - -<p>Aunt Claire blinded her eyes and waited -until she heard Rose call, “Coo!” like a -pirate. Then she looked up, and Rose was -standing in the deep, soft sand not very far -away. But Aunt Claire knew that she had -not hidden the treasure so near. Oh, no! -Rose was too sly a pirate to do that.</p> - -<p>Aunt Claire peered all around very carefully, -and finally she spied the marks of little bare -toes in the sand near the spot where Rose had -stood when they first began to play. And she -followed the tracks down to the water and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> -up again, winding about in the funniest way,—something -like this:—</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe31_25" id="i130"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i130.jpg" alt=""> -</figure> - -<p>Up and down and round about, twisting -in and out, went the funny little marks, till -Aunt Claire’s head whirled dizzily. Rose -clapped her hands and laughed to see her -trying to set her tennis shoes exactly in the -track of those crazy wanderings. But at last, -close by the water’s edge, Aunt Claire saw a -little something which rose up like a bump -on the sand; and about it were the marks -of finger-scrapings. She stooped down and -dug with her fingers, and soon she cried: “I -spy!” and held up the pretty shell which -Rose had hidden. “The treasure is found!” -said Aunt Claire. “But what a search you -made for me, wicked Pirate!”</p> - -<p>“It is a lovely game,” said Rose, hopping<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span> -up and down with excitement. “Now <i>you</i> -hide, Aunt Claire,” Rose put her hands over -her eyes, and her auntie came back to the -soft sand in order to start fair on a smooth -piece of beach. Pretty soon she cried, “Coo!” -And the marks of her shoes looked something -like this:—</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe31_25" id="i131"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i131.jpg" alt=""> -</figure> - -<p>“Oh, I never, never can find the treasure -in all that whirly-whirly!” cried Rose, shaking -her curls like a Skye terrier. And indeed, -it looked very hard. But Rose walked -right along in the big prints of her auntie’s -shoes, and without much trouble she found -the shell where it was hidden in the middle -of the whirly-figure.</p> - -<p>“That was a good hide,” she said.</p> - -<p>They played the pirate game for a long time, -until the sand was covered up and down with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span> -the strangest patterns, and there was hardly -room for a fresh footprint anywhere; for this -was not a large beach.</p> - -<p>“We shall have to stop, now, I suppose,” -said Rose with a sigh, “and wait until Mr. -Sea has washed out all our marks with his -ocean sponge. See, he is creeping up and has -begun already. To-morrow the beach will be -all smooth and white again so that we can -show Kenneth how to play buried treasure, -too.”</p> - -<p>“Let us play just once more,” said Aunt -Claire. “It is my turn to hide the treasure, -and I think I can find a place which will not -be too hard, all among these markings. Blind -your eyes, little Pirate.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Rose, who was a very -good-natured pirate. And she closed her -eyes.</p> - -<p>Now there was not much smooth sand for -Aunt Claire to walk in, but she managed to -go up and down the beach in a funny parallel-lined -pattern, like this:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span></p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe31_25" id="i133"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i133.jpg" alt=""> -</figure> - -<p>And when she called, “Coo,” Rose started off -upon the trail, laughing every time she turned -the sharp corner and came back upon the long -stretch up or down.</p> - -<p>At last she came to the little bubbly mound -in the sand where Aunt Claire had hidden the -treasure. She stooped over and her yellow -curls swept the sand as she thrust in all her ten -fingers with a shout of triumph. Presently she -jumped up with the treasure in her hand and -stood still, examining it curiously. Then she -gave a squeal of joy and came racing up the -beach to her auntie, with her curls flying -madly.</p> - -<p>“Why, Aunt Claire,” she cried, “it is a -really, truly treasure, this time! See what was -hidden inside the whirly-shell!” and she held -up a bright ten-cent piece which she had -pulled out of the little treasure-box.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>“So there is,” said her auntie. “I wonder -how it got there?”</p> - -<p>Rose looked at Aunt Claire and laughed. -“I like this game; very specially the end of -it,” she said. “Now what shall we do next, -Auntie?”</p> - -<p>“We can’t play here any more,” said Aunt -Claire. “The beach is so marked up that if -a pirate should hide his treasure here he might -never be able to find it again. I would not -risk mine, if I were you.”</p> - -<p>“No, I suppose I had better not,” said Rose, -shaking her head. “I think I ought to keep -the money for the game to-morrow, shouldn’t -I, Auntie?” she added, rather wistfully.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no!” said Aunt Claire. “A pirate -would never do that. You must go up to the -store and change it for merchandise. That is -what pirates always did in the old days.”</p> - -<p>“What is merchandise?” asked Rose -brightening. Then with a sudden thought, -“Is candy merchandise?” And Aunt Claire -said that it was.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>“Well, then, you must come with me to -the store and share,” said Rose, pulling her -auntie by the hand. And away both pirates -went to the little village store which was about -a mile from the cottage.</p> - -<p>“I think it is lovely to be a pirate!” cried -Rose, as she danced along the road with the -ten-cent piece in her hand. “I am going to -be a pirate every single day.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, not every day,” said her auntie, in -dismay. “The pirates did not go pirating -every day, or there would not have been treasure -enough to last. They did other things -between whiles.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose they couldn’t go pirating when -it rained,” said Rose thoughtfully. “Perhaps -it may rain to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>And it did.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XI<br> - -<small>THE PIECED BABY</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">FOR a long time Rose had been wanting a -little sister. Kenneth was the very best -brother that ever lived, and they had beautiful -times playing together. But Kenneth was -growing to be a big boy, and he liked a great -many things that Rose did not enjoy,—fishing, -for instance, which made her very ill. -And there were things which Rose liked that -Kenneth would not play with her. Rose -thought if only she had a little sister they two -would like just the same sort of things. They -could play dolls together, and house, and tea-party, -and have the most beautiful times when -Kenneth was away doing something very -different.</p> - -<p>Rose had waited a long time for the little -sister. She had spoken to her papa and mamma<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span> -about it months before, and they had said that -perhaps some time there would come a little -sister for her. Rose thought that Christmas -would be a very nice time for the sister to -come. But although Santa Claus was very kind -and had brought two little kittens to Christine, -the Christmas cat, and had brought Alice, -her beautiful new doll, to Rose herself, there -had been no baby sister in mamma’s stocking -nor in papa’s.</p> - -<p>Rose was almost tired of waiting. She -wanted the little sister so much that one morning, -when Kenneth had gone to dig clams with -Captain Prout, she cried all by herself out in -the woods behind the house,—cried as if her -heart would break. Her Aunt Claire found -her there, and asked her what was the matter. -Then Rose told her all about it.</p> - -<p>“Have you asked the fairies to help you?” -said Aunt Claire sympathetically. Rose said -that she had forgotten to do that.</p> - -<p>“Well, I would do so, if I were you,” said -Aunt Claire gravely. “One never knows what<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> -may happen if you can only get the fairies to -help.”</p> - -<p>Rose thought over what her auntie had said -all that day, and she resolved to ask the fairies -to help her at the very first chance she had. -She sometimes saw them, when she woke up -between dreams at night, and she hoped that -very soon she should meet her friends again. -It happened sooner than she expected.</p> - -<p>That very night, when she had not been -asleep very long, she was suddenly awakened -by a little silvery laugh. And when she -opened her eyes to see what had laughed, -there in the moonlight at the foot of her -bed stood a beautiful Fairy in a silver dress.</p> - -<p>“Why, Rose, what are you crying about?” -said the Fairy.</p> - -<p>“Was I crying?” said Rose. “I did not -know it.”</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i139"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i139.jpg" alt="AWAKENED BY A LITTLE SILVERY LAUGH"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">AWAKENED BY A LITTLE SILVERY LAUGH</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Fairy. “You were crying -in your sleep, sobbing so hard that I heard -you away off in Fairyland. So I knew something -very sad must be troubling you, and I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span> -came just as quickly as I could to my little -friend. What is it, Rose? What is the matter?”</p> - -<p>The Fairy spoke so kindly that Rose began -to cry again.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I do so want a little sister!” she -sobbed.</p> - -<p>“Well, why don’t you go about to get -one?” asked the Fairy.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know how,” said Rose, blinking -the tears in wonder. “Where can I find one, -dear Fairy?”</p> - -<p>“You can’t find a whole baby,” said the -Fairy, “but you must gather her in little pieces. -Then perhaps my fairies will put her together -for you, like a patchwork quilt.”</p> - -<p>“I never heard of such a thing!” exclaimed -Rose indignantly. “I don’t want a pieced -little sister, I want a nice whole one.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well,” returned the Fairy Queen -carelessly, “but I’ll tell you a secret. They -are <i>all</i> pieced that way, though nobody knows -it. The seams never show, we take such fine,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> -fine stitches. But the pieces must be carefully -chosen. Haven’t you noticed how some -babies have a nose which doesn’t belong with -the chin, or unmatched eyes, or ears which -are not a truly pair? You must do better than -that, Rose. You must choose carefully, so that -your little sister will be symmetrical and even,—the -same on both sides.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, can I really do it?” cried Rose eagerly, -sitting up in bed. “When may I begin?”</p> - -<p>“Begin now,” said the Fairy. “I suppose -you would like to have the little sister as soon -as possible?”</p> - -<p>“I would like her to-morrow!” cried -Rose, jumping out of bed. “But how shall -I begin? Will you not help me?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot help you to collect the pieces,” -answered the Fairy, “but I will give you a -hint. You might begin with a <i>face</i> for your -little sister; and why not go to the clock for -that?” So saying the Fairy suddenly disappeared.</p> - -<p>“Go to the clock!” Rose gasped, “how<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span> -very strange!” Then she looked up at the -tall old clock that faced her bed, and in the -moonlight the face seemed to be smiling at -her. “It’s a queer face for a baby sister to -have,” thought Rose, “but the Fairy ought -to know. I will begin as she told me.” So -she peeled the pillowcase from her pillow to -make a good big bag for the pieces which -she was to collect. Then she went up to the -clock and said politely,—for he was an old -friend of hers,—“Please, Clock, I want your -face to begin a baby sister.” Then she took -off the face and put it in the bottom of the -pillowcase bag.</p> - -<p>“Now what must my little sister have -next?” wondered Rose. “<i>Eyes</i>, of course! -But where shall I find eyes?” Just then her -own eyes happened to spy the pincushion on -the bureau. “To be sure! Needles have eyes. -I will borrow two for my sister.” And into -the bundle went two needles. But Rose was -careful that they should be just alike, as the -Fairy had warned.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>“Now I want a <i>nose</i>,” thought Rose. “What -has a nose? Oh—a kettle.” And very quietly, -so as not to waken any one in the house, she -ran down into the kitchen, took the nose -from the teakettle, and put that in the bag.</p> - -<p>“A <i>mouth</i>; I must have a mouth next. Oh, -yes, a bottle has a mouth,” said Rose. She -found one in the pantry, and its round mouth -went into the bundle with the eyes and nose. -But there must be a <i>tongue</i> to go in the mouth. -Rose thought and thought; but at last she -remembered that there was a tongue in her -shoe, and that was added to the collection.</p> - -<p>“What about a <i>head</i>? She needs that for -her face, her eyes and nose and mouth; I forgot -her head!” cried Rose. “Let me think. -Why, yes, a head of lettuce,—that is what -I want.” And because it was summer, warm -and pleasant out of doors, Rose skipped right -out in her nightie and bare feet. The vegetable -garden was behind the house, and there -Rose picked out a round head of lettuce, -which she added to her funny bundle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>The garden made her think of something -else. The baby must have <i>ears</i>, and where -should one look for ears if not in the cornfield? -So away she tripped to the cornfield, -where for weeks she had been watching the -ears of corn grow plumper every day. Here -she carefully selected two pretty ears, just -alike.</p> - -<p>“And now the little sister is ready and -trimmed as far as her neck,” thought Rose. -“And for a <i>neck</i>, I know where I can find -that. Mamma’s white vase on the parlor -mantel has a beautiful neck.” So back to -the house went Rose, and soon into the bundle -with the other things went the white -vase.</p> - -<p>“Now let me see, baby must have a <i>body</i>. -What is there that has a body? The body of -a—the body of a—what have I heard? The -body of a wagon; yes, that is it! But I can’t -take Papa’s big wagon. A little one will be -nicer for a baby. I will take the body of Kenneth’s -express wagon,” and Rose pattered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> -softly to Kenneth’s room, where the little red -cart went into the fast-growing bundle.</p> - -<p>Next Rose took the <i>arms</i> of a sofa, two <i>legs</i> -of a chair, and two <i>feet</i> of a table. Then she -went back to her own little room. “You poor -old clock,” she said to her now faceless friend, -“I must rob you again. Please, I want your two -<i>hands</i> for my little sister.” And the clock had -to give her his hands, whether he could spare -them or not. Then Rose remembered that -the baby must have <i>nails</i> on her hands and feet. -So she tiptoed very softly into Mamma’s room -and got twenty nails from the little carpenter’s -chest which Mamma kept in her closet.</p> - -<p>By this time the pillowcase had grown very -heavy and hard to carry, like Santa Claus’s -wonderful pack. Moreover, Rose was tired, -for she had been roaming around for a long -time collecting the pieces of her little sister.</p> - -<p>“I think I must have everything now,” she -sighed, sitting down on the edge of her bed. -“Such a funny bundle! I hope little Sister -will not look very queer with all these strange<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span> -kinds of features and things. I wish the Queen -of the Fairies would come and tell me what -to do next.”</p> - -<p>Just at that moment Rose blinked and -stopped talking, for in at the window on a ray -of moonlight came walking the Fairy Queen -herself. She smiled at Rose and nodded when -she saw the big bundle.</p> - -<p>“Good!” she said. “You have done well. -I hope that you haven’t forgotten anything, -for that would be awkward.” Rose shook her -head positively. “Very well,” went on the -Fairy, “now empty out your bundle upon the -floor at the foot of the bed, put the pillowcase -on the pillow and go to sleep. As soon -as your eyes are closed tight I will see what -my fairies can do with the pieces which you -have collected. But mind, you must not -peep.”</p> - -<p>“No, I promise not to peep,” said Rose, -and obediently she went to bed and closed -her eyes tight, and before she knew it she -was sound asleep.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>Rose slept and slept and slept, later than -usual. And it was not until the old clock -called out, “One, two, three, four, five, six, -seven, <i>eight</i>!” that she opened her eyes with -a pop and stared at him hard. How could a -clock speak without a face? But there the old -fellow stood, smiling at her as usual, with his -hands pointing up and down quite correctly.</p> - -<p>“Then it was only a dream after all!” -sighed Rose, and there were two tears in her -eyes as she thought of the little sister whom -she had hoped to see this morning. “There -wasn’t any Fairy Queen, and I didn’t go about -last night collecting eyes and ears and hands -for a new baby. Oh, dear! Oh, dear!”</p> - -<p>Just then there was a knock on the door, -and Papa came into the room. “Wake up, -my little Rose,” he said, “and see what I -have to show you here! Something came in -the night, something new and nice that you -have wanted for a long time.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Papa,” gasped Rose, “what is it? -Not a—not a little sister?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>Papa looked surprised. “Why, how did -you guess, Rose?” he asked. “That is just -what it is.” And he beckoned to Eliza, Rose’s -own old nurse, who came into the room with -a tiny bundle in her arms. And there, wrapped -in soft flannel, was the pinkest, prettiest, cunningest -little baby you ever saw!</p> - -<p>“Oh, Papa!” cried Rose, clapping her -hands. “It wasn’t a dream after all. I did -collect the pieces. Oh, I am so glad!”</p> - -<p>Papa looked puzzled, but Rose had no -time now to explain about the Fairy Queen. -She was too busy examining the little pink -bundle to see if it was all there as she had -planned. Yes, there were the eyes and ears, -the little hands and nails, all quite evenly -matched. This was no crooked, carelessly -patched baby, this little sister of Rose’s. The -fairies had smoothed out all the pieces and -made them beautiful, and, as the Queen had -promised, there was not one seam to show -how it had been done. Oh, how proud Rose -was of the dear little nose and the pink mouth!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span> -Suddenly her face clouded. The baby had -opened its pink mouth wide to let out a -babyish howl, and Rose saw a dreadful sight. -There was not a single tooth there!</p> - -<p>“Oh, oh!” cried Rose, “I forgot her -<i>teeth</i>. And there was my comb lying on the -bureau conveniently all the time. Oh, how -careless I was! Poor little Sister!” and she -burst out crying.</p> - -<p>Nurse and Papa assured Rose that it was -quite fashionable for a baby to be toothless at -first; that the little sister’s teeth would come -soon enough. But Rose could not believe it. -She felt sure that she had spoiled the baby, -who would never be quite finished like other -children. It was only when, some months -later, Papa and Nurse turned out to be right -and Rose felt the little hard teeth pushing -through the baby’s gums that she became -quite happy and relieved.</p> - -<p>“I think that this was the Fairy’s doings, -too!” said Rose. And indeed, that did not -seem more wonderful than the fact which<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> -Rose could never explain,—that no one had -missed the nose of the teakettle, nor the neck -of Mamma’s white vase, nor any of the other -things which Rose had collected to piece the -baby. For, like the clock’s hands and face, -they were all in place as usual the very next -morning after that exciting night. But, as -Aunt Claire said, of course it is useless trying -to explain anything which has to do with the -fairies. Is it not so?</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XII<br> - -<small>THE ALARM</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">ONE day Captain Prout said to Kenneth, -“How’d ye like to go out with me -to-morrow morning to catch bait for my lobster -traps? We’ll have to start early,—right -early for a little city feller like you. What do -you say to four o’clock?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I can get up at four o’clock just as -easily as at seven,” said Kenneth proudly; “of -course I will go with you, Captain Prout.”</p> - -<p>The Captain chuckled. “’Tain’t so easy -as you think, to git up at sunrise, when you -ain’t used to it,” he said; “but you kin set an -alarm, I guess. You ask your father, an’ if he -says you can go, I’ll take you off from the -beach in my boat to-morrow morning at four-fifteen; -that is, pervided you’re there, Sonny.”</p> - -<p>Of course he would be there! Kenneth -asked his father if he might go, and Mr.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> -Thornton was quite willing, for he knew that -Captain Prout would be careful of the little -boy. Kenneth did not tell his father how -early he must start. But without troubling -any one he set the alarm clock at four, and -put it under the bed, so that it would be sure -to waken him in due season.</p> - -<p>Now, very early the next morning, when -every one in the Thornton cottage was sleeping -soundly, two little figures came walking -up through the woods towards the back door. -The little boy carried a pail of milk, and the -little girl walked beside him, and they looked -something like the children whom you see -in the full moon,—Jack and Jill. But these -were not Jack and Jill. They were Tommy -and Mary Prout, Captain Prout’s twins, and -it happened to be their turn to bring the milk -that morning to the Thornton cottage for -Kenneth’s and Rose’s breakfast. I don’t know -what Kenneth and Rose would have done if -the little Prouts had forgotten to come with -the milk. But they never forgot, not once,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> -all summer. There were six of them—three -boys and three girls—and every morning in -July and August, whether it rained or shone, -two of them came two miles from Lobster -Cove with the milk. And they came very -early,—so early that no one in the cottage -ever saw them do it. They were glad of this, -for they were very bashful. Whenever they -were out in the woods or along the shore and -heard any one coming, they always scuttled -away and hid like little frightened animals.</p> - -<p>Sometimes Kenneth and Rose spied one or -two of these children running away through -the woods, but they had scarcely ever seen -their faces, and did not know one from -another. They called them just “the little -Prouts,” and thought them very queer.</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i155"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i155.jpg" alt="THEY WERE TOMMY AND MARY PROUT"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">THEY WERE TOMMY AND MARY PROUT</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p>But the little Prouts knew Kenneth and -Rose much better. They often watched them -from a distance, when Kenneth and Rose did -not know. And they thought the Thornton -children the most wonderful creatures that -ever lived, and their toys and their doings the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span> -finest ever known. For you see, the little -Prouts had no toys of their own, and were very -different from Kenneth and Rose in every -way, except in being little brothers and sisters.</p> - -<p>Tommy and Mary, who were just the age of -Kenneth, came stealing very quietly through -the woods with the pail of milk, which they -carried around to the back door and set upon -the step, ready for Katie to take it when she -came down to get breakfast. They had done -their errand, and now were they not ready -to tramp home? Oh, no! They stood for a -minute listening, to be sure that no one was -stirring in the cottage, and then very softly -they tiptoed around to the front of the house, -where the broad piazza was. Sometimes the -city children left their toys all night out on -the piazza. The little Prouts knew this, for -they had often before done just this same thing -in the early morning after their long tramp -with the milk.</p> - -<p>It was such a fine night that Rose had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> -swung her doll’s hammock on the piazza, and -Alice, her beautiful new doll, was sleeping -here very sweetly. Rose had heard that it -was good for children to sleep in the open air. -Kenneth had left his express wagon and his -rocking-horse out here, too.</p> - -<p>The little Prouts stood at the foot of the -piazza steps, staring up at these wonderful -things.</p> - -<p>At last Mary Prout reached out her hand -and touched her brother. “Ain’t I dreaming?” -she said. “No, I ain’t. But Tommy! -Ain’t they beautiful!”</p> - -<p>Tommy took a step towards the piazza and -paused, listening. There was no sound in the -house. “Let’s go up,” he whispered. “No -one will ever know. Come on.”</p> - -<p>The two children stole noiselessly up the -steps and crept over the piazza to the sheltered -nook where the toys were safe from the dew. -Mary sank down on her knees beside Alice. -“Oh, oh!” she breathed. “I never saw anything -so beautiful!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>Tommy was looking eagerly at the rocking-horse. -“Oh, how I wish ’t I dared ride -on him, just once!” he thought. He reached -out his hand to stroke the mane of the beautiful -creature, the like of which he had never -before seen. And at the same moment Mary -stretched a trembling hand towards Alice’s -golden curls. Think of having a doll like that -for your very own, to kiss and play with, and -carry around wherever you went! If only she -might have it in her arms just once, Mary felt -that she should be happy all the rest of her -days.</p> - -<p>But just at that moment there came a terrible -sound, “Pr-r-r-jingle-jangle! P-r-r-r-r! -Jang-jang!” In the stillness it seemed to -sound louder than the loudest thunder. Tommy -started as if he had been shot. Poor Mary -drew back her hand as if Alice’s yellow curls -had burned them. “Pr-r-r-jang-jang!” The -dreadful noise continued, and it came from -inside the house.</p> - -<p>With one frightened leap Tommy and Mary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> -were down the piazza steps. Casting one wild -look behind to see if they were being followed -by the terrible creature that was growling to -warn and punish them for daring to touch -those precious treasures, they fled away like -foxes across the garden and into the woods at -the back of the house. Poor little frightened -things! They thought that their early-morning -secret had been discovered, and never -again would they dare to venture near that -piazza which was the only fairyland that they -knew.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile what was going on inside the -house? “Pr-r-r-jang-jang!” The alarm clock -still buzzed away fiercely. Kenneth had -wound it up as far as it would go, and for -several minutes the bell rang, until every one -in the house, except Kenneth himself, was -wide awake.</p> - -<p>Papa and Mamma woke up instantly. Mrs. -Thornton’s first thought was about the new -baby. “Oh, John!” she cried, “has anything -happened to the baby? Do call Eliza.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span>Mr. Thornton was already out of bed. “It -can’t be burglars,” he said, “for we haven’t -any burglars down here on the island, nor any -burglar alarm, either. Don’t be frightened. -I will go and look through the house.”</p> - -<p>In the hall he met Aunt Claire and the -servants, shivering in their wrappers. “Oh, -John,” cried Aunt Claire, “is the house afire? -I certainly heard a fire-alarm.”</p> - -<p>“Nonsense!” said Mr. Thornton. “It -must be some one pulling the door-bell.” But -when he went down to open the door, with -the servants following in a frightened, huddled -group, there was no one waiting outside. -The piazza was empty. Only Alice swung -peacefully in her hammock, seeming not the -least frightened.</p> - -<p>“It is very strange,” muttered Mr. Thornton. -“It certainly seemed to me inside the -house.”</p> - -<p>In the hall outside the nursery he met old -Eliza, the nurse.</p> - -<p>“Have you been into Master Kenneth’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> -room?” she asked. “I thought the noise -came from there, though I don’t see how it -could be so.”</p> - -<p>“It can’t be, of course,” said Mr. Thornton, -but he went into Kenneth’s room, where -the boy was still sleeping soundly. It was just -at this moment that Kenneth at last woke up.</p> - -<p>“What is the matter?” he murmured, -blinking sleepily. “What is the matter, -Papa?”</p> - -<p>“We heard a bell ring,” said his father, -“and Eliza thought that it came from here. -Did you hear it?”</p> - -<p>“No, Papa,” said Kenneth drowsily, “I -didn’t hear any bell,” and turning over he -went fast asleep again. It was a quarter past -four, and Captain Prout was just rowing away -from the beach, where he had looked in vain -for his little passenger.</p> - -<p>“I knew he would forgit to come!” he -chuckled.</p> - -<p>From Kenneth’s room Mr. Thornton went -to Rose’s. He found her standing by the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> -window in her little blue wrapper, looking -out towards the woods.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Papa, what is it?” she said eagerly. -“Do you think it was the fairies?”</p> - -<p>“Fairies? Why, what makes you think it -was fairies?” asked Mr. Thornton, “though -I must confess that I don’t know what else it -could have been.”</p> - -<p>“I looked out of the window,” said Rose, -“and I saw two little creatures run into the -woods as fast as they could go. One was a -little girl and one was a little boy, and I think -they were fairies who had been ringing our -door-bell.”</p> - -<p>“Pooh-pooh! Fairies don’t ring doorbells,” -said her father. “And at this time in -the morning it isn’t likely that any of the -island children were ringing our bell and running -away, as the naughty boys do in the city -sometimes. I don’t understand it at all. But -the noise has stopped, so let us finish our naps, -as Kenneth is doing. He is the wisest of us -all, not to bother his head about it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>And so they all went back to bed and slept -soundly until breakfast time.</p> - -<p>At the breakfast table the first thing Kenneth -said was,—</p> - -<p>“Oh, goodness me! I was going to fish -with Captain Prout at four o’clock in the -morning. But I didn’t wake up. How he -will laugh at me! But why didn’t my alarm -clock go off?”</p> - -<p>“<i>Alarm clock?</i>” said his father. “So you -set the alarm, did you? Well, that accounts -for everything. What a sleepy head you are, -Kenneth!”</p> - -<p>Yes, that accounted for everything, except -for Rose’s fairies. They never were accounted -for. And indeed, those poor little fairies never -again dared visit that scene of their terrible -early-morning alarm.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIII<br> - -<small>BROTHERS AND SISTERS</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">THE summer passed away only too -quickly, as summers do, and almost before -the children knew it the fall had come, -and it was time to go back to the city to school. -It was very hard for Kenneth and Rose to leave -the island, with all its beautiful playgrounds -and wonderful playthings, so different from -what one has in the city. And yet it was -pleasant to be back in the city, too, to see all -their little friends again, and to begin new -studies at school. Kenneth and Rose soon forgot -to long for the beach, and the rocks, and -the woods behind their little summer home, -they were so happy in their other home in the -city. They scarcely ever thought of the island -nowadays, and when they did it seemed very -far away and unreal, almost like an island in -a dream. They forgot that there were people<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span> -still living there to whom this was the only -home; people who would be there all through -the long winter, when the rough winds would -sweep through those evergreen trees, <i>whew!</i> -so loudly, and the waves would dash up over -the bare rocks, <i>splash!</i> so fiercely, while all -the island lay cold and dreary and deserted, -wrapped in a blanket of snow.</p> - -<p>One rainy Saturday morning Mrs. Thornton -was dusting the shelves in the play-room -closet, where the children’s books lived. -“Oh, dear!” she sighed, “It is such a bother -to take care of all these old magazines! I -wish I knew some one who would like these -papers after you children have finished reading -them.”</p> - -<p>“All the other children have more books -of their own than they can read,” said Kenneth.</p> - -<p>“I know it,” said his mother. “But there -might be <i>some one</i> who would be so glad to -have the pictures and stories, if only we could -know.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>Rose was playing with her dolls in the -window seat, when she had a sudden idea.</p> - -<p>“Mamma!” she cried, clapping her hands. -“Why can’t we send them away off down -to the island where the little Prouts live? -Don’t you think the little Prouts would like -the magazines?”</p> - -<p>“That is a good idea, Rose,” said her -mother. “I fancy the poor little things never -see a magazine. They will be sure to like -the pictures, anyway, whether they can read -or not. I wonder if any of them can read?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what their names are,” -said Rose, “but there are ever so many of -them, boys and girls. Mamma, I should like -to send my magazine to the little girl Prouts.”</p> - -<p>“And I will send mine to the Prout boys,” -said Kenneth promptly. “Won’t they be -glad to see it coming, every week?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed they will,” said Mrs. Thornton. -“And you must be sure not to disappoint -them. If you are going to send the -magazines at all, I want you to do it regularly,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span> -every week. It will be a good practice -lesson in remembering. Promise not to forget, -children, if I let you send the papers this -time?”</p> - -<p>“We promise, Mamma, we promise,” said -Kenneth and Rose. And that promise was the -beginning of a very interesting thing.</p> - -<p>Every week after that, when they had -finished reading their two magazines, Kenneth -and Rose rolled them up, each in brown -stamped wrapper, and Rose wrote on hers in -big letters, “The Misses Prout,” and Kenneth -wrote on his “The Masters Prout,” and they -sent them away down to the island in Maine. -It wasn’t much trouble to do that. But my! -you should have seen what pleasure it gave -the little Prouts.</p> - -<p>All the year round, in summer and in -winter, too, the little Prouts lived with their -father, Captain Prout, in a tiny cottage on -the island, close beside the sea. It was a very -nice place in the summer; for then, like Kenneth -and Rose, they were happy all day long,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span> -playing out of doors, fishing and picking berries. -But best of all, they enjoyed carrying -the milk to the Thornton cottage on the cliff, -two miles away. For then they sometimes -had a peep at the wonderful things which the -strangers had brought to the island, and at -the two children playing at games which were -so different from any ever before seen thereabout. -The little Prouts used almost to quarrel -over their turns to carry the milk.</p> - -<p>But in the fall the summer people sailed -away. Then the little Prouts went to school -for a time, as they did in the spring; and that -was pleasant, too. But in the winter there was -no school, because of the cold and the deep -snow, and the long road which the island -children had to travel to the schoolhouse in -the village. Also it was hard to get a teacher -for these bitter winter months. The winters -were lonely enough for the little Prouts. They -seldom saw any other children, and there -was not much for them to do except housework -and patchwork and knitting, and helping<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> -father to mend nets and make lobster-pots -for the next summer.</p> - -<p>The little Prouts had few playthings. They -hardly knew what playthings were. They -had seen Kenneth’s express wagon and rocking-horse, -and Rose’s beautiful dolls on the -piazza of the cottage. They had almost dared -to touch the wonderful things one early morning; -but a terrible alarm had warned them -away, so they knew that these marvelous and -lovely things were not meant for children -like themselves. They thought that the city -people were a different kind of creature.</p> - -<p>Tom and Mary and Susan knew how to -read, but they had no books. On the island -people did not read much, because there were -no books. In some houses there was not even -a Bible. There was no public library. There -was no Sunday-school library, for there was -not even a church on the island. In summer -a minister came there to spend his vacation, -and he preached every Sunday on the hill-top -near the village. But in winter every one,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> -even the minister, seemed to forget the island. -The little Prouts were very ignorant, and they -wondered if the Lord himself forgot the -island in the dreary months of snow and cold.</p> - -<p>“Of course He forgets,” said Tommy, -when they were talking about it one day. -“He lives in the city, and comes down here -only in the summer, just as the city people -do.”</p> - -<p>“But He must remember us,” sighed little -Polly. “The minister said He was our -Father.”</p> - -<p>“Pooh!” said Tommy scornfully. “He -ain’t our Father, either! You know he ain’t. -He is <i>their</i> Father in heaven. I heard them -talking to Him, one day, on the hill.”</p> - -<p>“But the minister said He was everybody’s -Father, Tommy,” answered Mary wistfully.</p> - -<p>“But how <i>can</i> He be?” argued Tommy. -“He is the Father of Kenneth and Rose -Thornton, and of people like them who live -in the city. He can’t be our Father, too; for -if He was, we should be the brothers and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span> -sisters of Kenneth and Rose. And you know -we ain’t that.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! We ain’t that!” echoed all the -little Prouts sadly, and then they were silent -for a long time. The little girls sighed, -and their lips trembled. They admired Rose -Thornton more than anybody they had ever -seen. Many and many a time when Rose did -not know it, the little Prout girls were peeping -at her from behind some big tree in the -woods or rock on the shore; wondering at -her long, golden curls and at her pretty, pink -skin, which never seemed to grow brown and -rough like theirs, and at the simple little -dresses, which seemed wonderfully beautiful -to them. Rose’s blue cambric frock with the -red leather belt and red hair-ribbon was their -favorite.</p> - -<p>The Prout boys thought that Kenneth was -the most wonderful person, with his bicycle -and his Indian suit and bow and arrows. -But they never dreamed of speaking to Rose -or to Kenneth. They were ashamed even to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> -be seen by them, and always ran away and -hid, especially after that terrible morning of -the early alarm. Oh, no! Of course these -children could not be their brothers and -sisters!</p> - -<p>It was at the end of that very same day, -the longest, dreariest day of early winter, -when the little Prouts had agreed that the -Father had forgotten the island, that the -magazines began to come. Tim Parks drove -four miles from the village to bring them, he -was so curious to know who could have been -sending things to “The Masters Prout” and -“The Misses Prout.” For no one had ever -before sent any mail to the Prout family. -These were postmarked from the city, too!</p> - -<p>“Something for the Masters Prout, and -something for the Misses Prout!” he called -out as he pushed open the door. “I thought -I’d jest bring ’em over for ye.” And he -handed the packages to Tommy and Mary.</p> - -<p>What an excitement there was then! They -tore open the wrappers, and behold! A boy’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -magazine and a girl’s magazine, full of pictures -and stories. The children danced around, -shouting and laughing. Somebody had sent -them papers from the city! They were not -quite forgotten!</p> - -<p>“Who sent ’em? That is what I want to -know,” said Tim Parks.</p> - -<p>But there was no word or scrap of writing -to tell, and Tim could not find out what he -longed to know.</p> - -<p>“Wall, I guess they jest came from the -magazine shop,” said Tim at last, as he went -out of the door. But the children looked at -one another. They knew better.</p> - -<p>“You said He had forgotten, and He sent -these to show He hasn’t,” whispered Mary -to Tom. And the children looked at the -papers with a feeling of awe and pride.</p> - -<p>What continued joy there was for the little -Prouts in those generous pages! Mary and -Tom read every word aloud to the others, -and to the whole family; for the father and -mother were as much interested as the children.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -There was a continued story, and that -was the most exciting of all. For it was one -of the best stories that Aunt Claire had ever -written. But, alas! it stopped short at the -most thrilling part.</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear!” cried Mary, when she had -read the last word aloud to her big-eyed -audience. “Why does it stop? Now we shall -never know how the Princess got out of -the Giant’s castle!”</p> - -<p>Those papers lasted the little Prouts for a -whole week. And they had not begun to tire -of them when—another set of magazines -came! Captain Prout happened to go to the -village that day, and Tim Parks came running -out to him from the post-office.</p> - -<p>“More mail for the Misses and the Masters -Prout, Cap’n!” he called. “I guess your -children are goin’ to have ’em come reg’lar. -Ain’t it wonderful who sends ’em?”</p> - -<p>What a shriek of joy went up from the -little Prouts when they saw what Father -brought them that night! “Now we shall<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span> -know about the Princess!” cried Mary, and -they could hardly wait for supper to be over -before they continued the wonderful tale. -This part was to be continued also; but there -was no such wail of anguish when the last -word was read.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’s sorry it’s done,” sighed little -Polly; “but I guess the rest will come next -week. Don’t you?”</p> - -<p>And somehow, even Tommy was hopeful -this time. “Yes, I guess He hasn’t forgotten -us, quite,” he confessed to Mary before they -went to bed.</p> - -<p>If only Kenneth and Rose could have seen -what joy their story papers gave to the little -Prouts! Every week through all that bitter -winter, in sun or in shine, through snow and -sleet, as regularly as a Saturday came, one of -the Prouts tramped four miles to the village -for the precious magazines. And always the -other little Prouts were waiting breathlessly -for him to return, fearful lest this time the -papers might not have come. They were -always looking out of the window, a row of -little heads, one above another.</p> - -<figure class="figcenter illowe28_125" id="i177"> -<img class="w100" src="images/i177.jpg" alt="WHAT A SHRIEK OF JOY WENT UP"> -<figcaption class="caption"> - -<p class="caption">WHAT A SHRIEK OF JOY WENT UP</p></figcaption> -</figure> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>“Did it come?” they would cry, making -signs of eager question as soon as the messenger -appeared in sight, and he would shout -and wave the two wrappers over his head, -whereat all the children would begin to jump -up and down with joy.</p> - -<p>It would have been a dreadful thing if -Kenneth or Rose had once forgotten to send -the papers. But they never did, though they -could not guess how much depended upon -their remembering that simple little promise -which they had made.</p> - -<p>No, Kenneth and Rose could not possibly -know what the sharing of that single one of -their pleasures meant to the little Prouts, and -to all the other island children besides,—for -in the end the whole island saw the magazines. -They were passed on from family to -family all that winter, and were literally worn -to rags by the thumbing of many little fingers, -and big ones, too.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>The Prouts were learning a great deal about -many things, nowadays. It was almost as good -as going to school. All that winter they lived -in a new world of constant change. The little -cottage was no longer dreary or lonely. Their -stupid tasks were no longer tiresome, for they -had the beloved magazines to read when all -was done. They had the children of those -stories for their companions and friends, and -they began to understand, ever so dimly, that -all the children of the world are little brothers -and sisters to one another.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER XIV<br> - -<small>TOMMY’S LETTER</small></h2> -</div> - -<p class="drop-cap">ONE day they were talking about it, all -together.</p> - -<p>“God is our Father, as the preacher said,” -declared Mary. “I read it to-day in the -magazine, don’t you remember?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” agreed Tommy, “it must be He -who sends the papers to us, for nobody else -knows about us. But He knows everything,—the -preacher said so.”</p> - -<p>“I wish we could thank Him,” said little -Polly. “He has been so good not to forget -us.”</p> - -<p>“I am going to write to Him,” said Tommy -suddenly; “there is a Letter-Box in the paper, -and boys and girls write to it every week. I -am going to write and tell the Lord how we -thank Him.”</p> - -<p>And forthwith Tommy sat down and wrote<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span> -to the magazine a letter something like those -which he read every week in the Letter-Box,—yet -different. An island letter would have -to be different. This is what Tommy wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Lucky Island, Maine.</span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dear Magazine</span>,—You kum evry weak, -an i dono ow we got long witout You. The -aint nobody in the Sity to tel You how to get -to This jumpin-of plais, so we no that Our -Father must send You evry weak. An we -wanter Thanx him but we dono ow. Plees -put this Leter in the Leterbox sos he wil see. -He dont kum here in Wintr its so lonsum I -gess he wood be glad if he knu ow hapy he -made 6 litl chilren way down in Maine. I -hop he will send it evr an evr we havnt nothin -els to red.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="indentright">Yours truly,</span><br> -<span class="smcap">Tommy Prout</span>.</p> -</div> - -<p>The editor of the magazine did not often -print a letter spelled as badly as this one of -poor Tommy Prout, who was eight years old,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> -but who only went to school in the spring -and fall. But when the editor read that letter -he blew his nose and wiped his glasses and -said:—</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’ll print your letter just as it is, -Tommy Prout, and I think it will please Him -whom you wish to thank, even if some one -else mails the paper for Him every week.”</p> - -<p>So that is why, some days later, when Kenneth -Thornton was carelessly cutting the leaves -of his new magazine, he suddenly gave a surprised -whistle. The name of his beloved -summer island had caught his eye, at the head -of a letter in the Letter-Box.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mamma,” he cried, “see, here is a -letter from our island. And it is signed, -‘Tommy Prout.’ But I can’t make out the -funny spelling.”</p> - -<p>Then Kenneth’s mamma read the letter -aloud, and it did not sound so queer as it -looked. When she had finished there were -tears in her eyes and in Rose’s, too. And -Kenneth was winking queerly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>“The dear little fellow!” said Mamma. -“Just think what it means to them to have -those papers that you don’t care for. O children, -our Father surely did put it into your -heads to send the magazines; so Tommy is -right.”</p> - -<p>“And we will send them ‘ever and ever,’ -as Tommy hopes, won’t we, Kenneth?” cried -Rose eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Course we will,” said Kenneth promptly.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to write a letter to the little girl -Prouts,” mused Rose. “It must be awfully -lonesome on the island in winter.”</p> - -<p>“We must wait till next summer, Rose -dear,” said her mamma. “We have been bad -neighbors to those little children, and we -must get acquainted with them first. The -little Prouts do not know us, and it is our -fault. But another summer we will know -them. And then we will plan what we can -do to make their winters less lonely. Poor -babies!”</p> - -<p>“I’d like to send them a Christmas box,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> -said Kenneth, who had been thinking all this -time. “I’ll send the boys a lot of books and -candy and things.”</p> - -<p>“And I’ll send some to the girls,” cried -Rose, clapping her hands. “Oh! That will -be fine,—and a doll for each one.”</p> - -<p>“That is a good plan,” said Mrs. Thornton. -“We will certainly do it. How selfish -we have been to care for our beautiful island -only while we were there, and to forget our -neighbors who live there all the year through! -Just think, Kenneth and Rose, those children -believe that our Father doesn’t come there -in winter. We must change that, and show -them that He is watching all His children all -the time.”</p> - -<p>Kenneth and Rose had a beautiful time -making ready that Christmas box. Into it -they put all the things that they had first -thought of, and a great many beside. And -they sent it so that it reached the island on -Christmas eve. Tim Parks brought it over -to the Prouts the next morning.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>“I guess your friend who sends you the -magazines has sent you something fine for -Christmas,” he grinned, as he carried the -heavy box into the room where the six little -Prouts stood gaping with wonder. “‘The -Misses and the Masters Prout!’” he cried, -reading the label.</p> - -<p>Mary squeezed Tommy’s hand and whispered -something as they all crowded around -while the box was being opened. And Tommy -nodded wisely.</p> - -<p>On the top of the box, inside, was a card -which read: “Merry Christmas to the little -Prouts, from a brother and a sister who read -Tommy’s letter in the Letter-Box. The kind -Father watches over us all alike, on islands -and in the big cities, and He bids us love -one another, especially on His birthday.”</p> - -<p>A brother and a sister in the city! That -news was almost more welcome than the box -itself. If Kenneth and Rose could have seen -those six little Prouts and have heard their -squeals of joy when the box was unpacked,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span> -they would have been glad indeed that they -had remembered to be brotherly and sisterly.</p> - -<p>The magazines which kept coming “ever -and ever” and the books that were in that -Christmas box were the beginning of the -Island Public Library, of which every one is -now so proud, and of many other good things -which happened to the island and especially -to the little Prouts.</p> - -<p>For in summers after that they grew to -know and to love their neighbors, the city -children. Kenneth and Rose have been a -good brother and sister to the little Prouts -ever since; and it is as good a fortune for -Kenneth and Rose as it is for the little Prouts.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center"><span class="antiqua">The Riverside Press</span><br> -<i>Electrotyped and printed by H. O. Houghton & Co.<br> -Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A.</i></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.</p> -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROTHERS AND SISTERS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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