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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mary Jane's City Home, by Clara Ingram Judson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Mary Jane's City Home
+
+Author: Clara Ingram Judson
+
+Illustrator: Thelma Gooch
+
+Release Date: September 3, 2008 [EBook #26517]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARY JANE'S CITY HOME ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: And she pointed out the little seal who was a bit too slow.
+Frontispiece]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+MARY JANE'S CITY HOME
+
+BY
+CLARA INGRAM JUDSON
+
+Author of
+"Flower Fairies," "Good-Night Stories,"
+"Billy Robin and His Neighbors," "Bed Time Tales,"
+"The Junior Cook Book," and Other Works
+
+ILLUSTRATED BY
+THELMA GOOCH
+
+NEW YORK
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Copyright, 1920,
+by
+Barse & Hopkins
+
+PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+TO
+MY MOTHER and FATHER
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+CONTENTS
+
+                               PAGE
+Finding the New Home             11
+The Folks Around The Corner      22
+Visiting with Betty              35
+Sand Castles                     49
+The Beach Supper                 64
+Mary Jane Goes Shopping          76
+The Bus Ride                     88
+The Birthday Luncheon           100
+Lost--One Doll Cart             115
+A Trip to the Zoo               128
+A Day in the Parks              143
+Visitors--and a Boat Ride       156
+School Begins                   171
+Christmas in Chicago            184
+A Summer Home--and a Telegram   201
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+                                                              PAGE
+
+And she pointed out the little seal who was a bit
+too slow.                                             Frontispiece
+
+And then, sliding in the wet sand, she sat right
+down in the lake and sent a wave of ripples right
+over her castle                                                 60
+
+"But it's all down my dress," said Mary Jane, trying
+her very best not to cry                                       107
+
+This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old
+person, she was allowed to put the gold star on the
+top of the tree                                                188
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+MARY JANE'S CITY HOME
+
+FINDING THE NEW HOME
+
+
+The late afternoon sunshine sent its slanting, golden rays through the car
+windows on to the map that Mary Jane and her sister Alice had spread out
+on the table between the seats of the Pullman in which they were riding.
+
+"And all that wiggly line is water?" Mary Jane was asking.
+
+"Every bit water," replied their father, who bent over their heads to
+explain what they were looking at; "a lot of water, you see. You remember
+I told you that Chicago is right on the edge of Lake Michigan. And Lake
+Michigan, so far as looks are concerned, might just as well be the ocean
+you saw down in Florida--it's so big you can't see the other side."
+
+"And does it have big waves?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"Just you wait and see," promised Mr. Merrill. "Big waves! I should say it
+has!"
+
+"And all the green part of the map is parks," said Alice, quoting what her
+father had told them when he first showed them the map.
+
+"Then there must be a lot of parks," suggested Mary Jane with interest. "I
+think I'd like to live by a park," she added thoughtfully.
+
+"I think I should too," agreed Mr. Merrill, "and it's near a park we will
+make the first hunt for a home."
+
+"Oh, look!" cried Mary Jane suddenly as she glanced up from the spread-out
+map; "what's that, Dadah?"
+
+"That's the beginning of Chicago," said Mr. Merrill. "Let's fold up the
+map now and see what we can of the city. This is South Chicago; and those
+great stacks and flaming chimneys are steel mills and foundries and
+factories--watch now! There are more!"
+
+The train on which the Merrill family were traveling went dashing past
+factory after factory--past an occasional open space where they could see
+in the distance the blue gleam of Lake Michigan and past great wide
+stretches where tracks and more tracks on which freight cars and engines
+sped up and down showed them something of the whirling industry that has
+made South Chicago famous. No wonder it was a strange sight to the two
+girls--they had never before seen anything that made them even guess the
+big business that they now saw spread out before them.
+
+They had spent all their lives thus far--Alice was twelve and Mary Jane
+going on six--in a small city of the Middle West and though they had had a
+fine summer in the country visiting grandma and grandpa and had only the
+winter before taken a beautiful trip through Florida, they had never been
+to a great city. And now they were not going to visit or to take a trip.
+They were going to live there. The great big city of Chicago was to be
+their home.
+
+The pretty little house they had loved so well was sold. The furniture and
+books and dolls and clothes were all packed and loaded on a freight car to
+follow them to the city and all the dear friends had been given a
+farewell. Mary Jane had loved the excitement and muss of packing; the
+great boxes and the masses of crinkly excelsior and the workmen around who
+always had time for a pleasant joke with an interested little girl. But
+when it came time to say good-by to Doris and to her much loved
+kindergarten and to all the boys and girls in school and "on her block,"
+going away wasn't so funny. In fact, Mary Jane felt a queer and
+troublesome lump in her throat most of the morning when the good-bys were
+said.
+
+But the ride on the train (and how Mary Jane did love to ride on the
+train); and the nice luncheon on the diner (and how Mary Jane did _adore_
+eating on a diner--hashed brown potatoes, a whole order by herself and ice
+cream and everything!); and then father's nice talk about all the fun they
+were going to have, made the lump vanish and in its place there developed
+an eager desire to see the new city and to begin all the promised fun. It
+was then that Mr. Merrill showed them the big map of the city and pointed
+out the part of the city where they would likely live.
+
+As the girls watched, the great factories and foundries slipped away into
+the distance, and in their place the girls could see houses and occasional
+stores and here and there a station, past which their train dashed as
+though it wasn't looking for stations to-day, thank you.
+
+"Don't we stop anywhere?" asked Mary Jane after she had counted three of
+these little stations.
+
+"Those are suburban stations," explained Mr. Merrill, "and a big through
+train like ours hasn't time to stop at every one. Pretty soon another
+train will come along and stop at each one of those we are now passing so
+don't you worry about folks getting left. _This_ train we are on has got
+to get us into Chicago in time for dinner."
+
+And just at that minute, when the big three story apartment buildings that
+looked so very queer and strange to Mary Jane, began to fill every block,
+the porter came to brush her off and to help her on with her coat.
+
+"I'm going to live here in Chicago," she said to him as he held the coat
+for her, "and it's a big place with lots of lake and parks and--houses, I
+guess, and most everything."
+
+"'Deed it is big, missy," replied the porter, "and I hope you's going to
+like it a lot, I do."
+
+"I'm a-going to," answered Mary Jane confidently, as she picked up
+Georgiannamore and Georgiannamore's suit case which at the last moment
+couldn't possibly be packed in the trunk, and followed her father and
+mother down the aisle, "'cause mother and Dadah and Alice are going to
+live here too and we always have fun."
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Merrill had decided to get off at one of the larger suburban
+stations and spend a few days in a near-by hotel; they thought the
+comparative quiet of a residence hotel would be better for their girls
+than the flurry and hurry of a big down town hotel. But to Mary Jane,
+accustomed to the sights and sounds of a small city where street cars went
+dignifiedly past every fifteen minutes and where traffic "cops" would have
+very few duties, the confusion she found herself in was quite enough to be
+very interesting.
+
+They stepped off the train, walked down some stairs and found themselves
+on the sidewalk of a very busy street. Overhead the noise of their own
+train rumbling cityward made a terrific din; and as though that were not
+enough, still higher up the great elevated car line made a rumble and
+roar. Mary Jane craned her neck as they walked from under the trains and
+there high in the air, she saw street cars running along as though street
+cars always had and always would, run on tracks high up in the air!
+
+"Can we ride on it, Dadah?" she shouted to her father, "are we going to
+ride on that train up on stilts?"
+
+Mr. Merrill shook his head laughingly and hurried them into a waiting
+taxi.
+
+"We're not going to ride there to-day," he explained when the door of the
+car shut out some of the noise, "but some day soon we'll take a long ride
+on the elevated and then you can see all the back yards and back porches
+and parks and streets and everything about the city, just as plain as
+plain can be."
+
+While he was talking, the Merrills drove through streets lined on both
+sides with three-story apartment buildings. But before Mary Jane had time
+to ask a question or even think what she would like to say, they whisked
+around a corner and out into the beautiful wide driveway on the
+Midway--the long, green parkway that stretched, or so it seemed to Mary
+Jane, for miles in both directions. The taxi pulled up in front of a
+comfortable looking hotel right on the side of the park and Mary Jane
+wasn't a bit sorry to get out and take a breath of fresh air and look at
+the lovely view before her.
+
+"Now just as soon as you are washed up," said Mrs. Merrill, briskly, as
+they went into the hotel, "you and Alice may come out onto this nice porch
+and watch the children play on the Midway and get a little run before
+dinner."
+
+You may be sure that with that promise before her, Mary Jane didn't take
+very long to primp. She had spied a group of children about her age, who
+seemed to be having a beautiful time playing ball out there on the grass
+and she couldn't help noticing that they played just as she and Doris did
+and she couldn't help wishing that she too, even though she was a new
+little girl just come to town, could play with them. So she stood very
+still while Mrs. Merrill tied the fresh hair bow and slipped on a clean
+frock and then, holding tight to big sister Alice's friendly hand she went
+down the one flight of stairs--she was in far too big a hurry to wait for
+the elevator--and out onto the long roomy porch.
+
+Just across the narrow street in front of the hotel and on the nearest bit
+of parkway, three little girls about Mary Jane's age were still playing
+ball. One was dainty and small and had yellow curls; one was rather tall
+and had long straight dark hair and the third had dark, straight hair
+bobbed short, and snapping black eyes.
+
+"Wouldn't it be funny," said Mary Jane as she looked at them wistfully,
+"if I'd get to know those girls and they'd be friends. If I _did_," she
+added, "I think she'd be my mostest friend," and Mary Jane pointed to the
+little girl with the dark, bobbed hair.
+
+While they watched and were trying to get up courage to go over and play
+too, a pretty girl about Alice's age came along the street. Her hair was
+copper colored and curly and very, very pretty. And her smile when she saw
+the little girls who were playing, made her seem so friendly and "homey."
+
+"I've been hunting you, Betty," she said to the little girl Mary Jane
+liked best. "It's time to come home for dinner."
+
+So the four girls, three little folks and one bigger one, went around the
+corner toward home, and two strangers, standing on the porch, watched them
+till they were quite out of sight.
+
+"It would be funny," said Alice, "if we'd ever get to know them. I'm sure
+I'd like to."
+
+"Wouldn't it though!" exclaimed Mary Jane. "I hope we do!"
+
+And all the time they were eating their first dinner in Chicago, and
+telling mother and father about the children they had seen and making
+plans about what to do to-morrow, they were thinking about those two girls
+and wishing to know them better.
+
+Little did they guess what would really truly happen before the week was
+over!
+
+
+
+
+THE FOLKS AROUND THE CORNER
+
+
+Three whole days of flat hunting! And of all the fun she had ever had in
+her more than five years of life, Mary Jane thought flat hunting in
+Chicago was the most fun of all! She loved the mystery of each new
+apartment; the guessing which room might be hers and which mother's; the
+hunting up the door bell and hearing its sound (for as you very well know
+each door bell has a sound of its own); the poking into closets and
+pantries and porches. It was the most delightful sort of exploring she had
+ever come across and she couldn't at all understand why mother and father
+got tired and somewhat discouraged. For _her_ part Mary Jane was tempted
+to wish that they would never find a flat, well hardly that; but that
+finding the right one would take a long, oh, a very long time!
+
+But by the afternoon of the third day, her legs began to get a little
+tired too, and her eyes looked more often to the green of the Midway they
+occasionally saw and she thought that flats, even empty flats, really
+should have chairs for folks to sit on. So, as a matter of fact, she
+wasn't half as sorry as she had thought she would be, when, on the
+afternoon of the third day of hunting the Merrill family came across a
+charming little apartment.
+
+It was on the second floor of a very attractive red brick building; it had
+five rooms, quite too small, father thought, but then one can't have
+everything, they had found, and every room was light and sunny and
+cheerful. But the part about it that Mary Jane and Alice liked the best
+was the back porch. To be sure there was a front porch, a pretty, little
+porch with a stone railing and a view way down the street toward the park
+and lake. But off the dining room the girls discovered a small balcony
+that overlooked the back yard next door, a back yard that had a garden
+laid out and a chicken house and everything so homey and comfortable
+looking that the girls immediately wanted to sit out and watch.
+
+"I think if we'd stay here maybe some children would come out to play,"
+suggested Mary Jane in a whisper.
+
+"I think they would, too," agreed Alice. "And I think if we lived here
+maybe we could get acquainted and play with them."
+
+"Let's live here!" exclaimed Mary Jane and she ran back into the house
+just at the very minute Mr. and Mrs. Merrill decided to rent the
+apartment.
+
+"So you think you'll like it, do you?" said Mrs. Merrill, smiling; "the
+rooms are pretty small."
+
+"I know we'll love it," said Alice eagerly, "and you should see the back
+porch."
+
+But Mr. Merrill laughed when they showed him the porch.
+
+"Do you call this a porch," he exclaimed, "why it's not half big enough
+for a porch! I'd call it a balcony."
+
+"Yes," agreed Mrs. Merrill, "and then when you watch folks in the yard
+down there,--for you _are_ planning to watch and get acquainted, aren't
+you?--then you can pretend that this is your balcony seat and that the
+folks down there are in a play for you--wouldn't that be fun?"
+
+The girls thought it would, but there was so much to plan and think about
+that they didn't stay on their little balcony any longer just then, which
+was something of a pity, for right after they went indoors, somebody came
+out into the yard-- But then, there's no use telling about _her_ for Mary
+Jane didn't see her.
+
+So Mary Jane and Alice went with their father and mother into the room
+that was to be theirs and they planned just where each bed should be and
+where was the best place for the desk and dressing table and who should
+have which side of the closet. And by that time, it was nearly six
+o'clock--time to go back to the hotel for dinner.
+
+Mr. Merrill stopped at the desk for mail as they went up to their room and
+there he found a message telling him that their furniture had arrived in
+Chicago and that it must be taken out of the freight house the next
+morning.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill with a gasp of dismay, "I think it's a
+good thing we found that flat! What ever would we have done if we hadn't!
+Well, girls, I think we'd better eat a good dinner and then go to bed
+early for we'll have to get down there and clean up the flat while father
+tends to getting our things delivered."
+
+So bright and early the next morning everybody started to work. Mr.
+Merrill went down town to meet the moving men he had engaged by 'phone and
+Mrs. Merrill and the two girls put aprons and cleaning rags and soap, all
+of which they had brought in their small trunk, into a little grip and
+went down to the new home.
+
+Mary Jane had lots of fun that morning. First she went down to the
+basement and borrowed a broom from the janitor. Then she went back for
+clean papers which she folded neatly and spread on the pantry shelves
+which Mrs. Merrill with the good help of the janitor's wife had cleaned
+and ready. Then she put papers on the shelf of the closet she and Alice
+were to share and papers in the drawers near the floor of that same
+closet. By that time--it takes pretty long to fold papers neatly and get
+every bit of the shelf covered, you know--the door bell rang--a great,
+long, hard ring.
+
+"Oh, dear! Can you go, Mary Jane?" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill, "Alice and I
+both have wet hands!" You see, Alice had been washing mirrors that were on
+the closet doors while her mother and the janitor's wife did windows and
+wood work.
+
+"Yes, I'm dry," said Mary Jane, "and my papers are done and I'd like to
+go."
+
+To tell the honest truth, Mary Jane had just that very minute been wishing
+the door bell would ring. For the janitor's wife had showed her how to
+press the buzzer that would release the lock of the front door and let a
+person come up the stairs. And of course Mary Jane wanted to try it. So
+she hurried over to the house 'phone, took down the receiver and said,
+"Who is it?" just as any grown-up person would.
+
+"Here's your things!" said a gruff voice, "we'll bring 'em up the back!"
+
+Mary Jane didn't stop to press any buzzer. She dashed over to the window
+nearest the alley and there, sure enough, was a great big moving van and
+it was piled up full of boxes and barrels and crates--all the things that
+Mary Jane had watched the packing of only such a few days before. Talk
+about fun! Moving was surely the best sport ever!
+
+Mary Jane stayed at the window watching till the men brought the first
+load up. Then they announced that they were going for lunch and Mrs.
+Merrill said she and the girls had better eat while the men were away. So
+hastily putting on wraps, they went over to a small tea room only a few
+doors away, where they had a tasty little luncheon so quickly served that
+they easily got back to their flat before the moving men arrived again.
+
+How that afternoon went, Mary Jane never quite remembered. It was one long
+succession of excitement and fun. The unpacking of boxes and crates, the
+piling up of rubbish, the finding of cherished belongings and putting them
+where they belonged in the new home, and the gradual change of the living
+room from a mess of boxes to a place that might some day really look like
+home, all seemed thrillingly interesting to a little girl who had never
+moved before.
+
+But by half past four or thereabouts, even Mary Jane began to get a little
+tired.
+
+"I'll tell you something to do," suggested Mrs. Merrill, when a pause in
+her own work gave her a chance to notice that Mary Jane was getting
+flushed and tired. "Here is a box of doll things I have just come across.
+Suppose you take them out into your own little balcony and sort them over.
+Put in this box (and she handed her a little box) all the things you must
+surely have upstairs; and leave in the big box all the things you will be
+willing to put in the store room. Now take your time, dear, and sit down
+while you work."
+
+Mary Jane was very glad for that advice. For even though moving men are
+wonderful to watch, and even though rubbish and boxes and barrels are all
+very fascinating, a person _does_ get tired and sitting down isn't at all
+a bad idea.
+
+One of the men who was unpacking gave her her own little chair that he had
+just uncrated and so she sat down in state, in her own chair, on her own
+balcony and opened the box of doll things. But that's every bit that got
+done to those doll things that day, every bit.
+
+For at that very minute, who should come out of the house around the
+corner, the house with the back yard and garden and chickens and
+everything, but--yes, you must have guessed it--the same two girls that
+Alice and Mary Jane had seen on the Midway the day they arrived in
+Chicago. Think of that! Right under Mary Jane's own balcony and, moreover,
+it was plain to see that they lived there.
+
+"Now I guess we'll get to know them," whispered Mary Jane to herself
+happily. But of course, she didn't say a thing out loud. She only sat very
+still and watched.
+
+And as she watched, two boys came out on the back porch of the house
+around the corner and one of the boys called, "Say, Fran, did you feed the
+chickens?"
+
+The girl who was about Alice's age answered back, "No I didn't, Ed, I
+thought it was Betty's turn to-day."
+
+"Now I know a lot," Mary Jane whispered to herself. "She's Frances, I'm
+sure, and he's Ed; and Betty must be the little girl that's 'bout as big
+as me."
+
+Just then, when Mary Jane was wishing and wishing and wishing that she
+would come, Alice came to the door of the balcony and looked out.
+
+"Sh-h-h!" whispered Mary Jane, tensely, "they're here, both of 'em, and
+there's more of 'em, too!"
+
+Alice seemed to understand exactly what Mary Jane meant, even though her
+sentence was decidedly mixed up, and she stepped out onto the balcony.
+
+Frances heard the door shut and looked up. For a long minute the two girls
+looked at each other, then Frances, the girl with the auburn hair and the
+friendly smile, nodded shyly.
+
+Little Betty didn't take long deciding what she would do. She called
+eagerly, "Moving in?"
+
+"Yes, we are," laughed Alice, waving her hand toward the piles of boxes
+and rubbish stacked up on the back stairs of the building.
+
+Ed, who had started back into the house, looked around and, seeing his
+sisters had made a small start toward conversation, called a question on
+his own responsibility.
+
+"Going to use 'em all?" he asked, pointing to the boxes.
+
+"Dear me, I guess not," said Alice. "I don't see how we could!"
+
+"Then will you give me a box?" he asked, running back in the yard till he
+stood right under the balcony. "We're going to get some rabbits, John and
+I are, and we want a box for their home."
+
+"Come on over and see which one you want," suggested Alice, "and I'll ask
+father."
+
+Ed and his brother John lost no time climbing over the fence and
+inspecting the boxes. By the time Alice brought Mr. Merrill, he had picked
+out just the one he wanted and was very grateful when it was given him for
+his own.
+
+"Don't you want to come over and see 'em make the rabbit house?" suggested
+Frances shyly. "Oh, maybe you're busy."
+
+"I'm sure we can come," replied Alice, "because mother just told me she
+wished we'd get some fresh air." So Alice and Mary Jane followed the
+others to the back yard and helped hold nails and boards and make the
+rabbit house. When it was nearly finished the children's mother, who
+proved to be very charming Mrs. Holden, came out with a plate of cookies
+and a welcome for the two little strangers.
+
+"Thank you for the cookies," said Mary Jane politely, "but we're not
+strange--that is, not any more, we aren't, we know each other--all of us
+do!"
+
+And so it really seemed to all the children. They were friends from the
+first day and making the rabbit house was just the beginning of many nice
+times in that friendly back yard.
+
+
+
+
+VISITING WITH BETTY
+
+
+Three days of hard work for everybody and then the little flat into which
+the Merrills had moved began to look like a real home. The unpacking was
+all done and the rubbish cleared away; the furniture was polished and set
+in place; the closets were in order and every cupboard and shelf held just
+the right things for comfort. It wasn't such an easy matter to stow away
+all the things the Merrills had used in their pretty house--the five room
+apartment was much smaller than the house of course--but with everybody's
+help the job was done.
+
+"Now then," said Mrs. Merrill, happily, in the late afternoon of the third
+day, "if you'll run the rods in these curtains, Mary Jane, I'll hang them
+up where they belong and then we'll all three go to market and then--guess
+what? We'll have dinner in our own new home!"
+
+Mary Jane thought that would be fun, for, much as she loved eating in the
+hotel where they had been living while getting the new home fixed, she
+liked better to eat her mother's cooking. So it was a very happy little
+girl who slipped the rods into the living room curtains and then put on
+her hat and hunted up the market basket from the pantry.
+
+Now many times before this, Mary Jane had been marketing with her mother.
+But never had she been to such a market! Before, marketing meant going to
+the grocery store about three blocks from their home; it meant talking to
+the very interested and friendly grocer who had known Mary Jane ever since
+she first appeared at the grocery in her big, well-covered cab--she was
+then about two months old; it meant telling Mr. Shover, the grocer, just
+what they wanted and picking out the sorts of things they liked best. But
+marketing in Chicago was very different. In the first place there wasn't a
+person around they had ever seen before; and then everything was so big
+and there was so much food. Mary Jane thought there couldn't possibly be
+enough folks in Chicago to eat all those good things! But when she and her
+mother actually got into the store and began to buy, Mary Jane forgot all
+about the strangeness and remembered only the fun. For they didn't get
+somebody to wait on them as they used to at Mr. Shover's--not at all! They
+waited on themselves! They went through a little turnstile and then
+wandered around among the good things all by themselves and they took down
+from the well-stocked shelves anything they wanted. It certainly was
+queer.
+
+"Can we just take _anything_?" exclaimed Mary Jane in amazement as her
+mother explained what they were to do.
+
+"Well," laughed Mrs. Merrill, "you must remember we have to pay for things
+just the same as we used to at Mr. Shover's. But we can take anything we
+want--if we pay for it."
+
+"Then I'll pick you out some good things to eat, mother!" cried Mary Jane
+happily, "don't you worry about thinking what we're going to have!"
+
+Now Mary Jane really did know how to read, at least a little, but she
+didn't stop to read on this important occasion. She looked at the pictures
+on the cans of goodies and she picked out a can of all her favorites and
+set them in the basket Mrs. Merrill carried on her arm. But that didn't
+work, for Mrs. Merrill had a long list and the basket wouldn't hold only
+so much. So they decided to let Mrs. Merrill pick out three things from
+her list and then Mary Jane could buy one favorite; then three more things
+from the list and then another favorite. That proved to be great fun and
+it certainly did fill the basket in a hurry! Mary Jane was just trying to
+decide between a box of marshmallows and a pan of nice, gooey, sugary
+sweet rolls when Mrs. Merrill said, "whichever you decide, Mary Jane,
+you'll have to carry the bundle yourself, because this basket won't hold
+another parcel--not even a little one."
+
+Mary Jane decided on the rolls and she took them over to the counter to
+have them wrapped up and there she almost bumped into--Betty Holden, no
+less! Betty and her mother were shopping too, and their basket was almost
+as full as Mrs. Merrill's.
+
+"We market after school," said Mrs. Holden, "and then Ed brings his wagon
+to meet us and hauls the stuff home. We'll get him to give you a lift
+too."
+
+"And then can Mary Jane come over to our house to play?" asked Betty.
+
+"For a little while," agreed Mrs. Merrill, smilingly, "but she won't want
+to stay very long to-day because we're going to have our first dinner in
+our new home and she's promised to help me lots--and I need it."
+
+Just then they spied Ed's face at the door so they hurried through the
+second turnstile, paid for their groceries and left the store. Ed's wagon
+proved to be very big and he was glad to give them plenty of room for the
+Merrill basket.
+
+"Are you going to start in school to-morrow?" asked Betty as they walked
+off toward home.
+
+"I'm going over to see about that to-morrow morning," said Mrs. Merrill.
+"We've been so busy unpacking and settling that we haven't even thought
+about it till now. Do you like your school, Betty?"
+
+"Yes, I do, lots!" exclaimed Betty heartily. "I'm just through
+kindergarten this spring, I am, and next fall I'm first year."
+
+"Then I think you must be just about where Mary Jane will be," said Mrs.
+Merrill.
+
+The two little girls ran skipping ahead, talking about what they would do
+and where they would sit and all the things that girls plan for school.
+
+But when Mrs. Merrill took Alice and Mary Jane over the next morning, it
+didn't work out as planned. Alice was entered and found herself in the
+very same room and only two seats away from Frances, which seemed perfect.
+But there wasn't room for Mary Jane! The kindergarten was crowded, very,
+very crowded, and new little folks weren't allowed to come in. Miss
+Gilbert, the teacher, talked with Mary Jane a while and Mary Jane told her
+all the work she had done and all the things she had learned about.
+
+"I really think, Mrs. Merrill," said the teacher finally, "that your
+little girl is ready for the first grade. She seems very well prepared.
+But they don't take new first graders so late in the year. Why don't you
+keep her out of school the rest of this term and then next year, enter her
+in the first grade?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill thought that was a fine plan. There would be so many new
+sights to see and things to learn in the city that Mary Jane would find
+plenty to do.
+
+But Mary Jane was keenly disappointed. "I wanted to stay in Betty's room,"
+she explained to the teacher. "She asked me to sit by her this morning,
+she did, and I promised yes I would."
+
+"Then I'll tell you what you may do," suggested the teacher kindly. "Two
+of our folks are absent this morning so we have enough chairs to go
+around. Wouldn't you like to stay with Betty and visit? And then just a
+little before time for school to be out, Betty can take you up to your
+sister's room and she can bring you home."
+
+Mrs. Merrill agreed that that was a fine plan, so Mary Jane went to the
+cloak room to hang up her hat and her mother hurried back home.
+
+At first Mary Jane felt very strange in the new school room. There were so
+many children there and the songs were new and the games were new and
+everything seemed different. She almost--not really, but _almost_--wished
+she had gone home with her mother. And then, after singing three songs
+Mary Jane didn't know, the children made a big circle and let Mary Jane
+stand in the middle and they sang the song Mary Jane knew so very well,
+
+"I went to visit a friend to-day, She only lives across the way, She said
+she couldn't come out to play Because it was her ----"
+
+Quick as a flash Mary Jane dropped onto her knees and began to act out
+packing things into a box.
+
+For a minute the children hesitated. That was a strange thing to be
+acting; Mary Jane was not washing or ironing or churning or sweeping or
+any of the things the children usually acted and they were all puzzled.
+Then suddenly Betty remembered the back stairway and all the piles of
+boxes and excelsior on Mary Jane's back stairway and she called out the
+end of the song--"because it was her moving day!" And everybody finished
+the verse with a flourish.
+
+After that Mary Jane felt more at home and the morning went oh, so very
+quickly, till recess time, when they all went out into the big yard to
+play in the sunshine.
+
+Betty and her particular friends were gathering together for a circle game
+in the corner of the yard when Mary Jane heard a soft, helpless little
+sound close at hand. Without stopping to say anything to any one, she ran
+over to the fence and there, caught in between the tall iron bars, was the
+tiniest, blackest little dog she had ever seen. He evidently had seen the
+children coming out to play, had wanted to play with them and had supposed
+he could slip right through between the bars of the fence.
+
+Mary Jane tried to pull him out but he was stuck fast. So she called
+Betty.
+
+"Here!" shouted one of the boys, "I'll pull him out!"
+
+"No you don't," cried Betty imperatively, "you let him alone! We'll do
+it!" And her snapping black eyes flashed so positively that the boy
+obeyed. But Betty couldn't pull the dog through either, the bars were too
+close, she couldn't move him either way.
+
+"I'll tell you what let's do," she said. "Mary Jane, you stay here and
+guard him so nobody tries to pull him out and I'll go and get Tom and
+he'll know what to do." Tom was the janitor.
+
+Mary Jane stood close by the dog and patted his head and talked kindly to
+him so he would know somebody was trying to help him. And all the girls
+and boys who had started to play together gathered around and watched Mary
+Jane while Betty ran back to the school building and down into the
+basement to fetch the janitor.
+
+Fortunately, Tom was in his office and came quickly in response to Betty's
+call. He saw at once what the trouble was and discovered a way to remedy
+it. It seems that the big iron bars that made the fence were heavier at
+the bottom than nearer the top, so the space between the bars got wider
+higher up. Tom took firm hold of the wiggling little creature and gently
+but very firmly pushed him straight up between the bars. That didn't hurt
+like trying to pull him out, so the dog stopped barking and whining. And
+in a second Tom had him out--half way up the fence there was plenty of
+room to lift him right through.
+
+Poor little doggie! He was so glad to be out and so frightened by his
+experience that when Tom laid him down on the grass he looked quite
+forlorn. Mary Jane sat down beside him and gathered him up into her arms.
+
+"Don't you be afraid, doggie," she said softly, "we'll take care of you,
+don't you be afraid a bit!"
+
+"What you going to do with him?" asked one of the girls.
+
+But Mary Jane didn't have to answer that question. Before she could speak,
+a small boy came running along the street, crying as hard as he could cry
+and shouting between sobs, "I've lost my dog! I've lost my dog! Somebody's
+stole my dog!"
+
+"No they haven't," called Betty, "maybe this is yours!"
+
+The little boy rubbed his eyes, looked through the fence--and a look of
+happiness spread over his small face.
+
+"It's him! It's him! It's him!" he shouted happily, "then he isn't
+stole!"
+
+It took only a minute to run around the gate, dash across the school yard
+and grab the tiny little dog into his arms. And the children could tell by
+the way the little creature snuggled down that the love wasn't all on one
+side--evidently the little boy was a good master.
+
+Right at that minute, before there was a chance to start a game or any
+play, a great bell in the school doorway began to ring. Mary Jane was used
+to a small school of course--a school so small that the teacher came to
+the window and simply called when recess was over. So she stared in
+amazement when the great bell rang out so noisily.
+
+"Come on!" shouted Betty, "recess is over!"
+
+"Soon as I tell this doggie good-by!" replied Mary Jane.
+
+Betty didn't hear and, supposing Mary Jane was right behind her, she went
+on into her place in line. And Mary Jane, remembering how leisurely folks
+went up after recess at her old school, didn't pay any attention to the
+rapidly forming lines. She turned around and patted the tiny dog and
+nodded and smiled and whispered her good-by.
+
+When she did turn to go in with Betty, she was amazed to see all the
+children had disappeared into the building. She scampered over to the door
+as fast as ever she could. And up the stairs--but not a soul did she see!
+Only the click of a closing door could be heard--a click that made Mary
+Jane feel really shut out and lonely.
+
+"Now let's see," said Mary Jane to herself, "Betty's room was right around
+a corner--" But there wasn't any room around that first corner--only a
+long hall. A lump came into Mary Jane's throat. The building was so big,
+so very, very big. And she felt so little, so very, very little. She
+swallowed twice, determined not to cry and then she said out loud in a
+queer frightened little voice, "I guess I'm lost. I'm lost in school!"
+
+
+
+
+SAND CASTLES
+
+
+"I Guess I'm lost! I'm lost in school!"
+
+Mary Jane's frightened little whisper sounded like a shout and the doors
+and walls and hallways seemed to echo back, "Lost! Little girl lost!" in a
+most desolate fashion. Mary Jane was so frightened that she stood
+perfectly still--just as still as though her shoes were fastened to the
+floor. And she looked straight ahead as though she was trying to see
+through the wall at which she was staring. To tell the truth, Mary Jane
+wasn't trying to see through the wall. She didn't even know a wall was in
+front of her. She couldn't see a single thing, not even a big wall,
+because a mist of tears was in her eyes and a great lump was growing in
+her throat.
+
+Now Mary Jane wasn't a baby. And she never cried--or any way, she _hardly_
+ever cried because she was going on six and girls who are going on six
+don't cry. But to be lost in a strange school and in a strange city
+and--everything; well, it's not much wonder that Mary Jane felt pretty
+queer.
+
+But before the tears had time to fall, there was a heavy footstep behind
+her and Mary Jane whirled around to see--the kindly face of Tom the
+janitor smiling at her.
+
+"Aren't you pretty late getting to your room?" he asked.
+
+Mary Jane couldn't answer. She was so relieved to have someone around that
+for a minute she just couldn't get the lump out of her throat enough to
+talk.
+
+Tom must have been used to little girls--maybe he had one of his
+own--because he didn't pay any attention to Mary Jane's silence. He took
+hold of her hand and said pleasantly, "Now don't you worry a minute. You
+just show me which your room is and I'll go with you."
+
+"I'm looking for it too," said Mary Jane, finding her voice again, "but I
+don't know where it is."
+
+"Don't know where your room is?" asked Tom in surprise.
+
+"No," replied Mary Jane with a decided shake of her head, "I don't." And
+then, for talking was now getting comfortable and easy, she added, "you
+see, it isn't really my room. It's Betty's. And I'm just a-visiting her.
+I'm just moved to Chicago and they haven't any chair for me only just to
+visit in when somebody's absent."
+
+"That sounds like the kindergarten," said Tom.
+
+"It is," agreed Mary Jane with a laugh of relief, "I'm kindergarten, I
+am."
+
+"Then here we go, right down this way," said Tom, and off they started in
+just the opposite direction.
+
+Before they got clear up to the kindergarten, though, they met Miss
+Gilbert, who was coming in search of the little visitor. "Betty missed
+her," she explained, "but I thought you'd find her, Tom." With a thank you
+to her janitor friend, Mary Jane took tight hold of the teacher's hand and
+they went into the kindergarten room together.
+
+After that, the morning went very quickly and happily and Mary Jane could
+hardly believe her ears when the big whistles began to blow for twelve
+o'clock and Miss Gilbert told them to put away their scissors and cut-out
+papers and get ready to go home. Mary Jane had cut out two beautiful
+tulips and she was very happy when she was told they might be taken home
+as a souvenir of her visit.
+
+On the way home they met Frances and Alice and Ed so they had plenty of
+company.
+
+"What you doing Saturday?" asked Ed as they neared their own corner.
+
+"I don't know," replied Alice, "is there anything nice to do--special?"
+
+"Well," answered Frances, "we were afraid you might all be busy--but--well
+you see, we were going to have a beach party and we thought maybe you
+folks would like to go along. All of you."
+
+Now Alice and Mary hadn't the slightest idea what a beach party was, only
+of course they knew it must be something about the lake. But there wasn't
+time for questions and talk just then for Frances discovered that they had
+walked so slowly that they must rush on home to lunch.
+
+"We'll get mother to tell you," she promised, "and do say you'll come
+'cause it's a fire and cooking and marshmallows and piles of fun."
+
+"And we've plenty of wires," added Betty, "and they're plenty long so you
+won't burn your fingers."
+
+It sounded amazingly puzzling to Alice and Mary Jane, who couldn't in the
+least understand what a fire and wires and all that had to do with a
+beach. But they were to find out before so very long. For that same
+afternoon, while Alice was still in school, Mrs. Holden and Betty came
+over to call on Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane and then the beach party was
+all explained.
+
+"We go over to the lake very often," said Mrs. Holden. "And on the sandy
+beach, close by the water, the children build a big fire. Then, when the
+coals are good, we toast sandwiches and roast 'weenies' and toast
+marshmallows. The children are so anxious to show your girls just how it
+is done," she added, "and as the weather promises to be warm and sunny I
+think we should have an extra fine time."
+
+So it was settled. And a person would have thought from the excitement and
+fun of preparation that the party was to be that same day instead of
+twenty-four hours away. For as soon as Alice and the older Holden children
+came home from school, they all set to work planning the menu and getting
+out baskets and cleaning the wires on which, so the Merrill girls learned,
+marshmallows were held over the coals to be toasted.
+
+But when everything that could be done the day before, was finished, there
+was still some time for play, so the children went down into the Holden
+yard and the boys, Ed and John, showed the girls how to run a track
+meet--how to jump and vault and race in proper track style. Alice and Mary
+Jane thought the boys wonderfully skilled and the boys, thrilled by such
+warm admiration, broke all their previous records and had a beautiful
+time.
+
+At four o'clock the next afternoon the two families set out for the beach
+party. And it surely was quite a procession that made its way the four or
+five blocks to the park. First there was John with the wagon which held
+all the heavy things--baskets of food and such. Next came Ed, who started
+out walking behind the wagon to see that nothing dropped off. He and John
+were to take turns pulling the load. Then the others carried bundles of
+kindling and the wires for marshmallows and toasting racks for meat. They
+had such a jolly time getting off that everybody felt sure the party was
+to be a success.
+
+Mary Jane had been so busy helping get settled and all that, that she
+hadn't had time for a real visit on the beach. To be sure she had had
+glimpses of the big blue they could see down their own street, but to
+really come over and see the lake and play in the sand--this was her first
+trip. So she skipped along very happily and thought she could hardly wait
+till they got there.
+
+Fortunately they hadn't far to go. Three blocks down and two blocks over
+and there was the park--such a beautiful park with tiny lakes and bridges
+and great trees whose buds were swelling in the warm afternoon spring
+sunshine. Mary Jane thought she must be in fairyland come to life, it was
+all so beautiful. They crossed an arched bridge; saw a lovely view off
+toward the south where other bridges and lagoons and trees made such a
+pretty picture they were tempted to stay and look longer; walked around a
+big circle where, so John told them, the band gave concerts in the summer
+time; circled a tiny little inlet lake and came out, quite suddenly, right
+close to the big lake--Lake Michigan. It almost took Mary Jane's breath
+way, coming suddenly that way, upon the sight of so much water. It was all
+so blue and clear, she thought, for the minute, that surely it must be the
+very same ocean she had seen in Florida only a few weeks before.
+
+But the boys didn't give much time for sight-seeing of lakes--they had
+seen the good old lake many a time and they were thinking more about
+supper than any view, however pretty.
+
+So they hurried their wagon across the boulevard driveway, and of course
+all the folks had to follow close behind, and down the beach walk a couple
+of hundred yards and there they settled themselves on a stretch of clean
+white sand.
+
+"Now," said big brother Linn, whom the girls hadn't seen much of as yet,
+but who seemed to be master of ceremonies, "you boys gather those big logs
+down there, you girls fix the kindling and I'll set these stones up so we
+get a good draft when we light our fire."
+
+Everybody set to work. The logs proved to be so big and heavy that Ed and
+John were very glad to have the help of their father and Mr. Merrill to
+roll them into place. The four girls sorted out the kindling in their
+basket and added to it by picking up drift wood on the beach. Frances
+explained that they always brought some along to be sure they had some
+real dry wood for a start.
+
+With such good help and so much of it, of course it wasn't long till a
+fine blaze was going and the beach party was actually begun.
+
+"Go ahead and play now," said Linn, when he saw the fire was started and
+that there was a big pile of reserve wood close by. "You know we can't
+cook till we get some coals."
+
+"But I'm starved," hinted Ed, with a hungry look toward the baskets his
+mother and Mrs. Merrill were guarding.
+
+"Then you'll have to stay starved, young man," said his mother, laughing,
+"because not a basket is to be opened till the coals are ready for
+cooking."
+
+"Then let's make a sand castle," suggested Betty and she ran down to a
+smooth place on the beach, away from possible smoke, and began molding the
+white sand.
+
+That pleased Mary Jane. She hadn't forgotten the fun she had playing on
+the beach in Florida, and while this beach was different--it didn't have
+any of the pretty shells or funny little crawdads she had found on the
+Florida beach--still it had lovely white sand and dainty little waves and
+was quite the nicest place for play that Mary Jane had seen.
+
+"I'll tell you what let's do," suggested Alice, as she saw that all the
+children were going to play in the sand, "let's each build a castle and
+make it any way we like best and then when they're all finished, have an
+exhibition and everybody look and see which is the best."
+
+"All right, let's," agreed the children and they set to work.
+
+Mary Jane chose for her castle a place down close by the water. She loved
+the nearness of the waves and the thrill of knowing that maybe, if she
+didn't watch out, a wave would come up really close and get her wet. Betty
+picked out a spot nearer the fire on the side away from the smoke and
+Alice chose a place where a few pretty pebbles would give her material
+with which to pave a "moat" she intended to make.
+
+And then everybody set to work. So busy were they that Linn had to tend
+the fire all by himself and Ed forgot he was hungry.
+
+Before very long that beach looked like a picture book. Towers and ditches
+and castles and bridges were where flat sand had been a few minutes
+before. The Holden children had made many a sand house and they knew just
+how to pack the damp sand so it would stay in place and just how to put a
+small board here and there to hold a second story or a tower straight and
+tall.
+
+But with all their experience, Alice's castle was as pretty as theirs, or
+at any rate she thought it was, and Mary Jane's was quite wonderful. She
+smoothed off the "garden" in front of her palace, stuck in a few sticks
+for flowers, made a pebbly path down to the tiny lake she had scooped out
+at one side and then shouted, "Mine's done! Look at mine!" and stepped
+aside so all could see her handiwork.
+
+[Illustration: And then, sliding in the wet sand, she sat right down in
+the lake and sent a wave of ripples right over her castle _Page 61_]
+
+But Mary Jane wasn't used to working so close to the water and she forgot
+entirely where she was! Instead of stepping to one side, as she should
+have done, she stepped backwards--straight into the big lake! And then,
+sliding in the wet sand, she sat right down in the lake and sent a big
+wave of ripples--right over her castle and garden and lake and everything
+and washed it all away, every bit!
+
+
+
+
+THE BEACH SUPPER
+
+
+A minute before Mary Jane slid into the lake, the beach was a scene of
+busy building and fun. Linn tended the fire, the grown folks gathered wood
+and visited and guarded baskets and the children all were intent on their
+sand castles. But with Mary Jane's tumble everything changed.
+
+Sand flew helter skelter as the children jumped hastily and ran to Mary
+Jane's assistance; castles were trampled on as though they didn't exist
+and fire wood and baskets were all forgotten.
+
+"Don't be afraid, you're all right!" called Mrs. Merrill as she ran toward
+her little girl.
+
+"Coming! Coming! Here!" shouted Mr. Merrill reassuringly as he dashed over
+to his little daughter, picked her up by the shoulders and set her, safe
+and sound, on dry sand just in time to miss a fair sized wave.
+
+"I guess I'm wet!" said Mary Jane.
+
+"I guess you are," laughed Mr. Merrill, "but I guess things will dry and
+you're not so very awfully too wet--not enough to spoil the party, is she,
+mother?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill looked thoughtful and all the children waited anxiously for
+her answer. Would Mary Jane have to go clear off home and miss the party
+and everything! But it wasn't to be as bad as all that. Mrs. Merrill
+remembered the warm day, the glowing sun that was still bright and warm
+and she also remembered the hot fire Linn had underway and the warm sand
+all around the fire.
+
+"Of course she isn't wet enough to spoil the party," said Mrs. Merrill,
+much to every one's relief. "Only she'll have to stay close by the fire
+till she gets warm and dry. Suppose we appoint her head cook and make her
+stay right there where it's hot?"
+
+"She'll get dry then!" exclaimed Ed, so fervently that they all knew he
+had had many a hot face from working by the fire at previous picnics.
+
+"But how about your castles?" asked Mr. Holden, "weren't we to have an
+exhibit?"
+
+But the castles! Dear me! In the excitement of Mary Jane's tumble, no one
+had given a thought to the castles. They were stepped on, and trampled
+down and all matted down into the sand.
+
+"That's just too bad!" said Mrs. Merrill.
+
+"Pooh!" exclaimed John, dismissing the whole question of castles with one
+wave of the hand, "who cares about castles! _We're_ going to have supper."
+And every one set to work.
+
+Mary Jane was supposed to be head cook, but as she had never before been
+to a beach party, she really didn't know what to do. So she simply stayed
+close by the hot fire while the boys brought three benches and made them
+in a triangle around the fire--a little way back of course. Then Mrs.
+Holden and Mrs. Merrill unpacked the baskets and fixed a place on the
+bench for each person. To be sure nobody was expected to sit on the
+bench--that would be quite too proper for a beach party meal. But the
+mothers put a paper plate and a cup for each person on the benches and
+then they put on the plate as many sandwiches and pickles and cookies and
+everything as each person was entitled to.
+
+While they were doing this, Linn raked down the hot coals, set in place a
+light wire rack he had made and spread a couple of dozen weenies out to
+roast.
+
+"Now then, Mary Jane," he said to the head cook, "you take this long fork.
+And as soon as a weenie begins to sputter and brown, turn it over so it
+browns on the other side too."
+
+That was a very important job, Mary Jane could easily see, and she
+determined that every weenie _she_ cooked would be done just to a turn.
+She bent over the fire till her back got a crook in it; then she sat down
+on the hot sand close to the coals and by the time the weenies were done
+ready to eat she was so dry and hot that she felt sure she had never
+slipped into the lake--never!
+
+And all the time Mary Jane was cook, Linn and Mr. Merrill stayed close to
+see that the coals kept evenly hot and that no bit of flame started up to
+burn the head cook.
+
+At last the weenies were ready. Each one was beautifully brown and was
+sizzling and sputtering and sending a most tempting odor to hungry folks.
+
+"Form a line, folks," said Mrs. Holden, "ladies first!"
+
+With much laughter, each person got their own roll, which had been split
+and buttered, and filed passed Mary Jane. And Mary Jane, instructed by
+Linn just how to do her job, picked up one weenie after another on the
+long fork and dropped each one in an open roll held out before her. It was
+a scary job, for the sand was close below and Mary Jane knew that weenies
+dropped into the sand wouldn't taste very good. But she took her time--too
+much time, John thought.
+
+"Don't be 'fraid of any old sand," he assured her when she put his weenie
+in his roll so very carefully, "I eat 'em any way--sand or not."
+
+Betty eyed Mary Jane a bit enviously. This being chief cook and having a
+chance to fill the rolls of each person must surely be fun.
+
+"Next time we have a beach party," she announced between bites, "_I'm_
+going to fall into the lake too!"
+
+"I'll save you the trouble," replied Mr. Holden understandingly, "I'll let
+you be chief cook without getting wet."
+
+Betty needn't have worried about Mary Jane's being willing to give up her
+job. For there was one disadvantage in that position Miss Betty hadn't
+thought of and Mary Jane had just discovered--the head cook had no time to
+eat. And Mary Jane was getting fearfully hungry. She was more than willing
+to give up the big fork, let Betty fill her roll for her and stand up with
+the others to eat the good hot morsel.
+
+Did anything ever taste as good as those hot weenie sandwiches, eaten
+there on the edge of Lake Michigan, with the fine lake air blowing in
+their faces and the sunshine warming them and making them forget the chill
+of the long winter? The Merrills thought they had never had so much fun
+and tasted such good things. Every weenie (and there had seemed to be far
+too many) was eaten up; every roll disappeared and cookies and pickles and
+sandwiches just vanished as though a warm breeze had melted them away.
+
+Supper over, the sun going down reminded the children that they must get
+the fire ready for dark. They scampered up and down the broad beach,
+gathering together all the pieces of drift wood they could find. Later in
+the year wood along that beach would be hard to find. But in the early
+spring, before the driftings of the winter's storms had been burned up by
+picnickers like themselves, there was plenty to be had.
+
+Linn and Ed put away the cooking rack in the case they had made for it,
+the two mothers packed up débris and burned it so the beach would be left
+clean and tidy, and all the others gathered wood. Such a lot as they did
+find! Linn piled it on high and by the time the sun went to sleep in the
+west, the fire was so bright that nobody noticed the growing darkness.
+They all sat around on the warm sand and sang--college songs that the
+children had learned from the fathers, school songs and popular songs that
+they all knew. It was fun to sit there close by the big lake, to watch the
+sparks fly upward, to hear the waves swish against the sand and to sing
+and sing as loud as they liked.
+
+But when the darkness settled down enough so that mysterious shadows
+lurked over every shoulder and the stars helped the fire make a light, Ed
+announced, "Now let's play Indian."
+
+So they did. Playing Indian, the Merrill girls found, meant a queer
+follow-the-leader game. Ed led off first and everybody had to follow. He
+ran round and round the fire, prancing and yelling like a wild man. And
+the point of the game was for everybody to do exactly as he did. They ran
+and jumped and yelled till everybody was breathless with exercise and
+laughter and was glad to sit down again and do nothing.
+
+By this time the fire had again died down to a bed of coals.
+
+"_Now_ it's time for the marshmallows, isn't it?" asked Betty. She was
+right, it was.
+
+The boxes of marshmallows were opened, wires pulled out of the baskets and
+all the children sat around the fire a-toasting. 'Twas just as Betty had
+promised. The wires were plenty long enough so that no fingers needed to
+be burned or dresses scorched and the bed of coals was big enough to make
+room for all.
+
+Betty and Mary Jane thought they would keep count and see who could eat
+the most, but after six they lost count, and they ate and ate till they
+simply couldn't eat any more.
+
+"Let's play still pond," suggested Frances.
+
+She stood up near the fire and announced, "Twenty steps, two jumps, three
+hops and a roll. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
+ten--STILL POND."
+
+As she said the numbers off, the children began scampering to a place to
+safety. All but Mary Jane. She wasn't used to playing on the slippery,
+slidy sand. And though she started off just as big as anybody, she slipped
+and stumbled and hadn't more than got to her feet when the words, "Still
+pond!" were called. And after that she couldn't move but just to use the
+steps, jumps, hops and roll Frances had given them.
+
+To make matters even more exciting, Frances started off exactly in her
+direction.
+
+But Mary Jane hadn't played "Still Pond" in her own yard for nothing.
+Perhaps she hadn't learned to run on slippery sand as yet, but she did
+know how to play that game. Instead of trying to quietly take her twenty
+steps in an effort to get out of Frances' way, she took two quick steps,
+dropped down on the sand, gave one little roll, and--was safely hidden
+under one of the picnic benches they had used for supper!
+
+Frances passed so close Mary Jane could have touched her. Other folks were
+chased and found, but Mary Jane's hiding place was undiscovered. Of course
+when she rolled in under the bench, Mary Jane had expected to roll right
+out again when somebody else was caught. But when she found that they
+couldn't see her; that they went right around close at hand, talking about
+her and wondering where she was and all that, she thought it was such a
+good joke that she lay very still and watched.
+
+She heard them asking each other where she was seen last; she heard her
+father say she couldn't be so very far away; and she saw them all start
+off in search of herself. Then, just the minute their backs were turned
+but before they had had time to be really frightened, she slipped out from
+under her seat, stood up close by the dying fire and shouted, "Here I am,
+can't you see me?"
+
+They thought it a very good joke she had played and Mary Jane was sure she
+would always remember that the best hiding place is often the nearest
+one.
+
+"Time to go home," said Mr. Holden, looking at his watch, "the fire's most
+out and the party's over."
+
+"But there'll be another one, won't there?" begged Mary Jane.
+
+"Let's have it next week," said Betty.
+
+The boys loaded up the empty baskets on their wagon--not much of a load
+going home! Mr. Merrill raked out the fire so no harm would come to
+anything; Mr. Holden gathered the children together and started the line
+of march. It was a happy little crowd that wandered homeward and they all
+agreed with Mary Jane when she said, "Well, anyway, I think a beach
+party's the mostest fun I know. It's more fun than moving!"
+
+
+
+
+MARY JANE GOES SHOPPING
+
+
+The days after the beach party seemed to fly past on wings. First it was a
+Monday and then, before a person could do half the nice things planned,
+Saturday was coming 'round again and Alice was home all day from school
+and fun for the four Merrills could be planned. Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane
+took to doing all their "Saturday marketing" on Friday afternoon so they
+could have more time on Saturday for trips and sight-seeing and all the
+lovely things folks like to do when they've just moved to a big city.
+
+One Saturday morning, not so very long after the beach party, dawned--not
+bright and warm and sunny as Mary Jane had hoped it surely would--but
+rainy and cold and windy as some May mornings are sure to be in Chicago. A
+cold northeast wind raced across the city and folks had blue noses and
+shivery finger tips and not a single thing to be seen looked like spring.
+
+"Now just look at it!" exclaimed Mary Jane as she stared out of the
+living-room window, "and we were going to take a trip through the parks
+and I was going to wear my new hat and everything. And look!"
+
+"And we can't go to the parks again for another whole week!" bemoaned
+Alice, "'cause there's school!"
+
+"Just look!" exclaimed Mary Jane again as a hard gust of wind tossed the
+rain against the winds exactly as though Mr. Rain was saying to Mary Jane,
+"Thought you'd go out, did you? Well, look what I'm doing!"
+
+"You girls talk as though parks were the only things to see in Chicago,"
+said Mrs. Merrill as pleasantly and comfortably as though there was no
+such thing as a disappointment in the world.
+
+Alice and Mary Jane turned away from the window quickly. Something in
+their mother's tone of voice made them suspect that the day wasn't to be a
+disappointment after all.
+
+"It's funny to me," continued Mrs. Merrill in a matter of fact voice,
+"that you folks haven't asked to go to the big stores--wouldn't you like
+to?"
+
+"Like to!" exclaimed Alice.
+
+"Would we?" cried Mary Jane. "But we didn't think about it!"
+
+"Then we'll think about it now," replied Mrs. Merrill. "If you can hold an
+umbrella down tight over your head so as not to get your hat wet, I think
+we could manage to get to the train without getting soaked. And once down
+at the store, we could check our wet umbrellas and shop and sight-see
+through the stores all we wished to without a bit of hurry."
+
+"Oh, may we really go?" asked Alice.
+
+"Well," answered Mrs. Merrill, pretending to hesitate, "if you _really_
+care to--"
+
+That settled it and there was no more time wasted talking about weather
+_that_ morning. Dishes were washed and beds were made and dusting was done
+so quickly that the little flat must have been quite surprised and pleased
+with itself--it got put into rights so very quickly. Then Mary Jane got
+her hair fixed nicely and a pretty hair bow put on--the bow wouldn't show
+very much under the new hat, but even that little had to be just
+right--and then, while mother fixed her own and Alice's hair, she put on a
+pretty dress--not a party dress, of course, but a nice, pretty, dark
+dress. Then they all put on rubbers and raincoats and locked up the doors
+and took their umbrellas and started for the train.
+
+Going down town on the train was fun. In the city where Mary Jane lived
+before, one could walk down town. Or if one really wanted to ride, a
+street car hustled one to the stores in about five minutes. But in
+Chicago, so she discovered, she had to have a ticket and go through a
+gate, and up stairs and onto a platform and aboard a train and everything
+just as though one intended to go away, far off. The girls both liked to
+ride down town. To be sure they couldn't see much of the lake, even though
+they did ride right along beside it, because the rain made it all look dim
+and gray and foggy. But they knew the lake was there; they could see the
+spray the waves made and once in a while they could hear the noise of
+splashing water above the roar of the train. All too soon, for there was
+so much to see, the train pulled into their station and the conductor
+shouted, "Randolph Street! Everybody out! Far's we go!" And all the folks
+aboard got their umbrellas ready and went out into the rain.
+
+Fortunately it was only a very little way from the station to the big
+store where Mrs. Merrill took the girls, so they didn't have a chance to
+get tired or very wet. And as soon as they got indoors, Mrs. Merrill found
+a checking place and they left wet umbrellas and wet raincoats and wet
+rubbers and started out for fun.
+
+"I think that's awfully convenient--just to leave things that way," said
+Alice as she settled her collars and cuffs and made sure she was tidy,
+"and of course we'll get them back safely?" This checking system was new
+to her and she wanted to be assured it was all right.
+
+"To be sure we will," said Mrs. Merrill. "See? I have the checks for
+them."
+
+"Well, then," said Mary Jane, "let's begin."
+
+"Yes," said Alice, "let's. And let's see _everything_!"
+
+"All right," laughed Mrs. Merrill; "shall we take an elevator first?"
+
+"Oh, no," answered Alice, "'cause then we'd miss the first floor."
+
+So they "did" the first floor, seeing all the handkerchiefs and jewelry
+and bags and fans and pretty decorations and ribbons--Alice could hardly
+leave those lovely ribbons--and neckwear--Mary Jane saw five different
+neckties she needed--and so many things.
+
+"Do they have anything left for the second floor?" asked Mary Jane when
+they finally got around to where they had started.
+
+"You just see," said Mrs. Merrill.
+
+And sure enough there were plenty of things on the second floor, pretty
+dishes and lamps and so many things that, really, Mary Jane almost got
+tired looking at them all.
+
+By the time they got ready for the third floor, Mary Jane was wondering if
+there were any seats in that store. Not seats where you sit down to buy
+things, but really seats where you just sit down whether you buy anything
+or not. And sure enough there were just those seats. Nice, big comfy ones,
+that appeared to be made for Mary Janes who went a-shopping and wanted to
+sit down. The Merrills sat down on a big couch and Mary Jane leaned back
+ready to rest when--who should she see right in front of her but Frances
+Westland! The girl she met at grandmother's house nearly a year ago.
+
+In a jiffy Mary Jane forgot all about wanting to sit down. She slid down
+from the comfortable couch, dashed after Frances, who, not guessing that a
+friend was so near, was hurrying by, and brought her back to meet mother
+and Alice.
+
+Then they all sat down for a visit.
+
+"No, I'm not living here," said Frances in answer to Mrs. Merrill's
+question, "I've been spending the spring with my auntie and going to
+school here. But just as soon as school is out I'm going back home. Mother
+needs me."
+
+"I don't doubt it," replied Mrs. Merrill, who was much pleased with the
+little girl, "I'm sure your mother misses you greatly. But where are you
+living and can't we see you before you go and can't you take lunch with us
+to-day?"
+
+It seemed that Frances's auntie lived in the same part of the city the
+Merrills lived in and there was every reason to believe that the girls
+might see each other at least once or twice in the little time left of the
+school year.
+
+"But I don't believe I can eat lunch with you," added Frances, "'cause
+auntie and I have to hurry home." So with a promise to come to see them
+soon at the address Mrs. Merrill wrote out on her card for Frances, the
+friends said good-by.
+
+"I'll declare!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill, looking at her watch after Frances
+left them. "It's almost twelve o'clock already! And we were to meet father
+at one. If you girls want to see anything of the toys and dolls and
+playrooms, we'd better not be sitting around here any longer."
+
+Of course the girls did want to see the toys and dolls and everything.
+When they got to the fourth floor where all the children's things were
+kept, they were sorry they had spent even a minute any place else. For all
+the lovely dolls and marvelous toys and enticing games and beautiful
+pictures and fascinating puzzles made a person think that Santa Claus's
+shop and fairyland and magic were all mixed up together and set down in
+one place. The girls looked and looked and looked. They "oh-ed" and
+"ah-ed" and exclaimed till they couldn't think of anything more to
+say--and then they kept right on looking just the same.
+
+Mary Jane picked out the doll coat she wanted Georgiannamore to have and
+Alice selected a lovely desk. They agreed upon a set of dishes and upon
+charming furniture for their balcony--just the right size too.
+
+"And we'll pretend we'll buy it all, mother," said Mary Jane, who knew
+perfectly well she couldn't buy all the things she talked about getting,
+"and we'll pretend we'll have it all sent up, that'll be such fun."
+
+So they pretended and looked and looked and pretended till they had been
+over most all that part of the store.
+
+"Now then," said Mrs. Merrill, "if we're to meet Dadah for lunch--"
+
+"Oh, goody!" cried Alice, "are we to meet him here?"
+
+"Not here," said Mrs. Merrill, "but in this store in the lunch room and in
+ten minutes. So we'd better wash our hands and go to the lunch room
+floor."
+
+Mr. Merrill was waiting for them and had a table engaged close by a
+charming fountain ("Just think of a fountain in a house!" exclaimed Mary
+Jane when she spied it) and all the time Mary Jane sat there eating, she
+could look right over and watch the fishes and she could hear the splash
+of the water.
+
+But Mary Jane wasn't thinking of fishes or water just then. She was
+hungry. And the things her father read to her sounded so good--oh, dear,
+but they did sound good! She and Alice had a dreadfully hard time deciding
+just what did sound the best. But Alice finally decided on stuffed chicken
+legs (she hadn't an idea what they were but they sounded good) and potato
+salad and strawberry parfait. And Mary Jane chose chicken pie--a whole one
+all her own--and hashed brown potatoes and orange sherbet.
+
+While the lunch was being fixed, Mr. Merrill took Mary Jane over to the
+window so she could look down, down, way down, to the street below, where
+the folks appeared so little and upside down and where the automobiles
+looked like the ones they had just seen in the toy department.
+
+When the lunch came, it proved to be just as good as the menu promised it
+would be and the girls enjoyed every bite. Mary Jane was afraid for a
+minute that she had made a mistake. For Alice's parfait came in a tall
+glass, with a long spoon that made the girls think of the story of the fox
+and the goose and the banquet, and Mary Jane was sure nothing she had
+ordered could be as nice as parfait. But when the maid set the orange
+sherbet at her place, Mary Jane was quite satisfied, for the ice was set
+in a real orange, all cut out in dainty scallops and trimmed with green.
+
+"Yummy-um!" she whispered, happily. "I'm so glad you had this party,
+Dadah!"
+
+Dadah seemed to want everything to be all right, for he had added to their
+order some little cakes, done up in frilly papers and unlike anything the
+girls had ever seen. They almost hated to eat them, they were so pretty,
+but cakes one cannot eat are not good for much, Mr. Merrill reminded them,
+and so the cakes were eaten up.
+
+"Now then," said Mary Jane, as she dabbled her fingers in the finger bowl
+and ate up the candy she found at the side of the tiny tray, "what do we
+do next?"
+
+
+
+
+THE BUS RIDE
+
+
+"What do we do next?" asked Mr. Merrill, repeating Mary Jane's question.
+"I'm sure of this much--we must do something _very_ nice because it's such
+a nice day."
+
+"_Nice day_!" exclaimed Alice. "What in the world are you talking about,
+Dadah? This is the worst weather we've had since we came to Chicago--but
+we don't care 'cause we're having such a good time anyway."
+
+Mr. Merrill laughed and replied, "Suppose you look out of the window."
+
+So they left their cozy table, where nothing but empty dishes told the
+story of their delightful lunch party, and wandered over to the window
+where Mary Jane had looked down at the street not much over an hour
+before. But what a difference! With a sudden, unexpected shift of wind
+that only the Chicago weather man knows how to bring about, the stiff,
+cold northeaster that had brought the cold rain of the morning had been
+sent off and in its place a warm breeze from the south blew softly across
+the city, bringing with it sunshine and warmth and pleasantness for all.
+
+"Why--" exclaimed Mary Jane, much puzzled, "where's the rain?"
+
+"Did you want it back?" laughed Mrs. Merrill, and then she explained to
+the girls something about the effect the big lake might have on weather
+and told them that one of the queer things about Chicago was its sudden
+changes to good, or sometimes bad, weather.
+
+"So I was wondering," said Mr. Merrill, "if you folks wouldn't like an
+hour of fresh air and then, if you're not through shopping we can come
+back to the stores."
+
+The girls hadn't an idea what he might want to do, but they were pretty
+sure it would be fun. So they agreed that an hour out of doors was just
+what they most wanted and they went down to get wraps from the check room.
+They left the umbrellas till later, put on their wraps and left the
+store.
+
+"Now then," said Mr. Merrill, "see that big bus down there--we're going
+for a ride on the top."
+
+"What's a bus?" asked Mary Jane, who had never heard the word before. But
+before her father could answer they were pushed into the crowd at the
+crossing, hurried across and the next second Mr. Merrill had hailed a
+great, lumbering, top-heavy automobile and was helping the girls to step
+aboard.
+
+The "bus" proved to be a large-sized passenger automobile, with a deck on
+top for passengers who wished to ride in the open air. Mary Jane and Alice
+were thrilled with the fun of getting on it. It seemed exactly like going
+aboard a house-boat on wheels. They stepped into a little hallway and
+then--and this wasn't so easy because the bus immediately began to
+move--they climbed up a curving flight of stairs and walked down an
+aisle--an awfully wiggly aisle it was too!--to seats on the very front
+row.
+
+Then, before they had had a chance to look around or feel at home, the
+conductor, who stood at the back, shouted, "Low bridge!" and everybody
+ducked their heads while the great bus went under the elevated railroad.
+Mary Jane felt, truly, as though she must be a person in a story
+book--Arabian Nights or something marvelous--because surely the things
+that were happening to her weren't _really_ happening.
+
+But after the elevated was passed, the bus rolled out onto Michigan
+Boulevard and Mary Jane settled herself comfortably in her front seat with
+her mother, smiled across the aisle to Alice and her father and began to
+feel really at home in her high perch. By the time the bus had turned
+northward and crossed the river, she began to feel that riding on the top
+of a bus was the thing she'd been wanting to do all her life. It was such
+fun to sit up high and watch the lake, so blue and beautiful in the
+sunshine, the trees just getting a tinge of green at the tips, the pretty
+houses that lined the parkway, the people--it seemed as everybody in
+Chicago must be out in their 'tother best clothes--and most of all, it was
+fun to watch the automobiles dart in and out of the crowd, around the bus
+and beside it, till Mary Jane was sure their driver must be some wonderful
+being to be able to manage so that everybody stayed alive!
+
+"Here, Mary Jane," said Mr. Merrill, interrupting Mary Jane's
+sight-seeing, "don't you want to pay your fare--Alice is paying ours." He
+slipped two dimes into her hand just as the conductor stepped to the front
+of the bus. Mary Jane wasn't quite sure what she was to do with the dimes
+till she noticed that the conductor had in his hand a queer-looking thing
+like a clock, only it had a hole in the top just the right size for a
+dime. Into that hole Mary Jane dropped a dime. And--"ding_ding_!" went a
+musical little bell somewhere in the "clock." Then she dropped the other
+dime. And again the bell sounded, "ding_ding_!" just as though it tried to
+say "Thank _you_!" that way. Alice then dropped her two dimes and Mary
+Jane had the fun of hearing the bell again. She thought she wouldn't do a
+thing but watch the conductor and listen to his bell all the time he
+collected fares, but just as he stepped back to get the next folks' money
+the bus passed in front of the queer old stone building with great tower
+that Mr. Merrill said was the city water works building, and of course
+that meant the girls wanted to hear about when it was built and hear again
+the story Mr. Merrill had started to tell them several evenings before
+about how the great Chicago fire started and how it burned up to this very
+spot they were now passing. Somehow, being at that place and seeing the
+one building that stood through the fire made the history stories seem
+very plain and there were a lot of questions to be asked and answered.
+
+But buses don't wait for questions--the girls soon discovered that! Long
+before the fire story was told they had raced up Lake Shore Drive, passed
+its beautiful old homes, and were turning into Lincoln Park. Here it
+seemed to the girls that the city ended and fairyland began. The grass
+seemed greener, the lake bluer and the trees greener than any place they
+had seen; and hundreds of tulips peeping up through the ground here, there
+and everywhere, made spots of bright vivid color and beauty.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Mary Jane happily, "I hope the bus goes on and on forever!
+I'd like to keep on riding all the time!"
+
+But when, a minute or two later, they passed near the buildings of the
+Zoo, Mary Jane forgot all about wanting to ride forever and wanted to get
+out, right away quick and see all the animals she had heard lived there.
+
+"Not to-day," said Mr. Merrill, looking at his watch. "You remember we are
+to go back to the stores--we're just out for a bit of fresh air this time.
+Some other day when it's still warmer so we can get our dinner here, then
+we'll come and visit the Zoo. But to-day I want to get back to the stores
+before they close."
+
+"Of course," added Alice, "for our umbrellas."
+
+"Of course for something else too," laughed her father, and though both
+girls were very curious, not another word would he say.
+
+So they stayed on the bus and rode clear through the park, and up Sheridan
+Road a long way till the bus turned around at a corner and the conductor
+shouted, "Far's we go!"
+
+But the Merrills didn't get off. They wanted to keep those good front
+seats so they sat still and in about two minutes the bus started south and
+whirled them through the park and past all the same interesting sights on
+the way cityward. This time, Mary Jane felt very much at home in her
+high-up perch. She dropped in the dimes her father gave her, eyed the
+passing autos without a bit of fear and looked down on all the children
+she saw walking and playing quite as though she had lived in a city and
+ridden in busses all her young life.
+
+It was a very reluctant pair of young ladies that Mr. Merrill assisted to
+the sidewalk when the big stores and "time to get off" were reached.
+
+"But what was it besides umbrellas you wanted to get?" asked Mary Jane,
+suddenly remembering.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Merrill, "I haven't been through the toy department with
+anybody. And I have a calendar."
+
+The girls looked puzzled. What had the toy department to do with a
+calendar? They couldn't guess. Even Mrs. Merrill looked puzzled.
+
+"Of course if you don't intend to have birthdays since we've moved--" said
+Mr. Merrill teasingly. And then everybody knew! To be sure! It was almost
+time for Mary Jane's birthday--almost a year, it was, since the lovely
+birthday party when the little girl was five years old--and in the
+excitement of moving and getting settled and seeing new sights, even the
+little lady herself had forgotten how near the day was at hand.
+
+"It's mine!" exclaimed Mary Jane happily, "and I'll be six! Come on,
+quick, Dadah! and I'll show you perzactly what I want." When Mary Jane got
+excited she sometimes got words a little mixed, but her father knew well
+enough just what she meant. She grabbed hold of his hand, called to her
+mother and Alice to come on with them and away they went toward the
+elevator that quickly took them to the toy section.
+
+Going through that department the second time was even more fun than the
+first trip, because now father was along to see things and to explain
+mechanical toys. And also because there was the fun of picking out the
+thing she wanted to wish for, for her birthday. That last was a very
+serious matter, as every little girl knows.
+
+They looked at dolls--but not a doll was as lovely as Georgiannamore, at
+least that was Mary Jane's opinion--and then they looked at furniture and
+at dishes and toys and games and clothes for dolls and, well, at every
+single thing in that whole big department. After everything had been
+considered and looked at and thought about, and it was about time for the
+big warning bell to ring and tell folks that in ten minutes the store
+would close and everybody'd have to get out, then and not until then, Mary
+Jane decided that the thing she wanted most of all was a doll cart. A
+beautiful little ivory enameled doll cart made just exactly like the one
+that Junior's little brother had back at their old home. A cart with a top
+that moved back and forth just like a real baby cart and that had cushions
+and tires and everything that a really truly mother is particular to want
+for her baby.
+
+"Yes," said Mary Jane, as she looked around the store with a rather tired
+sigh, "I think that's the thing I want the most and I'm going to wish for
+it, Dadah."
+
+"Sounds easily settled," laughed her father, "but do you know what time it
+is?"
+
+Before she could answer, the warning bell rang and clerks began to cover
+up counters and to straighten up the store for its Sunday rest. So the
+Merrills four hurried down to get umbrellas and to go home.
+
+On the train going home Mary Jane was so tired looking at things that she
+didn't care a bit about looking any more. She watched the lake some, but
+mostly she simply settled back in her little corner behind the door and
+just sat. Thoughts of all the wonderful things she had seen that day raced
+through her mind--the lunch, the ride, the lake, the park--but most of
+all, that wonderful doll cart, and she couldn't help wondering (and of
+course hoping) if she really truly would, _possibly_, get that lovely gift
+for her birthday.
+
+
+
+
+THE BIRTHDAY LUNCHEON
+
+
+As soon as they got home that evening, and had dinner and rested up a bit,
+Mary Jane hunted up a calendar so she could find out about her birthday.
+And she discovered that two weeks from that same day was "her" day.
+
+"It's Saturday, so you can do something too!" she said to Alice. "Now,
+Mother, let's plan."
+
+So they talked over all the nice things a person _might_ do for a
+birthday, but long before they could decide which was the very nicest of
+all the plans, bedtime came. Then the next morning there were interesting
+things to do, and nobody thought about plans for a day that was two weeks
+away. That is, nobody but Mary Jane thought about it, and, if the truth
+must be told, she thought more about the doll cart she had wished for than
+she did about what she might do to celebrate.
+
+Monday noon, when Alice came home for her luncheon, she was much excited.
+
+"Who do you s'pose I saw at recess this morning?" she demanded. "Guess!"
+
+But Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane couldn't guess--they didn't know anybody in
+Chicago to guess! Or at least they thought they didn't.
+
+"I saw--" began Alice slowly, for she wanted the fun of keeping them
+waiting to last as long as possible, "I saw--Frances Westland! And she
+goes to my school!"
+
+"Why in the world didn't we know that?" said Mrs. Merrill. "We should have
+guessed! Of course she goes to your school. I remember of thinking she
+wasn't very far from us."
+
+"Can't we have her come to see us?" asked Mary Jane eagerly.
+
+"I already asked her if she couldn't come," explained Alice, "because I
+knew you'd want me to, and she says she's sure she can. But she can't come
+next Saturday because she and her auntie are going to Milwaukee to spend
+the week-end. But she thought she could come the next Saturday."
+
+"And that's my birthday," Mary Jane reminded her.
+
+"I know it," agreed Alice, "but I didn't tell her. I just said I'd find
+out what we were doing that day and let her know this afternoon--was that
+all right, Mother?"
+
+"You did exactly right, dear," said Mrs. Merrill reassuringly. "Come right
+out to the dining-room now, because your soup is ready and you mustn't
+hurry yourself too much with your lunch. While we eat, we'll plan for the
+birthday."
+
+Of course there were many plans to be talked of, because in a big city
+there are so many kinds of things one may do. And it was awfully hard to
+decide which plan was the very most fun--you know how that is yourself.
+But after every plan that any of the three could think of had been
+discussed carefully, Mary Jane decided that there were two things she
+wanted the most to do. First, she wanted to stay home to celebrate and
+have a party and all that; and, second, she wanted to go down town and go
+to a big grown-up theater where there was music and lights and pretty
+things just like grown folks see up town. And for her part she admitted
+that she didn't see how a person possibly, even on a birthday, could do
+those two conflicting things.
+
+"Pooh!" laughed Mrs. Merrill, "that's easy! I was telling Dad the other
+night that inasmuch as this was the first birthday in the city and on
+Saturday and everything--so convenient for us all--we'd better do those
+very two things."
+
+"But how'll we do it, Mother?" asked Alice. "We can't stay home for a
+party while we're down town at the theater!"
+
+"To be sure, we can't," agreed Mrs. Merrill. "But we can stay home for a
+party _before_ we go down town for a show. And that's just what we're
+going to do. You hurry off to school now, dear, because it's ten of one.
+And next time you see Frances Westland, you invite her to come here for
+twelve o'clock luncheon a week from next Saturday. Be sure to tell her
+it's an all-afternoon party, so she can stay long enough to go down town
+with us."
+
+"And who else'll we have?" asked Mary Jane, when Alice had gone. "It
+wouldn't be a party with one person."
+
+"Of course not," said her mother. "There are going to be three folks.
+After school this very day you are going to invite Frances and Betty
+Holden--that'll make it almost a 'Frances' party, won't it? We'll ask them
+right away, even though a week from Saturday is a long time off, because
+Dadah will want to get the tickets and we will all want to make our
+plans."
+
+A week and five days seem a very long time, when you have to wait for
+them. But Mary Jane found that, after all, they went quicker than she had
+thought they could, because there was so much to do. First she had to
+decide what she wanted to have to eat at the luncheon. After much thought
+and consultation the menu was made out and tacked up on the kitchen
+cabinet for future reference. Mary Jane printed it out all by herself and
+the letters were big and plain and could be easily read by any
+cook--especially Mother. It said:
+
+                     CHICKEN BALLS
+                     HOT ROLLS
+                     FRUIT SALAD WITH WHIPPED CREAM
+                     ICE CREAM        CAKE
+                     HASHED BROWN POTATOES
+                     JELLY
+
+Chicken balls really meant chicken croquettes, but croquettes proved to be
+such a big and puzzling word that Mary Jane decided she would say balls
+and Mrs. Merrill agreed to take a verbal order for the croquette part of
+the luncheon.
+
+When the food was planned for, Mary Jane began to talk about the
+decorations. It was soon found that to be really pretty, the table
+trimmings would have to be made by the hostess herself, so Mary Jane set
+to work. From the advertising sections of magazines she cut letters about
+an inch high. Letters enough to spell everybody's first name and last
+initial. She had to have the last initial because two of her guests had
+the same first name. These she sorted very carefully and put in envelopes;
+one envelope for each person and just the right letters in that envelope
+for the person's name. Then, she planned, when the luncheon was all ready,
+she would put the letters in little piles in front of each person's place
+and let them puzzle out the names before they sat down.
+
+Mrs. Merrill promised to have a basket of flowers, spring flowers that
+Mary Jane loved so very much, in the center of the table. And Mary Jane
+planned to make a procession of girls and boys all around the basket.
+These she cut out of magazines too and she chose girls and boys who were
+doing all the things that she herself liked to do.
+
+With all these things, besides regular duties and fun, to keep her busy,
+Mary Jane didn't really have a chance to think her birthday was a long
+time coming. First thing _she_ knew it was Friday night and the birthday
+was the very next morning!
+
+On Saturday morning, she waked up knowing something nice was going to
+happen. Then, before her eyes were really open, she felt herself getting
+mother's birthday kisses and, before those were all delivered, Alice's
+birthday spats--six good big lively ones!
+
+"Never you mind, Alice," she promised, "just wait till it's _your_
+birthday and you'll get some of the hardest--"
+
+"Don't stop for promises," said Mr. Merrill, coming in to deliver his
+spats too, "what I want is breakfast and for the life of me, _I_ can't get
+into that dining-room."
+
+"_Oh!_" cried Mary Jane rapturously, "I'll be right out!"
+
+"Not till you get dressed, you know," Alice reminded her, "so do hurry!"
+For it was one of the rules of the Merrill household that birthdays and
+Christmases didn't really begin till folks were dressed. So Mary Jane
+scrabbled into her clothes and gave her face and hands about the most
+hurry-up washing they had ever had and then rushed out to the
+dining-room.
+
+And there, standing right by her chair, was the--yes, really--the very
+doll cart she had picked out! She was so happy that for a minute she
+couldn't speak, she just stared. The next minute she was down on her knees
+with her arms around the whole cart--or at least as much of the cart as
+two six-year-old arms could get around--and she was counting over all the
+wonderful virtues of her gift. It surely was a cart to make any little
+girl proud and when Mary Jane saw her own Georgiannamore, wearing a lovely
+new coat (Mrs. Merrill's gift), and a pair of really truly gloves (from
+Alice), and sitting up as big as life in the cart, she thought the
+happiest day of her life had come.
+
+After breakfast the morning raced by on wings. Of course Mary Jane had to
+show the cart and doll's clothes to Betty and they had to walk around the
+block to give the doll an airing. Then, just as they got back to Mary
+Jane's apartment, the postman came with a box from grandpa and grandma.
+Betty was invited up for the fun of opening it and she was glad to come
+both for the fun and for the big pieces of grandmother's candy that she
+got when the box was opened. Then there was the table to set and the
+puzzle letters to put around and everybody to dress in their best--that's
+a good deal for one morning. No wonder it seemed to be an unusually short
+one.
+
+At the very last minute, Mary Jane with her new white dress and pink
+ribbons all just as they should be, went in to the kitchen to see if she
+could help. And at that very minute a neighbor came in to get Mrs.
+Merrill's advice about an important matter.
+
+"Everything's ready now," said Mrs. Merrill, as she left the kitchen.
+"Only, I believe, Mary Jane, it would be a good idea for you to put that
+whipped cream into the ice box. We won't make the salad till they get here
+and I want to keep it stiff and cold."
+
+Now, Mary Jane had put things in the ice box many a time. Big things and
+little things and spilly things and all, and there was no reason in the
+world why she couldn't do it all right. No reason, except-- Just as she
+picked up the bowl of cream, the door bell rang a long, loud peal that she
+was sure must be her three guests coming all at once, so she hurried and
+the cream jiggled in the bowl, and slid over the edge--and all down the
+front of her best new dress!
+
+Fortunately Alice came into the kitchen just then, in time to see the
+accident, and to notice two big tears which popped into Mary Jane's eyes
+and threatened to spill down her cheeks.
+
+"Pooh!" she exclaimed comfortably, "don't you worry about a little thing
+like that, Mary Jane," and she made a grab for the bowl, rescued some of
+the cream and set it in the ice box. "I'll have you fixed up so soon that
+you won't know anything happened."
+
+"But it's all down my dress," said Mary Jane, trying her very best not to
+cry.
+
+[Illustration: "But it's all down my dress," said Mary Jane, trying her
+very best not to cry _Page 111_]
+
+"Oh, well," replied Alice, nothing daunted, "it's not going to stay there
+long." She took a clean cloth, dampened it with cold water and, with quick
+little dabs, scrubbed the cream all off the front of the birthday dress.
+Then she took a fresh cloth, and more cold water and, putting a big, clean
+towel under the front of the dress, scrubbed again till every trace of the
+cream was gone. Then she opened the oven door so the heat would help dry
+the wetness and with a fresh cloth rubbed and rubbed the wet place till it
+was entirely dry.
+
+"There now," she said, as she shook the dress into place, "I think the
+girls are here; let's go see." And immediately the accident that
+threatened to spoil Mary Jane's fun was forgotten.
+
+Sure enough, the girls had come and the party began at once.
+
+The letter puzzles for place cards proved to be lots of fun and filled in
+the time while Mrs. Merrill brought in the plates of good things to eat.
+Judging by the appetites Mary Jane's menu must have been a favorite with
+everybody, for the goodies disappeared by magic and Mrs. Merrill filled up
+plates and passed rolls and brought in salad and everything till she
+hardly had time to eat her own luncheon.
+
+The ice cream was a surprise even to Mary Jane. On the plate was, first, a
+big, round piece of cake; then, on top of that, was a slice of ice cream,
+white, and on top of _that_ a ball of pink ice cream with a pink candle,
+lighted, stuck in the top. They looked so pretty and bright that the girls
+hated to blow them out, but Mrs. Merrill said every one was to make a wish
+and then blow and if the candle went out on the first blow the wish would
+come true.
+
+Alice suddenly remembered that they were to take a train at one-thirty and
+that it was nearing one now, so the dessert was finished in a hurry, wraps
+were hastily put on and the whole party started for the train to meet Mr.
+Merrill and have the rest of the fun.
+
+
+
+
+LOST--ONE DOLL CART
+
+
+There was only one thing wrong about the birthday celebration and that was
+that the day was such a very busy, happy one that there was very little
+time for playing with the new doll cart. Of course Mary Jane and Betty
+took their dolls out for one airing in the morning soon after breakfast.
+But what is one little airing when one has a new cart? Nothing at all,
+Mary Jane thought. All through the luncheon and the ride down town and the
+play father took them to, which proved to be just the very most
+interesting kind of a play for little girls to see, Mary Jane kept
+thinking of her new cart and of the fun she would have on Monday when
+there was a whole day for Georgiannamore and the doll cart.
+
+So when Monday morning actually came Mary Jane lost no time getting up and
+doing her share of the morning work. Mary Jane was very particular about
+her morning work. She didn't want her mother to have to do the things a
+six-year-old girl was plenty big enough to do; and then, anyway, she knew
+it was lots more fun to work when two did the job than for one person to
+work alone. She picked up all the papers, and emptied the waste baskets,
+and cleaned the bathroom washstand and the kitchen sink--she liked those
+jobs the best because they were so scrubby and grown-up and
+interesting--and put out clean towels and dusted the living-room. Of
+course this was after the dishes were washed and put away; that was a job
+with which Alice helped too, before she started for school. So by the time
+Mary Jane was ready to play Mrs. Merrill was about through too, ready for
+sewing or baking or whatever she had to do that day.
+
+"I think I'd better help you take down your cart," suggested Mrs. Merrill,
+when the last job was finished. "It's not so easy for one person to take
+that cart down from the second floor. But it will be no trouble at all for
+you to take one end and me to take the other and carry it down together.
+Then you can put Georgiannamore in it before you start down and there'll
+be no danger of bouncing her out."
+
+"But how'll I get back up, Mother?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"Ring the bell three short taps and I'll come down to meet you," answered
+Mrs. Merrill. "Don't try to bring it up alone; it's far too heavy."
+
+Mary Jane dressed Georgiannamore in her very best dress, put on the new
+coat and gloves, tucked her carefully into the cart so she wouldn't catch
+cold by being out for a long walk, and then she and Mrs. Merrill carried
+the cart, oh, so very carefully, down stairs and out to the sidewalk.
+
+Fortunately, that May morning was bright and sunny; the breeze blew warm
+from the southland instead of cold and blustery from the lake, and it was
+the very best kind of a morning possible for being out of doors. Mary Jane
+walked around the block, starting toward the lake, then she went around
+the block the other way, and of course she went rather slowly because
+there was so much to see and to show Georgiannamore. Bright colored
+crocuses were blooming in all the yards where there were houses--and in
+that particular neighborhood there were many houses as well as
+apartments--tulips were bursting up through the ground and the lilac buds
+were swelling their plump green sides nearly to the bursting point.
+
+On the third time around, Mary Jane thought of school--to be sure, it
+couldn't be anywhere near time for school to be out, because the morning
+hadn't much more than begun, but then it would be fun to go around to the
+corner where the children crossed the street to go to school. There were
+so many automobiles whizzing around the streets that a little girl even as
+old as six couldn't be allowed to cross streets without a grown person or
+an older sister along.
+
+She went around the block to the corner where the children would come,
+after a while, and there, just as she turned to start back home, thinking
+she'd come here again nearer noon, she heard a commotion. Looking down the
+half block to the yard around the school house she heard a bell peal out
+and saw, yes, truly, crowds of children coming out of school! And just as
+she was about to look around to see if there was a fire or a parade or
+anything special to cause school to be dismissed early, she heard the
+whistles blow for noon--the morning was gone! That's how time flies when a
+person has a new doll cart!
+
+Mary Jane waited at the corner till Alice and Frances and Betty came along
+together and they all four walked home.
+
+"You shouldn't bother to carry your cart clear upstairs every time,"
+suggested Frances, "when our front porch is so handy. Just run the cart up
+on the porch, lock the brake and it will be safe as can be till you eat
+your lunch."
+
+Alice thought that was a good idea too, so the cart was left there, locked
+with the brake, and with the understanding that if Mrs. Merrill didn't
+approve, the girls would come down and get it at once.
+
+Lunch was ready and waiting, so the cart stayed on the porch while the
+girls ate and then Mary Jane walked back toward school as far as she was
+allowed to go.
+
+By the time Mary Jane got back in front of her own apartment, Mrs. Merrill
+was ready to go and do her marketing and errands and of course Mary Jane
+and Georgiannamore went along and had a beautiful time--especially when
+they looked in the windows and saw all the good things to eat. Mary Jane
+had thought that she knew every sort of good thing a person could possibly
+want to eat, but she soon found out that she didn't. For in one of the
+windows they passed she saw a tray of apples, covered with something slick
+and brown and carrying in their stem ends a small smooth stick like a
+butcher's skewer.
+
+"What are they, Mother?" she exclaimed. "Don't they look _good_! And may
+we buy some?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill went inside the store and Mary Jane, anxiously watching her
+mother through the window, waited outside with the doll and cart. She saw
+her mother speak to the salesman, look at the apples and then, oh, joy!
+saw him pick out four fine ones under Mrs. Merrill's direction and put
+them in a paper bag.
+
+"He says they are called Taffy Apples," explained Mrs. Merrill when she
+came out, "and that all the girls and boys like them very much. So I
+didn't bother to consult you," she added with a twinkle in her eye. "I
+bought some for you four girls to eat after school--just on a chance that
+you might like them."
+
+The bag was carefully tucked in under the folds of Georgiannamore's robe
+and the walking and shopping were resumed, but all the time, Mary Jane
+kept her eye on the hump made by the bag of apples and kept wishing that
+time for school to be out would hurry up and come. Some good fairy must
+have heard the wishes too, for the afternoon hurried by almost as fast as
+the morning and first thing Mary Jane knew they were all through the
+errands and were going down the street toward the school, ready to meet
+Alice.
+
+"Do you like 'Taffy Apples'?" Mary Jane asked Betty as soon as she came
+out of the school yard.
+
+"Like 'em--u-um!" replied Betty expressively.
+
+"Well," continued Mary Jane slowly, so the surprise wouldn't be over too
+soon, "I've got one in there," pointing to the cart.
+
+Betty eyed the hump Mary Jane pointed out and smiled knowingly.
+
+"It looks like more than one," she suggested hopefully.
+
+"It is more than one," answered Mary Jane delightedly; "it's four--all for
+us."
+
+"Can we eat 'em now?" demanded Betty.
+
+"Better wait till we get home," suggested Mrs. Merrill; "that won't be
+more than five minutes and then there won't be any danger of stumbling and
+running a stick into your throats."
+
+The two little girls didn't loiter much after that. They skipped along
+briskly and soon were ahead of Mrs. Merrill and Alice and Frances.
+
+"I'll tell you what," said Betty, as they turned into her own yard, "let's
+put the cart up on the porch while I get my doll and then when we get
+through eating our apples we'll be all ready to go walking."
+
+She picked up the front end and Mary Jane took the handle end and they set
+the cart up at the end of the porch and went into the house. Fortunately
+Mary Jane took Georgiannamore along with her into the house; if she
+hadn't--but then, that's getting ahead of the story.
+
+The little girls had no more than gone inside before Mrs. Merrill, Alice
+and Frances turned the corner and strolled along toward the Holden house.
+
+"Funny where those girls have gone," said Frances, looking at the empty
+porch.
+
+"They've hid our Taffy Apples somewhere, I just know they have!" said
+Alice. "Frances, we ought to be smart enough to find them so quickly they
+won't try teasing again."
+
+"I don't believe they've hidden the apples," said Frances thoughtfully,
+"because Betty would be so hungry she wouldn't bother with teasing till
+after she was through eating. Maybe they've gone into the house to get
+Betty's doll and cart."
+
+"But why would they bother to take Mary Jane's cart indoors if Betty was
+just going in for her doll?" asked Alice.
+
+Before Frances or Mrs. Merrill could suggest an answer, the two little
+girls themselves came out of the front door, turned to look at the porch
+and then stood there, as though fastened to the floor--they were that
+surprised.
+
+"Why--why--" said Mary Jane, "I left it right here!"
+
+"Well, nobody ever stole anything before," said Betty. "Maybe the boys
+just hid it!"
+
+"No, they didn't," replied Frances, "because they haven't come home from
+school yet. They stopped to see Jimmie's new chicken house and they won't
+be home for an hour."
+
+"What's the trouble?" asked Mrs. Holden, who, hearing voices, came to the
+front door to invite folks in for a visit.
+
+"Trouble enough, Mother," said Frances, worriedly. "Mary Jane left her
+brand new doll cart on our porch and it's gone!"
+
+"And we just went in to get my doll," explained Betty, getting very
+excited. "We just went in a little minute and then we were going to eat
+the taffy apples and now they're gone too--oh, dear!"
+
+At that minute, yes, things really do happen this way sometimes, who
+should go by the house but the big friendly policeman who always stood at
+the street corner nearest the school to guard the children from swiftly
+moving autos. Betty spied him and ran down the walk to speak to him.
+
+"So the cart's gone, is it?" he said as he and Betty came up toward the
+house. "Well, if you'll let me use your 'phone, I'll tell them down at the
+station just what kind of a cart it is and maybe we can get a trace of
+it--anyway, we can try."
+
+Mrs. Holden went indoors with him and the others stood around on the porch
+hardly knowing what to do. Losing her cart was a real calamity to poor
+Mary Jane--she very well knew that her father couldn't afford to get her
+another one and she had hard work, awfully hard work, to keep back the
+tears that came to her eyes and to swallow the lump that filled her
+throat. She didn't want to be a crybaby, but--and the lump got bigger and
+bigger--
+
+Mrs. Merrill noticed that Mary Jane was trying so very hard to be brave so
+she did her best to help.
+
+"Wasn't it lucky that officer came by just then!" she said cheerfully. "I
+can't for the life of me see why anybody would be mean enough to steal a
+little girl's doll cart and I keep thinking we'll find it somewhere. Come
+on, Mary Jane, let's sit down on this settee here till Mrs. Holden comes
+out. Then perhaps some of you girls will be good enough to go up to the
+candy shop with me and get some more taffy apples--I suppose those went
+with the cart!"
+
+Mary Jane stepped over toward her mother, who had already seated herself
+on the settee at the end of the porch. But before she sat down she just
+happened to look down toward the ground. The Holden porch had no railing
+around the side and as Mary Jane was always a little timid about falling
+she kept a close watch on the end of the porch every time she went near
+it. She glanced down at the ground and then--her face changed! The
+sorrowful look vanished and smiles spread like sunshine over her face.
+
+"Look!" she exclaimed, as she pointed to the ground. "Look there!"
+
+
+
+
+A TRIP TO THE ZOO
+
+
+It wasn't hard to guess what Mary Jane had found; nothing but her precious
+doll cart could have made her feel and look so happy. They all ran to the
+end of the porch, looked over the edge, and there, sure enough, was the
+birthday cart all tumbled down in a heap. Alice and Frances jumped down,
+set it up straight and then, with Mrs. Merrill's help from above, lifted
+it up to the porch just as the policeman and Mrs. Holden came out of the
+house.
+
+"Bless my soul!" exclaimed the officer. "Another cart?"
+
+"No, it's mine!" cried Mary Jane happily. She ran her hands over the hood,
+the body part and then the wheels to make sure nothing was broken.
+Everything seemed all right, even the bag of taffy apples was still tucked
+under the carriage robe that had come loose but had not fallen clear out.
+
+"Yours?" asked the officer. "But I thought yours was lost!"
+
+"It was," admitted Mary Jane, "but it isn't any more."
+
+Mrs. Merrill hastened to explain that the cart had just then been
+discovered on the ground at the end of the porch.
+
+"I know what was the trouble," said Frances, "she didn't fasten the
+brake--did you, Mary Jane?"
+
+Mary Jane and the policeman bent down to inspect the brake. No, it wasn't
+fastened.
+
+"It wouldn't take much of a breeze to blow that cart off the porch, young
+lady," said the officer, laughingly, "and so I suggest that if you ever
+want to leave your doll in the cart, you'd better be sure the brake is
+locked. You might have a smashed doll instead of a lost cart to report and
+then things wouldn't be so easy to straighten out!" And with a pleasant
+good-by he went on about his business.
+
+Left alone the two mothers looked at each other and laughed--such an easy
+ending to disappointment didn't often come! The four girls made a dive for
+the bag of apples and settled themselves on the broad front steps for a
+few minutes of real enjoyment. Mary Jane found that taffy apples were a
+lot of fun to eat. The hard, slick surface was delicious to "lick" and
+then, when a small part was licked thin, it was fun to bite right straight
+through to the apple.
+
+"If you think they're good now," said Frances, "you should taste them in
+the fall when the fresh apples are in--yummy-um!"
+
+"These are good enough for me," said Betty contentedly and she bit off a
+big chunk of apple.
+
+"Betty Holden!" exclaimed Frances with big sisterly chagrin, "you look
+like a monkey with that apple all over your face!"
+
+"Oh, fiddle!" replied Betty indifferently, "I like monkeys."
+
+"Did you ever see one?" asked Mary Jane, "a really truly live one?"
+
+Betty stared. "Why of course!" she answered, "haven't you?"
+
+Mary Jane shook her head.
+
+"Well then you ought to go up to the Zoo," she said positively, "let's all
+go." She jumped up and ran over to her mother. "Mother!" she announced,
+"Mary Jane's never seen a monkey--never! Can't we take her up to the Zoo
+and show 'em to her?"
+
+"Never seen a monkey!" exclaimed Mrs. Holden and she was as surprised as
+Betty had been, "are you sure?"
+
+"Yes, Betty's right," said Mrs. Merrill. "Mary Jane has seen a great many
+things for a little girl who has just had her sixth birthday. But she
+hasn't seen a monkey. Her father and I were saying only last night that we
+must take the girls up to the Zoo as soon as possible."
+
+"Let's all go next Saturday," suggested Mrs. Holden, "no, we can't go next
+Saturday because the girls and I have some shopping to do. Let's go a week
+from Saturday. By that time the restaurant in Lincoln Park will be open.
+The way we do," she explained to the Merrills, "is to take our lunch, a
+picnic lunch, with us. We start up about eleven, eat over by the lake and
+then have the whole afternoon for watching the animals; we eat dinner in
+that nice restaurant, before dark, and then come home in the early
+evening. Can you all go on that day?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill said she was sure they could, so plans were made right then
+and there.
+
+Mary Jane and Alice thought those two weeks, or nearly two weeks, never
+would pass. Of course there was the doll cart to play with and Mary Jane
+loved it exactly as much as ever. But she did want to see the monkeys, and
+the foxes (Betty told her she would love the foxes!) and all the creatures
+that Betty seemed to know so much about and which she had never even
+seen.
+
+But at last the morning came, warm and sunny and clear and the lunch boxes
+were packed, the apartment locked up and everybody started toward Lincoln
+Park feeling happy and ready for fun. The fathers couldn't come for lunch,
+but really when all the Holden girls and boys were added to the three
+Merrills, there was such a crowd that, for the time at least, fathers
+weren't so very much missed.
+
+When they reached the park Mary Jane realized, for the first time, how
+close it was getting to really truly summer. The sun shone with real
+summer warmth, the lake was blue and beautiful and flowers bloomed on
+every corner.
+
+"Oh, I'd just like to live in a park all the time," she exclaimed as she
+looked around her, "it seems just like home!"
+
+"Yes, it does," said Mrs. Merrill, with a wee bit of a sigh, "I'm afraid I
+know some folks who are going to miss their gardens and flower bed this
+summer."
+
+"How stupid of me not to have thought of that!" exclaimed Mrs. Holden.
+"You know it will be just two weeks now till we go up to the lake for all
+the summer. Why didn't I think to have you plant stuff in our back garden?
+Then you could have all the garden you liked right there handy--we always
+do hate to leave the ground idle."
+
+"Perhaps we might plant something even yet," suggested Mrs. Merrill, much
+delighted with the idea, "we'd love to try."
+
+But there was no time for further planning just then--John Holden demanded
+his lunch; Betty made a lively second and in a minute or two a clean
+grassy place was picked out, the individual lunch boxes were passed out
+and then, for a few minutes, everybody was quiet.
+
+"I'm going to feed the black bear," announced Betty, as she paused to pick
+out another sandwich, "I'm going to feed him peanuts--I saved up enough
+money for two bagsful."
+
+"But aren't you afraid of him?" asked Mary Jane breathlessly.
+
+"Afraid? Pooh!" grunted Betty.
+
+"Never you mind, Mary Jane," said Linn comfortingly, "she was afraid the
+first time she saw him and I remember all about it. But now she's learned
+that he can't get out the cage."
+
+"Now, Linn, I never--" began Betty.
+
+But John interrupted. "There!" he said, "I'm through. Come on, let's
+gather up the boxes and papers and stick 'em in the trash box on the way
+to get the peanuts." So the children all helped and in a jiffy the pretty,
+grassy spot where they had eaten lunch was as clean and tidy as when they
+came. And then away they scampered after the peanuts.
+
+Such an afternoon as it was! Mary Jane tried to remember each thing they
+did so she could tell her father when he met them after three o'clock. But
+she couldn't remember half what they had done. She knew they saw the
+little foxes--such pretty, dainty white and tan colored foxes that played
+together like little pet kittens and made her want to hold them in her lap
+and pet them. She knew they saw the bears--great big bears and middle
+sized bears and little bit o' bears just like in the story book, and she
+fed them peanuts which they caught very deftly in their soft cushioned
+paws. But all the rest, she really couldn't remember in the right
+order--there were kangaroos and buffaloes and a giraffe who stuck his long
+neck over the top of a great high fence and made Mary Jane think of
+nothing so much as a funny paper picture. And then of course the
+monkeys--dozens of them and queer birds with curious colored feathers and
+funny bills and feet. Really, she had seen in that one afternoon, more
+animals than she had guessed lived in the whole world, oh, many more!
+
+"But have you seen the seals?" asked Mr. Merrill who met them at the bird
+house.
+
+No, they hadn't.
+
+"It's almost four o'clock," said Mr. Merrill, looking at his watch, "and
+Mr. Holden said they ate at four and we should meet him there, so let's
+hurry."
+
+It was a good thing they did hurry for other folks seemed to know, too,
+that the seals were fed at four. From all directions, folks could be seen
+walking toward the big enclosed pond where the seals were kept. But, by
+hurrying, they got there in time to stand close to the iron fence where
+they could see the antics of those queerest of animals, the seals.
+
+One would suppose that even the seals knew it was nearly four o'clock,
+dinner time, for they were so excited and eager. They barked and swam and
+flung themselves around vigorously as though they could hardly stand
+waiting for anything. Then, just at four, a man came out of a near-by
+building. In his hand he carried a basket of fish--a great, well-filled
+basket. He came over to a little platform close by where the Merrill and
+Holden children were standing; so they could see everything.
+
+He picked up a big fish, tossed it over into the rocky island in the
+middle of the seals' pond and then! such a scrambling as there was till
+the middle-sized seal with a few ungainly flops, grabbed the fish and
+gulped it down in one bite.
+
+Then he threw another fish and another and another--one after the other so
+fast that Mary Jane felt sure the seals must get all mixed up about
+catching them. But they didn't. Those seals must have been smarter than
+folks had thought for they seemed to know, every time, just about where
+the fish was to hit on the rocks and to know, too, just how to get to that
+particular spot the quickest. Mary Jane thought it very wonderful.
+
+But one thing worried her. There was one small seal, who for some reason
+or other, seemed to be always just a second too late to get a fish. Mary
+Jane was sure he had had but one and all the others had had, oh, a lot.
+And she couldn't help wishing all the others wouldn't be quite so grabby.
+
+When the man who was feeding the seals got almost to the bottom of his big
+basket, he stopped and looked at the crowd of children assembled for the
+feeding. And as he looked, he spied Mary Jane's sober little face.
+
+"Don't you like to watch them?" he asked her in surprise.
+
+"Yes, I like to only they're so grabby," she replied promptly, "and he
+hasn't had but one." She pointed out the little seal who was a bit too
+slow.
+
+"We'll fix that," said the keeper, kindly, "you just watch."
+
+He tossed a great big fish close to the crowd of waiting seals, then,
+quick as a flash and before they had had time to get that one, he tossed
+another, straight at the little seal who was on the edge of the crowd.
+
+"He got it! He got it!" cried Mary Jane happily, "he got it before they
+had a chance!"
+
+"And he's going to get another," said the keeper as he threw another and
+still another, straight at the hungry little seal. "There!" he added as he
+looked at the now empty basket, "that ought to do him till to-morrow."
+Mary Jane thought he looked so comfortable now that surely he had had as
+much as he needed for the day.
+
+"Better hurry if we're to see the lions eat," said Mr. Holden, who during
+the seals' dining hour had come up behind his little party.
+
+"Lions!" exclaimed Mary Jane.
+
+"Yes, hurry up!" called Betty and she and her brother who were quite
+familiar with the park because of many previous visits, ran on toward a
+big brick house near by.
+
+Mary Jane wasn't afraid, but all the same she thought it would be more fun
+to hold her father's hand and even though they were a bit behind, they got
+into the lions' house in time.
+
+Here the dinner was of meat, great big chunks of raw, red meat that the
+keepers tossed into the cages. And it was so funny to watch! Just before
+the keeper appeared, the lions and tigers and jackals and leopards were
+pacing up and down their cages with such weird roars and grunts and growls
+that Mary Jane held tightly to her father's hand and didn't go very close
+to the iron bars. But when the keepers appeared with the meat there was a
+wild scramble, and then silence except for the crunching and smacking of
+eating. It certainly was different, oh, very, very different from anything
+Mary Jane had ever seen before!
+
+"Let's not wait here any more," suggested Alice, "let's show Dadah the
+monkeys."
+
+"Yes, and the foxes--the white ones," said Mary Jane, "they're my
+favorites of all."
+
+But before they had had time to show Mr. Merrill every single creature
+they had seen, the Holden boys announced that they were hungry and that it
+was long past dinner time. And sure enough! Even though it wasn't really
+long _past_ dinner time, it _was_ half past five--the time they had agreed
+upon for dinner. So a very jolly party seated themselves at a big round
+table on a second story porch of the Park restaurant. That was the nicest
+place to eat Mary Jane had ever seen--unless perhaps a diner on a train.
+For after they gave their order, she discovered that they could look right
+down on a small lake where ducks and geese and swans lived. The children
+got so interested watching the pretty creatures that for once they didn't
+have time to think the waiter was slow!
+
+They stayed there eating and watching the birds, till the sun set back of
+the trees. Then, when there wasn't another scrap of cake or teaspoonful of
+ice cream left, they gathered up wraps and hats and started for home.
+
+"I know one thing," said sleepy Mary Jane as they waited for the bus that
+was to take them to their train. "I know there're a lot more animal folks
+in the world than I thought for--oh, a lot more! And I think I'd better
+come again to see them all."
+
+
+
+
+A DAY IN THE PARKS
+
+
+A whole long vacation begun! Alice home all day and plenty of time for
+walks and playing together! It seemed almost too good to be true. For
+although Alice was several years older than her sister Mary Jane, the two
+girls had always had very happy times playing together and they had missed
+each other very much during school days. Now that the Holden family was
+away, for they went off, bag and baggage, to their country home up in
+Wisconsin the very day school closed, the two girls had no one near by to
+play with, so more than ever before they needed and enjoyed each other's
+company. Frances Westland had gone back to the country and the Merrill
+girls had not made friends with anyone who lived near enough to make a
+convenient playmate.
+
+They didn't do as some girls and boys do in vacation, get up late in the
+morning. No, they thought it was more fun to get up promptly and have
+breakfast with Dadah and then, when the afternoon got hot, as often
+happened, they took a nice long rest and dressed fresh and clean for
+dinner. On many a day Mrs. Merrill packed a basket of dinner and they met
+Mr. Merrill over by the park, had their dinner near one of the small
+lagoons or close to the big lake. After dinner they played ball or
+tennis--Alice was learning to be very good at tennis.
+
+"I wish there were swans in our park," said Mary Jane as she sat on the
+edge of the lagoon and watched the row boats and the electric launches
+gliding about on the water. "I liked those swans at Lincoln Park."
+
+"I was just thinking to-day," said Mr. Merrill, "we haven't seen all the
+parks and I promised you, that you should see them--all the big ones
+anyway. I wonder when we could go, mother?"
+
+"I wonder _how_ we could go," said Mrs. Merrill, "the parks are so far
+apart that a journey through them all would be a hopeless task, seems to
+me."
+
+"Depends on how you do it," laughed Mr. Merrill. "I'll tell you what I
+thought. I'll take the whole day away from the office so as to go along.
+We'll start fairly early and take the elevated out to Garfield Park--you
+know we promised the girls a trip on the elevated and we've always taken
+the train! We'll see that park well, you know it has gardens and
+greenhouses and lakes, and then we'll get a taxi and go to two or three
+other parks and ride home."
+
+The girls thought that was a wonderful plan and they wanted to set the day
+for that very same week. So Thursday was decided upon.
+
+"Now there's one thing besides getting a good lunch ready that I want you
+folks to do," said Mr. Merrill as they picked up their baskets and balls
+ready to go home, "I want you to get out that map of Chicago we had on the
+train the day we came up here and find just where Garfield Park is and how
+we get there and how many interesting sights like rivers and parks and
+boulevards we pass on the way." And of course the girls promised that they
+would find the map and get all that information first thing in the
+morning.
+
+Riding on the elevated proved to be great fun. Mary Jane was afraid for a
+few minutes she wasn't going to like it--the stairs were so very high up
+with holes in each step to see down to the ground; and the train dashed to
+the platform with such a roar and bustle and people crowded on and jerk!
+the train rushed off. But when she settled down in the seat, comfortingly
+near her mother, and looked out over the roofs of houses and stores, and
+down long streets, one after another, she found she wasn't a bit afraid
+and that she liked it very much. She liked watching for children on folks'
+back porches. Some played on the porch and some played in the dining-room
+windows--it was easy to tell which were the dining-room windows because
+always there were three big windows and always she could look right
+through the curtains and see the big table in the middle of the room. The
+only trouble with watching folks from an elevated was that the train
+dashed by so quickly she couldn't any more than see, till--flash, flash,
+and they were gone and there was another street and another set of back
+stairs and some different children playing. It really was awfully queer.
+
+Pretty soon they reached the big down town and there they got off their
+train, climbed over a big bridge to another elevated train and away they
+went whizzing again. It certainly was a queer way to travel, Mary Jane
+thought.
+
+But finally father announced that they had come to Garfield Park, so they
+got off, walked down the stairs to a park that looked so much like their
+own park that Mary Jane had to rub her eyes and look twice to make sure
+she wasn't dreaming. Here were the same winding driveways, beautiful trees
+and small lakes.
+
+"Did we come back to our Park?" she asked in surprise.
+
+"Oh, no," answered Alice who had run on a little ahead, "look at the big
+greenhouse and look back there! Now don't you see the swans?"
+
+No, it wasn't their own neighborhood park, Mary Jane soon realized that,
+because there were many new things to be seen. The wonderful tropical
+greenhouse where palms and bananas and wonderful ferns such as the girls
+had seen in Florida were growing. And then there were beautiful out of
+door gardens--Mary Jane liked those even better than the greenhouse
+gardens, wonderful as those were. She seemed to feel, someway, as though
+the flowers must like the out of doors better.
+
+Right in the middle of the many lovely flower beds in the out of doors
+gardens, there was a lily pool in which grew water lilies of all colors
+and sorts. Mary Jane had never seen water lilies before and she thought
+them very lovely--and rather queer too, if the truth must be told. She
+decided she would stay right there a while and let Alice and her father
+explore the rest of the gardens--they wanted to know names of flowers and
+names didn't seem a bit interesting to the little girl.
+
+Just after she had decided to stay there and play, she spied a boy of
+about her age who was watching the lilies too.
+
+"Can you walk all the way around the edge?" he asked her.
+
+"Edge of what?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"The edge of the pool," he replied, "see," and he put his foot up on the
+stone rim of the pool, "all the way around on this."
+
+"Can you?" asked Mary Jane. She wanted to see what he would say before she
+answered his question.
+
+"Sure!" he replied, "it's just as easy! Only girls are 'fraidies."
+
+"I guess I'm not," declared Mary Jane firmly, "watch!" She stepped up on
+the stone rim--it was about eight inches wide--and walked boldly along
+toward the middle of the long side of the pool.
+
+"You can, can't you," said the boy admiringly.
+
+"Just as easy," replied Mary Jane, for when she found she could do what he
+had asked she was anxious to have it appear to be as easy for her as for
+him.
+
+"Come on," the boy suggested, "let's race!"
+
+"Race?" asked Mary Jane, "how?"
+
+"'Round the pool. You start this way, and I'll start that way and the one
+that gets around home first beats."
+
+"All right," agreed Mary Jane, "let's."
+
+Now before Mary Jane saw the boy by the pool, Mrs. Merrill spied some very
+beautiful grasses over at one side of the gardens; the very sort of
+grasses, she decided, that Mary Jane's grandmother would like to use in
+her flower beds by the driveways. And of course she wanted to find out the
+names of the grasses so she could write to grandmother about them. Seeing
+that Mary Jane was so absorbed in the pool and the lilies, she slipped
+over to look at the name sign which she knew would be stuck right by the
+roots. She jotted the name down in her note book, looked along at a few
+others and--turned back to the pool just in time to see her small daughter
+and a strange boy run racingly along the rim of the pool straight at each
+other.
+
+"Mary Jane! Mary Jane!" she called, "jump down onto the ground! Jump
+down!"
+
+Whether Mary Jane heard her and became confused, or whether the boy's
+bumping into her made her lose her balance, nobody ever quite found out.
+But anyway, right before Mrs. Merrill's astonished eyes, Mary Jane Merrill
+tumbled 'kplump--into the lily pool!
+
+Fortunately the lily pool wasn't very deep so Mary Jane didn't fall far.
+But she did hit the bottom pretty hard; so hard that when she bobbed up,
+her head out of water and her feet on the bottom, she hardly knew what had
+happened to her.
+
+Mrs. Merrill screamed and Mr. Merrill, Alice, three policemen and about
+twenty other people came running to see what had happened. It wasn't
+necessary for anybody to jump in and make a triumphant rescue for Mary
+Jane was so close to shore that Mrs. Merrill had taken firm hold of her
+hand and pulled her out just as all the folks got there. So there was
+nothing for them to do but to stare and to ask questions.
+
+"How did she do it?" asked the first policeman.
+
+"Hurt you any?" asked the second.
+
+"You and your mother come with me," said the third (and Mary Jane guessed
+right away from his voice that he must have some little girls of his own),
+"and I'll show you where you can dry your clothes."
+
+The procession of policemen and onlookers, led by a very wet and greatly
+embarrassed little girl, crossed the gardens, crossed the street and went
+into a comfortable big building. There a kindly matron produced a big
+bathrobe in which Mary Jane sat while her dress was wrung out and dried.
+And wasn't she glad there was a good hot sun so things could dry quickly!
+
+Finally, when Mary Jane was beginning to get awfully hungry, mother
+announced that the clothes were dry and that she had pulled and stretched
+them the best she could in the place of ironing. So Mary Jane dressed and
+they went in search of Alice and her father.
+
+"Well, you certainly do mix up baths with your picnics," laughed Mr.
+Merrill when he saw them coming. "Remember the time you fell into
+Clearwater, Pussy?"
+
+"But it isn't so bad, really, Dadah," said Mary Jane, "and I'm not wet
+now."
+
+"So you're not," said Mr. Merrill, "but _I_ am hungry--anybody agree with
+me?"
+
+They all admitted to being nearly starved, so they found a pretty, grassy
+spot close by the lake on which several beautiful swans were sunning
+themselves, and there they spread out the luncheon they had brought. At
+first the girls were so hungry they didn't want to do anything but eat.
+But by the time they had eaten a plateful of potato salad and three or
+four sandwiches, the swans discovered their lunching place and came to
+call. Evidently swans were used to being treated very nicely by folks who
+came to the park for they didn't seem to have a trace of fear of
+strangers.
+
+The girls tossed the crusts of the sandwiches to the edge of the water and
+the swans bent their long necks and picked them up and ate them, every
+crust, so daintily just as though crusts were a diet fit for kings--and
+swans. The swans didn't actually come out of the water, but they came so
+close to the shore that the girls could almost touch them and they soon
+got to feeling very well acquainted.
+
+So it was with some regret that they heard Mr. Merrill say, "Well, girls,
+weren't we to see some of the other parks too?" And here it was four
+o'clock!
+
+The basket was packed--and there wasn't a scrap of anything a swan could
+eat, you may be sure of that--and they strolled down to the roadway. In a
+minute or two Mr. Merrill hailed a passing taxi and they settled
+themselves for a nice long ride.
+
+They didn't stop at any other park; Mary Jane was sure no other could be
+as interesting as the one where she had had such exciting experiences and
+Alice was quite as content as her father and mother to sit back, cool and
+comfortable, and see the beautiful flowers and shrubbery slip past them.
+So they rode and rode through one park after another, it seemed, till
+suddenly Mary Jane spied something that looked familiar.
+
+"That's my Midway!" she announced, as the car turned into the long, broad
+stretch of parkway near their own home.
+
+"Sure enough it is!" exclaimed Mr. Merrill in pretended amazement, "we'll
+have to turn around and go back!"
+
+"No we won't," said Mary Jane, "we'll go home."
+
+So they went on home, just in time to cook a good warm dinner and to talk
+over and over again the many things they had seen in the parks.
+
+
+
+
+VISITORS--AND A BOAT RIDE
+
+
+One day, not so very long after the trip through the parks, the bell at
+the Merrills' front door pealed long and hard. Mary Jane, whose job was
+answering the door, ran to the little house 'phone, and heard a loud voice
+shout, "Special for Merrill!"
+
+"What's he mean, mother?" she asked, in a puzzled voice.
+
+"Better press the buzzer and let him in, dear," replied Mrs. Merrill, "if
+he has the name right he must have something for us."
+
+So Mary Jane pressed the downstairs buzzer and then opened the front door.
+Yes, it was for them--a special delivery letter for Mrs. Merrill. Mary
+Jane and Alice were much excited and could hardly wait till the
+messenger's book was signed and the letter was opened.
+
+"It's from grandma," said Mrs. Merrill as she glanced at the writing, "and
+listen! This is what she says:
+
+"'Grandpa finds quite unexpectedly that he must come to Chicago on
+business and he says that if it's convenient to you folks I can come along
+and we'll stay two or three days for a visit. Please wire reply because we
+must start Wednesday evening.'"
+
+"And it's ten o'clock Wednesday morning now!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill. She
+hurried to the telephone, called Mr. Merrill so he could send a telegram
+at once, then she and the two girls went right to work making ready for
+the guests.
+
+It was decided that Alice and Mary Jane should sleep on couches and give
+up their room to the visitors. "Now's when I wish we had our nice guest
+room," said Mrs. Merrill, "but then, grandma knows that folks who live in
+Chicago flats don't keep guest rooms for infrequent visitors." For her
+part, Mary Jane thought sleeping on a couch would be great fun--so grown
+up and different from every day. She was to have the dining-room couch and
+Alice was to sleep in the living-room. When all plans were made, bedding
+sorted out and laid ready for making up the beds fresh first thing in the
+morning, Mrs. Merrill began planning the meals. If the visitors were to
+stay only a short time she wanted to have as much baking and marketing as
+possible done beforehand, so every minute could be spent in fun and
+visiting. Alice and Mary Jane, who had been marketing so much with their
+mother of late that they really could be trusted, took a long list up to
+the grocery and Mrs. Merrill set to work baking coffeecake and bread and
+cookies. Um-m! It wasn't an hour till that tiny kitchen began to smell so
+good that the girls could hardly be coaxed away. Mrs. Merrill let them
+help in a good many ways. Mary Jane put the sugar and nuts on the tops of
+the cookies after her mother put them in the pan and Alice, who was
+getting to be a really good cook, tended to the baking. She put the big
+pans in, and watched the baking, and took them out when every cookie was
+evenly browned. Then, after she took a pan out of the oven, she gently
+lifted the hot cookies out from the baking pan onto a wire rack where they
+could cool without losing their pretty shapes. When the cookies were cool,
+it was Mary Jane's turn again. She put them all in the tin cookie box,
+counting them and laying them neatly between layers of paraffin paper so
+they would keep fresh even in the hot weather.
+
+It was a rule that only perfect cookies should be packed away--scraps
+never went into the tin box. But for some reason or other, the girls never
+seemed to mind the job of eating the broken ones! In fact Mary Jane often
+asked Alice _not_ to be so careful--to please break a few so there would
+be plenty to eat right then and there.
+
+The day went by so quickly that it was bed time before the girls realized
+it and then, after about forty winks, it was morning--the morning when
+grandma and grandpa were coming.
+
+Everybody was up early, Alice and Mary Jane made up the beds fresh and
+neat, mother cooked a good breakfast and Dadah went to the train, at a
+near-by suburban station, to meet the travelers. It was a jolly party that
+sat around the breakfast table--you may be sure of that!
+
+"Now then," said Mr. Merrill, when the breakfast was eaten up and news of
+the farm had been told, "I'll have to go to work and I suppose grandpa has
+to do his business to-day, so we'll leave you folks to yourselves. Then
+to-morrow, if grandpa is through his business, we can plan some fun."
+
+So the two business folks went down town and grandma was left to enjoy
+life at home. The girls were glad she could stay.
+
+"Let's take grandma over to the lake," suggested Alice, "I know you'd love
+riding in one of those little electric launches, grandmother."
+
+"Let's take some lunch and not come home till she's seen everything in
+Chicago," said Mary Jane in a rush of hospitality.
+
+"Dear me! Child!" exclaimed grandma in dismay, "don't you know there's
+another day coming!"
+
+Mary Jane agreed to leave a few sights for the next day, but she didn't
+want to lose any time getting off. Fortunately the morning work didn't
+take but a tiny bit of time, and as grandma, who didn't care much for
+"stuffy sleepers," was very glad to get out into the fresh air, they very
+soon were on their way to the park.
+
+The girls felt quite at home in the neighborhood and in the park by this
+time, and they thought it was great fun to show the sights to somebody
+else--somebody who didn't know all about Chicago. Grandma loved the
+beautiful Midway, the charming lagoons and she enjoyed her ride on the
+little launch fully as much as the girls had thought she would.
+
+"But don't you have any _big_ boats?" she asked, "great big ones with two
+decks and lots of passengers and all that? I'd like to ride on a big boat
+too."
+
+"Then that's exactly what we'll do to-morrow, mother," said Mrs. Merrill.
+"There is a big boat that runs from Jackson Park up to the municipal pier.
+We'll go on it to-morrow and we'll get our lunch up town and then we'll
+come back home on the boat."
+
+And that's exactly what they did.
+
+When Mr. Merrill heard that grandma wanted a ride on a big boat, the plans
+for the next day were as good as made. He thought the idea of going to
+town on the boat and then getting lunch and coming home was a fine one and
+he only made one change in the plan.
+
+"Instead of going to a store, in the loop, let's take one of the little
+launches that run from the Municipal pier to Lincoln Park and go up there
+for our lunch so grandma can see your favorite swans and perhaps, if we
+want to stay that long, see the seals get their four o'clock tea." But
+dear me, he little guessed what would happen as his nice-sounding plan
+worked out!
+
+So the next morning, the Merrills all had a nice, leisurely, visity
+breakfast, then a walk through the park, and never did the park look
+lovelier than on the sunny summer morning, and then, boarding the boat
+that rocked at the pier on the big lake, they found comfortable seats on
+the shady side and prepared for a pleasant ride.
+
+Mary Jane chose to sit on the side nearest the pier because she loved to
+look down from the upper deck and watch the people boarding the boat. She
+had never ridden on boats very much, only when she went to Florida, and
+this boat they were now aboard seemed very different from the big,
+awkward, flat bottomed boat they took their river trip on through Florida
+jungles.
+
+"You don't need to sit by me if you want to talk to mother," she said to
+her father.
+
+"Humph!" said her father teasingly, "how do I know you're not going to
+tumble overboard! You know you have a way of mixing up picnics and water,
+Mary Jane, so I don't think I'll take any chances." But when Mary Jane
+promised that she would sit very still and not walk around a step and not
+lean over the edge, he went to speak to grandpa a few minutes. And while
+he was gone, Mary Jane leaned up against the side of the boat and watched
+the folks down on the pier.
+
+She thought it must surely be about time for the boat to start because
+there was hurrying on the pier, and men were busy taking ropes off of the
+big wooden posts along the side nearest the water. While she was watching,
+a woman came along the dock toward the boat and with her were two little
+children, a girl about Mary Jane's own age and a little boy some two years
+younger. Just as they reached the gang plank, ready to step onto the boat,
+the little boy began to cry.
+
+"I left my boat! I left my boat! I left my boat!" he cried. Mary Jane
+could hear him very plainly even though she sat so far up above him.
+
+She couldn't hear what the mother said, but evidently she promised to get
+the missing boat for him, because she left both children by the side of
+the gang plank, and hurrying as fast as possible she ran back toward the
+shore. And right at that minute, the big bell overhead rang three times
+and the engine aboard the boat began to throb--it was time to go.
+
+The men on the dock noticed the two children and one said to the little
+girl, "Were you going?" and she nodded yes. So he picked up the boy and
+hurried the two children aboard just as the gang plank was hauled in and
+the boat made away from the pier.
+
+Mary Jane was so thrilled and excited she could hardly sit still. She
+tried to call her father but he was on the other side of the boat and she
+had promised to sit still--perfectly still--till he came back. What in the
+world was a little girl to do? And back on the shore that was so rapidly
+getting farther and farther way, Mary Jane could see the mother of the
+children, running frantically toward the dock which the boat had left.
+Surely the captain would see her, Mary Jane thought. But if he did, he
+likely thought she was merely somebody who had missed the boat and that he
+had no time for turning back. And so the boat continued out into the
+lake.
+
+Finally after what seemed the _longest_ time (though it really was hardly
+more than five minutes), Mr. Merrill came back and then, such a story as
+he heard!
+
+"Are you sure, Mary Jane?" he asked, "certain sure? The men wouldn't put
+children on a boat without grown folks along!"
+
+"But they did, Dadah!" insisted Mary Jane, "I saw 'em!"
+
+"Then you come with me," said Mr. Merrill, "and we'll see if we can find
+them."
+
+So Mr. Merrill and Mary Jane went down the stairs, and that took some time
+because folks were coming and going and getting settled for the trip, and
+there, huddled close together and crying as hard as they could cry, were
+the two little waifs!
+
+Mary Jane with real motherliness began talking to the little girl; Mr.
+Merrill picked up the boy and together the whole party went in search of
+the captain. By the time he was found though, the boat was still farther
+on its journey toward the city and the dock they started from was farther
+and farther behind.
+
+"Well, that is a time we were wrong," admitted the captain when he had
+listened to all Mary Jane had to say and talked with the man who had put
+the children aboard. "But even though we were wrong, we can't go back now.
+We'll have to make the children comfortable and take them back to their
+mother on the return trip."
+
+So Mr. Merrill and Mary Jane went back to the deck, only this time they
+took with them the two little strangers. Mrs. Merrill was told the story
+and she and Alice and Mary Jane, with help from grandma, grandpa and Mr.
+Merrill, set themselves to the task of making the little children happy.
+At first it was hard work, because they cried all the time for their
+mother. But erelong they understood the friendliness around them and they
+stopped crying and began to have a good time. Grandpa discovered some
+crackerjack and everybody knows what a help _that_ is; Mrs. Merrill told
+some funny stories and Mr. Merrill took them all over the boat--to see the
+great engine and everything. Then there were the sights to watch from the
+deck and the big buildings to count and the boats they passed to
+watch--oh, there surely was a lot to do that made that trip interesting
+and so very short.
+
+As the boat pulled up near the down town pier, the Merrills saw a taxi
+dash up near where the boat was to land: saw a woman get out and, followed
+by a policeman, hurry up to the side where the boat would pull in.
+
+"Look!" exclaimed Mary Jane excitedly. "Look!"
+
+The little girl, whose name was Ann, looked along with the others, and
+then she gave a happy cry.
+
+"Mother!" she shouted, so loudly that her mother, waiting on the pier
+could hear and was so very relieved!
+
+When the boat pulled into the dock, the captain was the first one to step
+off; he met the mother and the officer and brought them aboard at once.
+Mary Jane was called upon to explain all that she had seen and the
+officer, as well as the mother, was satisfied that the whole thing was an
+accident and not an attempt to steal the children.
+
+"But how did you get up here so quickly?" asked Mary Jane, when the first
+excitement was over.
+
+"My dear child!" laughed Ann's mother, "a person can do a lot when she
+thinks something is happening to her children! I took a passing taxi,
+dashed to a police station and then on up here. And nothing has happened
+at all--except you nice people have given my little folks a very pleasant
+trip. Next time, Bobby," she added, "we'll leave your toy boat or we'll
+all go together to find it. We won't take any chances of losing each
+other!"
+
+"Well," laughed Mr. Merrill when the mother and children and officer and
+captain had all gone on about their own business, "what was it we were
+going to do to-day?"
+
+Everybody laughed at that! They had been so excited that they had
+forgotten, yes, actually forgotten, that this was a sight-seeing trip for
+grandma and grandpa. But once they remembered, they knew just what to do.
+They climbed aboard a waiting launch, rode up to Lincoln Park, had a
+wonderful dinner and fun all the rest of the day.
+
+"I don't see," remarked grandma, as they neared home, late that evening,
+"how you girls are ever going to settle down to school again! Did you know
+that school was only a few weeks away? Vacation will be over before you
+know it!"
+
+
+
+
+SCHOOL BEGINS
+
+
+When grandma suggested that it was nearly time for school to begin, on
+that day of the boat ride, she guessed better than the girls suspected. At
+the time they laughed and thought she was joking, but, after she and
+grandpa had gone home, they got out a calendar and counted up and there,
+to be sure, only one and one-half weeks of vacation were left.
+
+"I didn't realize school began so early," exclaimed Mrs. Merrill in
+dismay.
+
+"I thought summer was a long time!" cried Alice, "but it isn't any time at
+all!"
+
+"Goody! Goody! Goody!" Mary Jane said happily, "then I get to start to
+school like a big girl."
+
+It was no wonder Mary Jane was happy, for she remembered that the plan was
+for her to start in the really truly school, not the kindergarten where
+she had gone in her other home, and any little girl likes to start to
+school like her big sister.
+
+When the day finally came, Alice was as much excited as Mary Jane herself.
+For although the summer had been so pleasant she almost hated to see it
+end--the free days with plenty of time for visits with mother and picnics
+and marketing and all--still, school was pleasant too and any little girl
+who does nice work and tries to learn, will make good friends and have
+happy days, just as Alice always had had.
+
+Mary Jane had a hard time deciding which dress to wear. She wanted to look
+very grown up, so that teacher would realize she was a big girl, so she
+finally decided upon a dark blue sailor suit. The one that had the red
+insignia on the sleeve and that looked just like a big girl's dress. With
+a clean 'kerchief peeking out of her pocket and a smashing big red bow on
+the top of her brown head, she looked very nice.
+
+Alice and Mary Jane waked up that morning the very minute they were called
+for they wanted to help mother so she could go over to school with them.
+And with all that good help of course they were off on time. Alice was
+glad to have company going to school for Frances wasn't home yet and
+wouldn't be there for a couple of weeks.
+
+Mary Jane's heart went thump, thump as she and her mother went in at the
+teachers' gate, and up the stairs and into the principal's office. And
+thump, thump some more when she saw the whole roomful of strange boys and
+girls and thump, thump some more when her turn came and she was sent
+(fortunately with her mother along) to the first grade room--number 104.
+The room was full of children, hundreds, Mary Jane thought there must be,
+though the teacher told Mrs. Merrill there were about forty-five. And if
+her heart went thump, thump before, it certainly went thump, thump,
+_thump_ when the teacher, smiling at her so kindly, gave her a seat in
+the--front-row--such a nice seat for her very own! and she sat down and
+tried to look as though she had been used to going to school all her whole
+life.
+
+For a minute she couldn't look around or anything, she felt so queer. Then
+she glanced at the next seat and there, sitting right beside her,
+was--whom do you suppose? Ann! The same pretty little Ann who had been
+lost on the boat. Immediately Mary Jane forgot all about being afraid and
+thumping hearts and strangeness and everything and began to like school.
+The two little girls had much to say about what they would do at recess
+and where did they live and everything, so the time before school began
+passed very quickly.
+
+Suddenly, in the midst of their talk, a bell rang, "GONG-GONG!" Two loud
+tones close together that way, and school began. Mary Jane Merrill was in
+a really truly school like the big girl she was getting to be.
+
+Ann came home with Mary Jane that first afternoon and Mrs. Merrill
+discovered that her name was Ann Ellis and that she lived two blocks from
+their own home and that the two little girls would no doubt find it very
+easy to be friends. They began having a good time that very afternoon and
+they planned still better times when Betty would be back and they could
+all play together. Now wasn't that fine!
+
+Mary Jane found that she liked school every bit as much as she had thought
+she would. She liked her teacher, a charming Miss Treavor, and she liked
+her studies. But most of all she liked the fun she had on the playground.
+In the big cities, like Chicago, where lots of girls and boys have no
+yards, the school yards are the only places were children can play. So, to
+make everything safe and orderly, the school folks have a playground
+teacher stay at school all the day, to help in the games and to see that
+every one has a happy time. The playground teacher at Mary Jane's school
+liked little girls very much and she knew many good games for them to
+play. So in addition to "London Bridge" and "Drop the Handkerchief" and
+"Tag" that all children play, Mary Jane learned "Roman Soldiers" and
+"Ghost Walk" and "Three times Three."
+
+Of the new ones, Mary Jane liked "Ghost Walk" the best. To play it, the
+girls and boys made a big circle, then they selected some one to be
+"Ghost." This person stood in the middle of the circle and everybody shut
+eyes tight, very tight. Then the Ghost, while every one kept very quiet,
+tried to tip-toe to the edge of the circle, slip out between two folks and
+get away without being caught. That may sound easy, but played in a yard
+full of romping boys and girls, it is not really as easy as it might seem
+and it was lots of fun, because often folks would think the "Ghost" was
+near them and would try to grab--and the joke was on them because all the
+while, maybe, the "ghost" was in another part of the ring. And whenever
+folks thought they caught the "Ghost" and _didn't_, then every one opened
+their eyes, the person who had made the mistake had to get out of the
+circle and the game began again. But if the "Ghost" really did get out of
+the circle without being caught, then the "Ghost" could hide anywhere in
+the yard and the game became an old-fashioned hide-and-seek with everybody
+hunting one lucky person.
+
+One day, when Mary Jane was "Ghost," she was determined she would get out
+of that circle without getting caught. She had tried it many a time before
+and failed; this time she was going to do it. She tiptoed, oh, so softly
+over the loose gravel to the edge of the circle. Then noiselessly she
+dropped down on hands and knees and, without a thought for her dress,
+crawled slowly between Ann and the girl next to her. She could hardly keep
+from giggling, it was so funny to be so close she almost bumped them and
+yet not to be discovered. Now she was right between them, now she was
+almost outside--now she was free and away she dashed to the spot she had
+long ago picked out as a hiding place for just such a time as this.
+
+The folks in the circle waited--but nobody was caught, so they shouted,
+"Ghost Walk?" and when the "ghost" didn't answer they opened their eyes
+and--no Mary Jane was there!
+
+"I'll get her," shouted Ann, "I'll find her! I'll bet she got out on your
+side of the circle, Janny, she never could have passed _me_!"
+
+"I'll find her myself," answered Janny, "but she never passed by me, she
+didn't!"
+
+So they hunted, up and down the yard, around the bushes, by the doorway,
+everywhere they could think of. But no sign of Mary Jane did they
+discover. They hunted and they hunted till the gong sounded and they had
+to go into school again. But not a sign of any Mary Jane did they find.
+Was Mary Jane lost? Miss Treavor must be told so everybody could hunt, for
+something surely must have happened to a little girl who didn't answer the
+recess bell when it rang for school to begin.
+
+Now it happened that some days before, when Mary Jane had first learned to
+play "Ghost walk" she hunted around the yard for a good place to hide--in
+case she ever succeeded in getting out of the circle so she _could_ hide.
+She didn't want to hide among the bushes because that was the first place
+the children looked; she didn't want to hide in the doorway because that
+was against rules and if a child was discovered there by a teacher, the
+child had to go straight upstairs and stay the rest of recess. And there
+didn't seem to be any other place. But there was another hiding place--and
+Mary Jane found it. Around the corner of the building, on the side nearest
+the furnace entrance, there was a jog in the brick wall. And in front of
+the little niche made by this jog, boards left by some carpenters had been
+carelessly tossed.
+
+"I could climb over the boards," Mary Jane had thought, "and hide down
+behind and nobody'd ever find me--ever."
+
+So when her time came, and she really did get out of the circle without
+being caught, she didn't have to stop and hunt a hiding place; she knew
+exactly where she wanted to go.
+
+But there was one thing Mary Jane hadn't figured on; one thing she didn't
+even think of as she crouched down behind her boards while the children
+hunted for her, hither and yon over the school yard. She hadn't thought
+that way off, 'round the corner and behind boards that way, she
+couldn't--_hear_. The sounds of playing and romping seemed so quiet, so
+quiet that they were hardly noticeable. She didn't hear the bell and she
+didn't even notice the sudden quiet when the children fell in line to
+march upstairs. She sat there, huddled in a snug little heap, and she
+laughed to herself about the joke she was playing on her mates.
+
+To be sure the time _did_ seem pretty long and she thought they were very
+stupid--but then--she never suspected that recess was over and--
+
+Till suddenly there descended upon her a cloud of chalk dust! It powdered
+her face and dress and shoes and made her forget all about being quiet and
+jump up with a lively scream of fright.
+
+Overhead she heard Miss Treavor's voice, exclaiming, "Whatever in the
+world!" And then, before she could quite get the dust out of her eyes and
+understand what had happened, Miss Treavor and two other teachers who had
+heard the scream, stood before her and the whole story came out. Miss
+Treavor tried not to laugh when Mary Jane told her she was hiding but she
+couldn't help it. Mary Jane looked so be-powdered and forlorn. But Mary
+Jane didn't mind the laughing because at the same time, Miss Treavor
+lifted her out from behind the boards and set her down in the cheerful
+sunlight.
+
+"That _was_ a good place to hide," the teacher admitted, "and you were a
+clever little girl to think of it. But I believe, dear," she added kindly,
+"that next time you'd better hide some place where you can hear the bell,
+even though you _are_ more likely to get caught."
+
+And Mary Jane promised that she would never, never hide in such a very
+good place again.
+
+Mary Jane hated to go back into the school room all mussed and tumbled as
+she was, so Miss Treavor sent for Alice and the two little girls skipped
+home for a fresh dress and clean ribbons so Mary Jane could enjoy the
+classes.
+
+When, a half an hour later, she came back, with the dark blue dress
+changed to a plaid gingham and the red bow changed to green, the children
+wanted to know where she had been and what had happened. But Miss Treavor
+wouldn't tell. And she had made Mary Jane promise not to tell, because
+that place was _such_ a good hiding place that the teachers didn't want
+other folks finding it and hiding there to make trouble too.
+
+But all of Mary Jane's school fun wasn't from trouble. That was just one
+day. Most of the time, she played without anything happening just as the
+other folks did. And all the time she made more friends and had a better
+time, till, when Betty came back from the country, she knew most everybody
+in her room.
+
+She liked school so very much that the days slipped by one after another
+so fast a person could hardly count them--one day and another day and
+another day--just that way. Till one Monday morning when they went to
+school, Miss Treavor announced, "Do you boys and girls know what we are
+going to do to-day? We're going to start making Christmas presents.
+Because Christmas is only _three weeks away_!"
+
+"Christmas!" thought Mary Jane, with a thrill of joy, "Christmas! Why,
+they _do_ have Christmas in Chicago! I wonder what I'll get and what I'll
+do!"
+
+
+
+
+CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO
+
+
+Christmas in Chicago! When Mary Jane heard those words she had her first
+real pang of homesickness for the home she had left when they moved to
+Chicago. Would any Christmas anywhere ever be so beautiful as the
+Christmas in that dear home? She remembered the pine trees in the yard,
+loaded down with their wealth of snow: the glowing fire on the hearth with
+its Christmas-y smell from the pine cones that were saved through the year
+for the Christmas Day fire; the tree in the angle near the fireplace where
+the afternoon sun touched it into a blaze of glory; the party for the poor
+children that had been such fun to plan for--would anything in Chicago
+ever be half the fun of Christmas in the old home? But Mary Jane was soon
+to discover that Christmas doesn't need certain houses or fires or trees
+to make it perfect; that Christmas is made in folks' hearts and that
+wherever there is a Christmas heart, there will be a happy day--in village
+or city, the place makes no difference.
+
+When she went home from school that afternoon and announced that Miss
+Treavor said Christmas was so very near, she found that mother wasn't even
+a little surprised.
+
+"Why to be sure Christmas is coming," laughed Mrs. Merrill, "and here I've
+been waiting and waiting and _waiting_ for you to talk about it till,
+actually, I thought I'd had to begin myself, if you didn't wake up pretty
+soon." And then everybody began to talk at once.
+
+"Do they have trees in Chicago?" asked Alice.
+
+"Are there any poor folks who would like parties?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"Is anybody coming to see us?" demanded Mary Jane.
+
+"Here! Here! Here!" exclaimed Mr. Merrill, "one at a time, ladies, one at
+a time! If you doubt that there will be trees in Chicago, you should see
+what I saw this morning as I went down to work. A train load of Christmas
+trees--yes, sir!" (for he noticed the girls could hardly believe him) "a
+whole train load of trees. And I see by the paper this evening that a boat
+load has arrived, too, so there will be no shortage of trees."
+
+"Then we can have one," said Mary Jane, with a satisfied sigh.
+
+"And let's put it in front of this foolish little gas log," suggested
+Alice, "then we won't think about a real fireplace."
+
+"And there are plenty of poor folks," said Mrs. Merrill, going back to
+Mary Jane's question, "only they will not be so easy to get together, as
+back at home. How would you like to take a Christmas party to some family
+instead of having a party at home as we did last year?"
+
+The girls hardly knew what to say about that new idea so Mrs. Merrill
+explained further. "I telephoned to the Associated Charities this very
+day," she said, "and they gave me the names of a fatherless family in
+which there are two girls about your ages, and one boy. I thought we could
+plan a fine Christmas for them and then, on Christmas morning, take it
+over and surprise them."
+
+"Oh, let's do that, mother," said Mary Jane happily, "then we'd be like a
+real Santa Claus only we'd be a morning Santa. May we do it, surely?"
+
+"I thought you'd like the idea," said Mrs. Merrill, "so I got lists from
+the association as to just what was most needed. Alice, if you'll get a
+pencil and paper, we'll figure it all out."
+
+Making plans was the girls' favorite way of spending an evening so they
+whisked the cover off the dining table, pulled up chairs for four and went
+to work list-making.
+
+"Tom," began Mrs. Merrill, consulting her list, "hasn't a bit of warm
+clothing."
+
+"Why couldn't I knit him a muffler and some mittens?" asked Mary Jane. "I
+remember how and I haven't knitted anything since the war stopped."
+
+"Fine!" approved Mrs. Merrill, "I think I have enough yarn for the mittens
+and if you'll get it out of the drawer there we can wind it while we talk
+and it will be all ready for you to set up at once. You'll have to work
+hard and fast if you want to make a muffler and a pair of mittens before
+Christmas."
+
+"Now then," she continued, looking at the list, "they have very few bed
+covers and the children get so cold at night."
+
+"Why couldn't you make some covers, mother?" suggested Alice, "and let me
+make them each some flannelette pajamas like we wear--you know how
+toasting warm they are. And I have the pattern and I know I could make
+them all myself."
+
+"That's a beautiful idea," approved Mrs. Merrill, "and I hadn't even
+thought of such a thing. When we get through planning, dear, you can get
+out your pattern and see how much material you'll need. Then, when I go up
+town to-morrow, I'll get it for you."
+
+"And they need stockings," she continued, "and shoes--"
+
+"Could any of 'em wear my good shoes that are too little?" asked Mary Jane
+eagerly. She had been greatly distressed about those "best" shoes that
+were so good, and yet were hopelessly outgrown.
+
+"I think they'll be exactly right," said Mrs. Merrill. "In fact I picked
+out this particular family because I was sure we could find nice things
+for them among you girls' outgrown things and that, put with what we buy
+new, would make all the bigger Christmas for them.
+
+"And about toys," she continued with the list, "the girls have never had a
+doll--"
+
+"Never had--" began Mary Jane but she couldn't quite get the words out.
+Never had a doll. Never had a Marie Georgiannamore to love and care for
+and take riding in a beautiful cart. Never had--no, she couldn't quite
+imagine it.
+
+After that there was no more reading off a list. Mary Jane and Alice began
+making a list of their own, of what those children were to have for
+Christmas.
+
+"But," objected Mrs. Merrill, "you girls forget that things cost money--a
+lot of money these days. And you can't possibly buy all those things and
+get any Christmas of your own too."
+
+"Humph!" grunted Mary Jane as she squeezed her face up tight in an
+effort to write, "then we won't have one of our own! Haven't we got Marie
+Georgiannamore and a cart and a nice house and warm
+clothes--and--everything?"
+
+That settled it. There would be a tree and dinner and a lot of fun in the
+Merrill house on Christmas Day, but the presents were to go to their
+adopted family to make _their_ Christmas one never to be forgotten.
+
+If you have ever planned a Christmas for somebody who never, in all their
+lives had one, you will know something about the fun that Mary Jane and
+Alice had in the time that was left before Christmas. They were about the
+busiest girls in all Chicago! They hurried home from school and they
+worked Saturdays but, actually, as soon as they got one thing done they
+thought of something else they wanted to make or buy and they had to begin
+all over again. They made cookies and candies and dressed dolls, one for
+each girl, and made a complete set of covers and pillows and "fixings" for
+an adorable doll bed that Mr. Merrill made in the evenings. Alice had to
+work pretty hard to get the pajamas all finished in time for there was
+considerable work on each pair; but she got them finished and she could
+hardly wait till Christmas to take them over to their family.
+
+Mary Jane finished the muffler and mittens though she _almost_ had to knit
+while she ate--towards the last--it takes a good many stitches to make a
+muffler big enough for an eight year old boy. The muffler was a deep
+crimson and the mittens a warm shade of gray with three rows of crimson in
+the wrist end; Mary Jane had picked colors she was sure Tom would like.
+
+At last the twenty-fourth of December came around--cold and snowy and just
+the kind of a day for making a Christmas. The trees were bought and set on
+the balcony, the turkeys, two of them, were in the pantry ready to dress
+and three big baskets were set on the dining-room table ready for
+packing.
+
+"Now, then," said Mrs. Merrill, "if you have everything ready, I think
+we'd better pack all the things we can now, because when Dadah comes home
+there'll be plenty to do."
+
+Mary Jane thought the packing was the most fun of anything she had ever
+done. They packed all the doll things in one basket, doll things and toys
+and three nice books. Of course the doll bed wouldn't go in the basket; it
+had to have a package all by itself. A second basket was for clothing, the
+pajamas--and no one would ever guess that a girl as young as Alice had
+made those charming garments--the muffler, the mittens, one pair for each
+child, warm underwear and a dress for each girl (one of the nicest of
+Alice and Mary Jane's outgrown frocks). Mr. Merrill had added a nice
+flannel shirt for Tom and Mrs. Merrill put in a warm sweater for the good
+mother.
+
+"That's a basket they'll like to open," said Alice, proudly, as she tucked
+the brand new comforter Mrs. Merrill had made, around the top, "they'll be
+so happy they won't hardly be able to wait till they can put 'em on!"
+
+The third basket was fully as interesting as the others. It was a big, big
+one and in it the girls packed groceries, cans of vegetables and soup and
+sugar--a very little bit to be sure for there wasn't much to be had, but
+the Merrills had decided to send exactly half of what they had--and
+oranges for breakfast and cereals and bread. Then on top, they were to put
+cookies and candy and the turkey. But of course those last things would go
+in in the morning, just before the baskets were taken away.
+
+By the time Mr. Merrill came home, the three baskets were packed, covered
+up and set in the corner of the dining-room ready for morning.
+
+"Now for the tree!" said Mr. Merrill as he took off his coat ready for
+work. He set their tree in the dining-room and with Alice's good help
+fixed a solid bottom standard and set it up in the living-room right in
+front of the foolish little fireplace. They wired it firmly and then Mrs.
+Merrill brought in the boxes of Christmas trimmings and everybody set to
+work.
+
+Such fun as it was! Mary Jane kept saying, "Remember this!" And Alice
+added, "Remember that!" till it seemed as though it _couldn't_ be more
+than a week since last Christmas when they had put the same things on a
+tree that looked exactly like the one they were now trimming. This year,
+seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old person, she was allowed to put the
+gold star on the top of the tree; she climbed the ladder, with father
+holding one hand and wired it on all by herself; and Alice, as a special
+privilege, was allowed to hang the crystal icicles on every tip.
+
+Nobody put any tinsel on the tree--that was left for the middle of the
+night like the story of the old time legend. Whether the spiders and the
+Christmas fairies, working together, really covered the tree with silver,
+Mary Jane never stopped to figure out. But at any rate the tree was
+covered with strings of gold the next morning and Mary Jane thought it the
+prettiest Christmas tree she had ever seen!
+
+[Illustration: This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old person,
+she was allowed to put the gold star on the top of the tree
+_Page 195_]
+
+The very last thing before she went to bed, Mary Jane hung up her
+stocking. And Alice, looking a bit foolish, hung hers close by.
+
+"I thought you two folks weren't going to have any Christmas," said Mr.
+Merrill teasingly.
+
+"Of course we're not," said Mary Jane bravely, "but we want to hang our
+stockings just the same as if--you know." And Dadah must have understood
+for he nodded his head and didn't tease any more.
+
+Nobody would say how it ever happened. Certainly it was well understood
+that there were to be no presents. But, anyway, when Mary Jane and Alice
+looked at those stockings Christmas morning they were fat, as fat could
+be! Just bulging over with queer shaped parcels!
+
+Mary Jane couldn't even wait to put her slippers on! She bundled a kimono
+around her, grabbed up her stocking and ran into her mother's room to open
+it. Alice wasn't far behind and certainly for girls who were to have _no_
+presents, they fared very well indeed! Santa Claus must have got his
+signals mixed some way! There were doll things for Marie Georgiannamore,
+and a ring for Mary Jane; hair ribbons, handkerchiefs, skates for Alice
+(think of that in a stocking!) and slippers for the little girl who forgot
+to put on her old pair and, oh, many lovely little things that could be
+tucked into a stocking.
+
+The girls spread the things out on mother's bed and had a happy time till
+suddenly Mr. Merrill exclaimed, "Girls! It's eight o'clock and I ordered
+that taxi for nine!"
+
+Then there _was_ a scramble! Gifts were hustled away, clothes were put on,
+breakfast was eaten and a few last things packed in the baskets, just as
+the taxi arrived.
+
+It was fortunate Mr. Merrill had ordered a big car for with three baskets,
+a bundle containing the doll bed and another the turkey, to say nothing of
+the tree roped on the side of the car and the box of trimmings on Mrs.
+Merrill's lap even a big car was pretty full.
+
+Mary Jane felt like a real Santa Claus for sure!
+
+The family they were going to see didn't know they were coming, so when
+the car stopped in front of a shabby little house, three puzzled and very
+sober faces pressed against the window and looked out. But the sober faces
+soon changed. In a few minutes the mother was helping Mrs. Merrill put the
+turkey in to roast, the older girl was helping Mr. Merrill set the
+Christmas tree in place and Tom and Ellen, the little girl, were helping
+the Merrill girls trim the tree.
+
+When the Merrills left the house some two hours later the turkey was
+almost cooked, the tree was trimmed, presents unpacked and happiness and
+good cheer had settled down in the little house for many a day.
+
+It was a good thing they came away when they did, though, for exactly as
+they drove up to their own home, they met an express wagon. And in their
+own vestibule they found the driver. "Family of Merrill here?" he asked
+them.
+
+"They're us," said Mary Jane eagerly. And whereupon the driver carried
+upstairs the biggest, fattest Christmas box Mary Jane had ever seen.
+
+Of course it was from grandma and in it were so many lovely things from
+uncles and grandparents and cousins that Mary Jane thought she never would
+get everything unpacked!
+
+"Well," said the little girl as some time later the family sat down to
+their own belated dinner, "I think for not having any presents, we got a
+lot! And I think I like Christmas in Chicago just as much as anywhere, I
+do."
+
+
+
+
+A SUMMER HOME--AND A TELEGRAM
+
+
+"Let's go skating!" called Frances one cold morning as she saw Alice shake
+the bath room rug from the balcony.
+
+"Skating?" answered Alice, "where?"
+
+"Down on the Midway," said Frances. "As soon as you get your work done,
+you and Mary Jane come around to our front door and Betty and I will be
+ready."
+
+"But Mary Jane doesn't know how to skate," said Alice.
+
+"Betty doesn't either," answered Frances, "but they can take their sleds
+and coast down the sides of the bank while you and I skate."
+
+Alice promised and then she hurried inside to finish her work. She had
+heard about the fine skating on the Midway where the park board flooded
+the sunken greens for the benefit of neighborhood children, but thus far
+the weather had been too mild for any skating, so she hadn't had a chance
+to try it. But a sudden cold snap, with snow enough to cover the sloping
+banks, had provided both skating and coasting.
+
+Well protected with warm mittens and leggings the girls set out and had
+the jolliest kind of a morning. At one end of the ice, the younger folks
+did their coasting, the sloping sides giving a flying start and the smooth
+ice a glorious finish. At the other end the older boys and girls did their
+skating, so there was no mix up or interference.
+
+That morning was the first of many happy Saturday mornings spent on the
+ice. Even Mary Jane got some skates and, with the help of Dadah when he
+could get away from the office, she learned to be a fine skater.
+
+But winter fun never lasts very long. Just about the time Mary Jane
+learned to skate well enough to challenge Alice to a race, the spring sun
+sent the ice to nowhere land and the while-ago ice pond turned to green
+grass! Spring had come.
+
+With the coming of spring, Mary Jane grew very restless. She wasn't sick,
+but something was wrong. Something was making her very solemn and
+sober--quite unlike her usual lively self.
+
+"I know what's the matter with me," she announced one warm sunny morning,
+"I want to dig."
+
+"You want to dig?" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill in amazement, "well, why don't
+you go down and dig in the Holdens' yard? You know Mrs. Holden said you
+might."
+
+"But I don't want to dig in somebody's yard," answered Mary Jane, without
+a spark of interest, "I want to dig in my _own_ yard and have flowers and
+a sand pile and everything right in my own yard, I do."
+
+Mrs. Merrill didn't reply but she did do a lot of thinking and that
+evening she and Mr. Merrill had a long conference.
+
+As a result, at breakfast table the next morning Mr. Merrill said, "How
+would you girls like to have a summer home of your own? A place in the
+woods where we could go as soon as school closes and where you could wear
+bloomers and play in the sand and gather flowers and make garden and all
+the things you love to do but can't do in the city. How would you like
+that?"
+
+Mary Jane and Alice stared at him. Would they _like_ it? anybody could see
+by their faces that they would _love_ it!
+
+"But we wouldn't want to leave you here in Chicago, all summer," objected
+Alice.
+
+"And I wouldn't want to be left," Mr. Merrill assured them. "But I am
+sure, somewhere in the suburbs around Chicago there must be _some place_
+we could get a summer home. And we'll make it our business to find that
+place."
+
+"I thought," began Mrs. Merrill, and then she hesitated.
+
+"Something nice?" asked Alice, encouragingly.
+
+"It would have been nice," admitted Mrs. Merrill, "but likely we couldn't
+do it. I'd been thinking how pleasant it would be to take another trip
+this summer. You know how you girls enjoyed going to Florida. And you
+remember Uncle Hal graduates from Harvard this June. I had been wondering
+if we could go east in time to be there when the festivities are going
+on."
+
+"Oh, mother!" cried Mary Jane, "what fun! I do want to ride on a train, a
+big train with a sleeper and a diner! But then I want to dig, too," she
+added, insistently.
+
+"Then we'll take one thing at a time," suggested Mr. Merrill. "We'll look
+into the question of a summer home--we know we'd all like that. And you
+folks don't know that a very popular uncle would _want_ a grown up sister
+and two small nieces hanging around at commencement time," he added
+teasingly.
+
+"How do you find a summer home?" asked Alice thoughtfully.
+
+"That's what we'll have to discover," laughed Mr. Merrill. "And we'll
+begin this very Saturday afternoon if the weather is fine. We'll take a
+suburban train and ride till we see a place that looks homey and there
+we'll get off and hunt."
+
+The next Saturday was warm and sunny, the kind of a day for bringing
+flowers into bloom and for making little girls want to play out of doors.
+Mrs. Merrill and the girls met Mr. Merrill at his office so as not to lose
+a minute's time, and they hurried right over to the station, and got
+aboard the first suburban train they could find.
+
+"I think this is lots of fun," said Mary Jane as they found their seats,
+"we don't know where we're going--we're just going!" And the train was
+off.
+
+For some time the girls were really discouraged. They passed factories,
+and tenements, and more factories till Mary Jane was sure they were never
+coming to country--real country. But suddenly, when she was about to give
+up, the factories were gone and from the window the girls could see wide
+fields and strips of woods and an occasional brook. Two or three little
+stations were passed and then the train ran through a beautiful stretch of
+woods--rolling woods all leafy and budding and flower decked. The ground
+was fairly covered with early blossoms and trees of wild crab were just
+bursting into pink bloom.
+
+Mary Jane grabbed her coat and started down the aisle.
+
+"Make 'em stop the train, Dadah," she said, "this is where we want to
+live!"
+
+Fortunately at that minute the train really did stop at a small station
+and the Merrills got off and looked around. It didn't take long to explore
+into the woods far enough to find that they had come to the very place
+they were looking for--a spot not too far from the city for Mr. Merrill's
+daily trip and yet wild enough to give the girls some real woods. The
+girls picked flowers as they explored and had such a happy time that it
+was hard work to persuade them to go back to the city when the twilight
+came. But they had found the very place!
+
+Three weeks later Mr. Merrill bought a lot in the heart of the woods, and
+the summer home was no longer a mere dream--it was to be really truly.
+
+"Now," announced Alice, "we'll draw the kind of a house we want. I love to
+draw plans of a house!" She cleared off the dining table, sharpened
+pencils, brought two tablets and insisted that everybody come out and
+help.
+
+And just then the door bell rang.
+
+"Telegram for Merrill!" shouted a voice through the tube and Mary Jane
+pressed the buzzer in a hurry--a telegram usually meant something
+exciting.
+
+It was addressed to Mrs. Merrill and said, "Have all tickets and hotel
+reservations. You and the girls must come." And it was signed by Mrs.
+Merrill's brother.
+
+"If that isn't just like a college boy!" laughed Mrs. Merrill. "For weeks
+he doesn't answer a letter and then he telegraphs! Girls," she added,
+"let's go! Wouldn't you like to go to Boston and see the college and the
+ocean and the White Mountains--and--everything?"
+
+"Oh, mother, _really_?" exclaimed Mary Jane. (She felt as though she must
+be dreaming, things were happening so fast!)
+
+"But what about the summer home?" asked Alice.
+
+"Don't you worry about the summer home," Mr. Merrill assured her, "we'll
+have that summer home just the same. You girls take your trip east. You
+won't be gone more than a couple of weeks--and what are two weeks out of a
+whole summer? And before you go, we'll get the shack all planned and when
+you come back we'll move out."
+
+"Goody! Goody! Goody!" cried Mary Jane happily, "then I can see Uncle Hal
+and ride on the train and dig a garden and _everything_!"
+
+And if you want to hear all about Mary Jane's beautiful trip to Boston and
+the White Mountains, the fun she had sight-seeing and the jolly party on
+"Class Day," you must read--
+
+                       "MARY JANE IN NEW ENGLAND"
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE MARY JANE SERIES
+BY CLARA INGRAM JUDSON
+Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated.
+With picture inlay and wrapper.
+
+[Illustration]
+Mary Jane is the typical American little girl who bubbles over with fun
+and the good things in life. We meet her here on a visit to her
+grandfather's farm where she becomes acquainted with farm life and farm
+animals and thoroughly enjoys the experience. We next see her going to
+kindergarten and then on a visit to Florida, and then--but read the
+stories for yourselves.
+
+Exquisitely and charmingly written are these books which every little girl
+from five to nine years old will want from the first book to the last.
+
+                       1 MARY JANE--HER BOOK
+                       2 MARY JANE--HER VISIT
+                       3 MARY JANE'S KINDERGARTEN
+                       4 MARY JANE DOWN SOUTH
+                       5 MARY JANE'S CITY HOME
+                       6 MARY JANE IN NEW ENGLAND
+                       7 MARY JANE'S COUNTY HOME
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+NEWARK, N. J.               NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+CHICKEN LITTLE JANE SERIES
+_By_ LILY MUNSELL RITCHIE
+
+[Illustration]
+Chicken Little Jane is a Western prairie girl who lives a happy, outdoor
+life in a country where there is plenty of room to turn around. She is a
+wide-awake, resourceful girl who will instantly win her way into the
+hearts of other girls. And what good times she has!--with her pets, her
+friends, and her many interests. "Chicken Little" is the affectionate
+nickname given to her when she is very, very good, but when she misbehaves
+it is "Jane"--just Jane!
+
+                 Adventures of Chicken Little Jane
+                 Chicken Little Jane on the "Big John"
+                 Chicken Little Jane Comes to Town
+
+With numerous illustrations in pen and ink
+By CHARLES D. HUBBARD
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+NEWARK         NEW YORK
+ N. J.          N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Dorothy Whitehill Series
+For Girls
+
+[Illustration]
+Here is a sparkling new series of stories for girls--just what they will
+like, and ask for more of the same kind. It is all about twin sisters, who
+for the first few years in their lives grow up in ignorance of each
+other's existence. Then they are at last brought together and things begin
+to happen. Janet is an independent go-ahead sort of girl; while her sister
+Phyllis is--but meet the twins for yourself and be entertained.
+
+5 Titles, Cloth, large 12mo.,
+Covers in color.
+
+                     1. JANET, A TWIN
+                     2. PHYLLIS, A TWIN
+                     3. THE TWINS IN THE WEST
+                     4. THE TWINS IN THE SOUTH
+                     5. THE TWINS' SUMMER VACATION
+                     6. THE TWINS AND TOMMY JR.
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+NEWARK, N. J. NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE POLLY PENDLETON SERIES
+BY DOROTHY WHITEHILL
+
+[Illustration]
+Polly Pendleton is a resourceful, wide-awake American girl who goes to a
+boarding school on the Hudson River some miles above New York. By her
+pluck and resourcefulness, she soon makes a place for herself and this she
+holds right through the course. The account of boarding school life is
+faithful and pleasing and will attract every girl in her teens.
+
+                1 POLLY'S FIRST YEAR AT BOARDING SCHOOL
+                2 POLLY'S SUMMER VACATION
+                3 POLLY'S SENIOR YEAR AT BOARDING SCHOOL
+                4 POLLY SEES THE WORLD AT WAR
+                5 POLLY AND LOIS
+                6 POLLY AND BOB
+
+Cloth, Large 12mo., Illustrated.
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+Newark, N. J. New York, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The Sunny Boy Series
+By RAMY ALLISON WHITE
+
+[Illustration]
+Children, meet Sunny Boy, a little fellow with big eyes and an inquiring
+disposition, who finds the world a large and wonderful thing indeed. And
+somehow there is lots going on, when Sunny Boy is around. Perhaps he helps
+push! In the first book of this new series he has the finest time ever,
+with his Grandpa out in the country. He learns a lot and he helps a lot,
+in his small way. Then he has a glorious visit to the seashore, but this
+is in the next story. And there are still more adventures in the third
+book and fourth book. You will like Sunny Boy.
+
+4 Titles, Cloth, illustrated, 12mo.,
+with colored covers.
+
+                     1. SUNNY BOY IN THE COUNTRY
+                     2. SUNNY BOY AT THE SEASHORE
+                     3. SUNNY BOY IN THE BIG CITY
+                     4. SUNNY BOY IN SCHOOL AND OUT
+                     5. SUNNY BOY AND HIS PLAYMATES
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+NEWARK, N. J. NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+GOOD STORIES FOR CHILDREN
+(From four to nine years old)
+THE KNEETIME ANIMAL STORIES
+By RICHARD BARNUM
+
+[Illustration]
+In all nursery literature animals have played a conspicuous part; and the
+reason is obvious, for nothing entertains a child more than the antics of
+an animal. These stories abound in amusing incidents such as children
+adore, and the characters are so full of life, so appealing to a child's
+imagination, that none will be satisfied until they have met all of their
+favorites--Squinty, Slicko, Mappo, and the rest.
+
+                    1 Squinty, the Comical Pig.
+                    2 Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel.
+                    3 Mappo, the Merry Monkey.
+                    4 Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant.
+                    5 Don, a Runaway Dog.
+                    6 Dido, the Dancing Bear.
+                    7 Blackie, a Lost Cat.
+                    8 Flop Ear, the Funny Rabbit.
+                    9 Tinkle, the Trick Pony.
+                    10 Lightfoot, the Leaping Goat.
+                    11 Chunky, the Happy Hippo.
+                    12 Sharp Eyes, the Silver Fox.
+                    13 Nero, the Circus Lion.
+                    14 Tamba, the Tame Tiger.
+                    15 Toto, the Rustling Beaver.
+                    16 Shaggo, the Mighty Buffalo.
+                    17 Winky, the Wily Woodchuck.
+
+Cloth, Large 12mo., Illustrated.
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+Publishers
+Newark, N. J.            New York, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The Yank Brown Series
+By DAVID STONE
+Cloth, large 12 mo. Illustrated.
+
+[Illustration]
+When Yank Brown comes to Belmont College as a callow Freshman, there is a
+whole lot that he doesn't know about college life, such as class rushes,
+rivalries, fraternities, and what a lowly Freshman must not do. But he
+does know something about how to play football, and he is a big, likeable
+chap who speedily makes friends.
+
+In the first story of this series we watch Yank buck the line as a
+Halfback. In the second story he goes in for basketball, among many other
+activities of a busy college year. Then there are other stories to
+follow--each brimful of action and interest. This is one of the best
+college series we have seen in a long while.
+
+                    YANK BROWN, HALFBACK
+                    YANK BROWN, FORWARD
+                    YANK BROWN, CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNER
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+NEWARK         NEW YORK
+N. J.          N. Y.
+
+(Other volumes in preparation.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Mary Jane's City Home, by Clara Ingram Judson
+
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+<title>
+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Mary Jane&#8217;s City Home, by Clara Ingram Judson.
+</title>
+
+<style type="text/css">
+/*<![CDATA[  XML blockout */
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+    .figcenter        {margin: 2em auto 2em auto; text-align: center;}
+    .caption          {font-size:.8em;}
+    table             {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; clear: both;}
+    .pagenum          {display: inline; font-size: x-small; text-align: right; position: absolute; right: 2%; padding: 1px 3px; font-style: normal; font-variant:normal; font-weight:normal; text-decoration: none; background-color: inherit; border:1px solid #eee;}
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+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mary Jane's City Home, by Clara Ingram Judson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Mary Jane's City Home
+
+Author: Clara Ingram Judson
+
+Illustrator: Thelma Gooch
+
+Release Date: September 3, 2008 [EBook #26517]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARY JANE'S CITY HOME ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_1' id='linki_1'></a>
+<img src='images/maryj-fpc.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 348px; height: 485px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 348px;'>
+And she pointed out the little seal who was a bit too slow.<br />
+Frontispiece<br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:2em; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:;'>MARY JANE&#8217;S CITY</p>
+<p style=' font-size:2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:2em;'>HOME</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BY</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>CLARA INGRAM JUDSON</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>Author of</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>&#8220;Flower Fairies,&#8221; &#8220;Good-Night Stories,&#8221; &#8220;Billy Robin</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>and His Neighbors,&#8221; &#8220;Bed Time Tales,&#8221;</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>&#8220;The Junior Cook Book,&#8221; and</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:4em;'>Other Works</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>ILLUSTRATED BY</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>THELMA GOOCH</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>NEW YORK</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:2em;'>PUBLISHERS</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce' style=' font-size:0.8em;'>
+<p>Copyright, 1920,</p>
+<p>by</p>
+<p>Barse &amp; Hopkins</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p>PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>TO</p>
+<p>MY MOTHER and FATHER</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-bottom:1em;'>CONTENTS</p>
+</div>
+
+<table border='0' width='500' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Contents' style='margin:1em auto;'>
+<tr>
+  <td align='left'><span style='font-size:small;'>&nbsp;</span></td>
+  <td align='right'><span style='font-size:small;'>PAGE</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Finding the New Home</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#FINDING_THE_NEW_HOME'>11</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Folks Around The Corner</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#THE_FOLKS_AROUND_THE_CORNER'>22</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Visiting with Betty</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VISITING_WITH_BETTY'>35</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Sand Castles</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#SAND_CASTLES'>49</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Beach Supper</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#THE_BEACH_SUPPER'>64</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Mary Jane Goes Shopping</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#MARY_JANE_GOES_SHOPPING'>76</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Bus Ride</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#THE_BUS_RIDE'>88</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>The Birthday Luncheon</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#THE_BIRTHDAY_LUNCHEON'>100</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Lost&mdash;One Doll Cart</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#LOST_ONE_DOLL_CART'>115</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Trip to the Zoo</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#A_TRIP_TO_THE_ZOO'>128</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Day in the Parks</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#A_DAY_IN_THE_PARKS'>143</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Visitors&mdash;and a Boat Ride</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#VISITORS_AND_A_BOAT_RIDE'>156</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>School Begins</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#SCHOOL_BEGINS'>171</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Christmas in Chicago</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHRISTMAS_IN_CHICAGO'>184</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:1em;'><span style='font-variant: small-caps'>A Summer Home&mdash;and a Telegram</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#A_SUMMER_HOME_AND_A_TELEGRAM'>201</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-bottom:1em;'>ILLUSTRATIONS</p>
+</div>
+
+<table border='0' width='400' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Illustrations' style='margin:1em auto'>
+<col style='width:80%;' />
+<col style='width:20%;' />
+<tr>
+  <td></td>
+  <td align='right'><span style='font-size:small'>PAGE</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>And she pointed out the little seal who was a bit too slow.</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_1'>Frontispiece</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>And then, sliding in the wet sand, she sat right down in the lake and sent a wave of ripples right over her castle</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_2'>60</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>&#8220;But it&#8217;s all down my dress,&#8221; said Mary Jane, trying her very best not to cry</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_3'>110</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' align='left'>This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a <i>very</i> old person, she was allowed to put the gold star on the top of the tree</td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#linki_4'>194</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11' name='page_11'></a>11</span></div>
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>MARY JANE&#8217;S CITY HOME</p>
+</div>
+
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 0em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='FINDING_THE_NEW_HOME' id='FINDING_THE_NEW_HOME'></a>
+<h2>FINDING THE NEW HOME</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The late afternoon sunshine sent its
+slanting, golden rays through the car
+windows on to the map that Mary Jane and
+her sister Alice had spread out on the table
+between the seats of the Pullman in which
+they were riding.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And all that wiggly line is water?&#8221; Mary
+Jane was asking.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Every bit water,&#8221; replied their father,
+who bent over their heads to explain what
+they were looking at; &#8220;a lot of water, you
+see. You remember I told you that Chicago
+is right on the edge of Lake Michigan. And
+Lake Michigan, so far as looks are concerned,
+might just as well be the ocean you saw down
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12' name='page_12'></a>12</span>
+in Florida&mdash;it&#8217;s so big you can&#8217;t see the other
+side.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And does it have big waves?&#8221; asked
+Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just you wait and see,&#8221; promised Mr.
+Merrill. &#8220;Big waves! I should say it
+has!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And all the green part of the map is
+parks,&#8221; said Alice, quoting what her father
+had told them when he first showed them the
+map.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then there must be a lot of parks,&#8221; suggested
+Mary Jane with interest. &#8220;I think
+I&#8217;d like to live by a park,&#8221; she added
+thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think I should too,&#8221; agreed Mr. Merrill,
+&#8220;and it&#8217;s near a park we will make the
+first hunt for a home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, look!&#8221; cried Mary Jane suddenly as
+she glanced up from the spread-out map;
+&#8220;what&#8217;s that, Dadah?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the beginning of Chicago,&#8221; said
+Mr. Merrill. &#8220;Let&#8217;s fold up the map now
+and see what we can of the city. This is
+South Chicago; and those great stacks and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_13' name='page_13'></a>13</span>
+flaming chimneys are steel mills and foundries
+and factories&mdash;watch now! There are
+more!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The train on which the Merrill family
+were traveling went dashing past factory
+after factory&mdash;past an occasional open
+space where they could see in the distance
+the blue gleam of Lake Michigan and past
+great wide stretches where tracks and more
+tracks on which freight cars and engines sped
+up and down showed them something of
+the whirling industry that has made South
+Chicago famous. No wonder it was a
+strange sight to the two girls&mdash;they had
+never before seen anything that made them
+even guess the big business that they now
+saw spread out before them.</p>
+<p>They had spent all their lives thus far&mdash;Alice
+was twelve and Mary Jane going on
+six&mdash;in a small city of the Middle West and
+though they had had a fine summer in the
+country visiting grandma and grandpa and
+had only the winter before taken a beautiful
+trip through Florida, they had never been to
+a great city. And now they were not going
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14' name='page_14'></a>14</span>
+to visit or to take a trip. They were going
+to live there. The great big city of
+Chicago was to be their home.</p>
+<p>The pretty little house they had loved so
+well was sold. The furniture and books
+and dolls and clothes were all packed and
+loaded on a freight car to follow them to
+the city and all the dear friends had been
+given a farewell. Mary Jane had loved the
+excitement and muss of packing; the great
+boxes and the masses of crinkly excelsior
+and the workmen around who always had
+time for a pleasant joke with an interested
+little girl. But when it came time to say
+good-by to Doris and to her much loved
+kindergarten and to all the boys and girls
+in school and &#8220;on her block,&#8221; going away
+wasn&#8217;t so funny. In fact, Mary Jane felt
+a queer and troublesome lump in her throat
+most of the morning when the good-bys were
+said.</p>
+<p>But the ride on the train (and how Mary
+Jane did love to ride on the train); and the
+nice luncheon on the diner (and how Mary
+Jane did <i>adore</i> eating on a diner&mdash;hashed
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_15' name='page_15'></a>15</span>
+brown potatoes, a whole order by herself and
+ice cream and everything!); and then father&#8217;s
+nice talk about all the fun they were
+going to have, made the lump vanish and in
+its place there developed an eager desire to
+see the new city and to begin all the promised
+fun. It was then that Mr. Merrill
+showed them the big map of the city and
+pointed out the part of the city where they
+would likely live.</p>
+<p>As the girls watched, the great factories
+and foundries slipped away into the distance,
+and in their place the girls could see
+houses and occasional stores and here and
+there a station, past which their train
+dashed as though it wasn&#8217;t looking for stations
+to-day, thank you.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t we stop anywhere?&#8221; asked Mary
+Jane after she had counted three of these
+little stations.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Those are suburban stations,&#8221; explained
+Mr. Merrill, &#8220;and a big through train like
+ours hasn&#8217;t time to stop at every one.
+Pretty soon another train will come along
+and stop at each one of those we are now
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_16' name='page_16'></a>16</span>
+passing so don&#8217;t you worry about folks getting
+left. <i>This</i> train we are on has got to
+get us into Chicago in time for dinner.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And just at that minute, when the big
+three story apartment buildings that looked
+so very queer and strange to Mary Jane,
+began to fill every block, the porter came
+to brush her off and to help her on with her
+coat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to live here in Chicago,&#8221; she
+said to him as he held the coat for her, &#8220;and
+it&#8217;s a big place with lots of lake and
+parks and&mdash;houses, I guess, and most everything.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Deed it is big, missy,&#8221; replied the
+porter, &#8220;and I hope you&#8217;s going to like it
+a lot, I do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m a-going to,&#8221; answered Mary Jane
+confidently, as she picked up Georgiannamore
+and Georgiannamore&#8217;s suit case which
+at the last moment couldn&#8217;t possibly be
+packed in the trunk, and followed her
+father and mother down the aisle, &#8220;&#8217;cause
+mother and Dadah and Alice are going to
+live here too and we always have fun.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_17' name='page_17'></a>17</span></p>
+<p>Mr. and Mrs. Merrill had decided to get
+off at one of the larger suburban stations
+and spend a few days in a near-by hotel; they
+thought the comparative quiet of a residence
+hotel would be better for their girls than
+the flurry and hurry of a big down town
+hotel. But to Mary Jane, accustomed to
+the sights and sounds of a small city where
+street cars went dignifiedly past every
+fifteen minutes and where traffic &#8220;cops&#8221;
+would have very few duties, the confusion
+she found herself in was quite enough
+to be very interesting.</p>
+<p>They stepped off the train, walked down
+some stairs and found themselves on the
+sidewalk of a very busy street. Overhead
+the noise of their own train rumbling cityward
+made a terrific din; and as though that
+were not enough, still higher up the great
+elevated car line made a rumble and roar.
+Mary Jane craned her neck as they walked
+from under the trains and there high in the
+air, she saw street cars running along as
+though street cars always had and always
+would, run on tracks high up in the air!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18' name='page_18'></a>18</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Can we ride on it, Dadah?&#8221; she shouted
+to her father, &#8220;are we going to ride on that
+train up on stilts?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. Merrill shook his head laughingly and
+hurried them into a waiting taxi.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re not going to ride there to-day,&#8221;
+he explained when the door of the car shut
+out some of the noise, &#8220;but some day soon
+we&#8217;ll take a long ride on the elevated and
+then you can see all the back yards and back
+porches and parks and streets and everything
+about the city, just as plain as plain
+can be.&#8221;</p>
+<p>While he was talking, the Merrills drove
+through streets lined on both sides with
+three-story apartment buildings. But before
+Mary Jane had time to ask a question or
+even think what she would like to say, they
+whisked around a corner and out into the
+beautiful wide driveway on the Midway&mdash;the
+long, green parkway that stretched, or
+so it seemed to Mary Jane, for miles in both
+directions. The taxi pulled up in front of a
+comfortable looking hotel right on the side
+of the park and Mary Jane wasn&#8217;t a bit sorry
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19' name='page_19'></a>19</span>
+to get out and take a breath of fresh air and
+look at the lovely view before her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now just as soon as you are washed up,&#8221;
+said Mrs. Merrill, briskly, as they went into
+the hotel, &#8220;you and Alice may come out onto
+this nice porch and watch the children play
+on the Midway and get a little run before
+dinner.&#8221;</p>
+<p>You may be sure that with that promise
+before her, Mary Jane didn&#8217;t take very long
+to primp. She had spied a group of children
+about her age, who seemed to be having a
+beautiful time playing ball out there on the
+grass and she couldn&#8217;t help noticing that
+they played just as she and Doris did and
+she couldn&#8217;t help wishing that she too, even
+though she was a new little girl just come
+to town, could play with them. So she
+stood very still while Mrs. Merrill tied the
+fresh hair bow and slipped on a clean frock
+and then, holding tight to big sister Alice&#8217;s
+friendly hand she went down the one flight
+of stairs&mdash;she was in far too big a hurry to
+wait for the elevator&mdash;and out onto the
+long roomy porch.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20' name='page_20'></a>20</span></p>
+<p>Just across the narrow street in front of
+the hotel and on the nearest bit of parkway,
+three little girls about Mary Jane&#8217;s age were
+still playing ball. One was dainty and
+small and had yellow curls; one was rather
+tall and had long straight dark hair and the
+third had dark, straight hair bobbed short,
+and snapping black eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t it be funny,&#8221; said Mary Jane
+as she looked at them wistfully, &#8220;if I&#8217;d get
+to know those girls and they&#8217;d be friends.
+If I <i>did</i>,&#8221; she added, &#8220;I think she&#8217;d be my
+mostest friend,&#8221; and Mary Jane pointed to
+the little girl with the dark, bobbed hair.</p>
+<p>While they watched and were trying to
+get up courage to go over and play too, a
+pretty girl about Alice&#8217;s age came along the
+street. Her hair was copper colored and
+curly and very, very pretty. And her smile
+when she saw the little girls who were playing,
+made her seem so friendly and
+&#8220;homey.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been hunting you, Betty,&#8221; she said
+to the little girl Mary Jane liked best. &#8220;It&#8217;s
+time to come home for dinner.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21' name='page_21'></a>21</span></p>
+<p>So the four girls, three little folks and
+one bigger one, went around the corner toward
+home, and two strangers, standing on
+the porch, watched them till they were quite
+out of sight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would be funny,&#8221; said Alice, &#8220;if
+we&#8217;d ever get to know them. I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;d
+like to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t it though!&#8221; exclaimed Mary
+Jane. &#8220;I hope we do!&#8221;</p>
+<p>And all the time they were eating their
+first dinner in Chicago, and telling mother
+and father about the children they had seen
+and making plans about what to do to-morrow,
+they were thinking about those two
+girls and wishing to know them better.</p>
+<p>Little did they guess what would really
+truly happen before the week was over!</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='THE_FOLKS_AROUND_THE_CORNER' id='THE_FOLKS_AROUND_THE_CORNER'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22' name='page_22'></a>22</span>
+<h2>THE FOLKS AROUND THE CORNER</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>Three whole days of flat hunting!
+And of all the fun she had ever had
+in her more than five years of life, Mary
+Jane thought flat hunting in Chicago was
+the most fun of all! She loved the mystery
+of each new apartment; the guessing
+which room might be hers and which mother&#8217;s;
+the hunting up the door bell and hearing
+its sound (for as you very well know
+each door bell has a sound of its own); the
+poking into closets and pantries and porches.
+It was the most delightful sort of exploring
+she had ever come across and she couldn&#8217;t
+at all understand why mother and father
+got tired and somewhat discouraged. For
+<i>her</i> part Mary Jane was tempted to wish
+that they would never find a flat, well hardly
+that; but that finding the right one would
+take a long, oh, a very long time!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23' name='page_23'></a>23</span></p>
+<p>But by the afternoon of the third day, her
+legs began to get a little tired too, and her
+eyes looked more often to the green of the
+Midway they occasionally saw and she
+thought that flats, even empty flats, really
+should have chairs for folks to sit on. So,
+as a matter of fact, she wasn&#8217;t half as sorry
+as she had thought she would be, when, on
+the afternoon of the third day of hunting
+the Merrill family came across a charming
+little apartment.</p>
+<p>It was on the second floor of a very attractive
+red brick building; it had five rooms,
+quite too small, father thought, but then one
+can&#8217;t have everything, they had found, and
+every room was light and sunny and cheerful.
+But the part about it that Mary Jane
+and Alice liked the best was the back porch.
+To be sure there was a front porch, a pretty,
+little porch with a stone railing and a view
+way down the street toward the park and
+lake. But off the dining room the girls discovered
+a small balcony that overlooked the
+back yard next door, a back yard that had
+a garden laid out and a chicken house and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24' name='page_24'></a>24</span>
+everything so homey and comfortable looking
+that the girls immediately wanted to sit
+out and watch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think if we&#8217;d stay here maybe some
+children would come out to play,&#8221; suggested
+Mary Jane in a whisper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think they would, too,&#8221; agreed Alice.
+&#8220;And I think if we lived here maybe we
+could get acquainted and play with them.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s live here!&#8221; exclaimed Mary Jane
+and she ran back into the house just at the
+very minute Mr. and Mrs. Merrill decided
+to rent the apartment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you think you&#8217;ll like it, do you?&#8221; said
+Mrs. Merrill, smiling; &#8220;the rooms are pretty
+small.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know we&#8217;ll love it,&#8221; said Alice eagerly,
+&#8220;and you should see the back porch.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But Mr. Merrill laughed when they
+showed him the porch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you call this a porch,&#8221; he exclaimed,
+&#8220;why it&#8217;s not half big enough for a porch!
+I&#8217;d call it a balcony.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; agreed Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;and then
+when you watch folks in the yard down
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25' name='page_25'></a>25</span>
+there,&mdash;for you <i>are</i> planning to watch and
+get acquainted, aren&#8217;t you?&mdash;then you can
+pretend that this is your balcony seat and
+that the folks down there are in a play for
+you&mdash;wouldn&#8217;t that be fun?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girls thought it would, but there was
+so much to plan and think about that they
+didn&#8217;t stay on their little balcony any longer
+just then, which was something of a pity, for
+right after they went indoors, somebody
+came out into the yard&mdash; But then, there&#8217;s
+no use telling about <i>her</i> for Mary Jane
+didn&#8217;t see her.</p>
+<p>So Mary Jane and Alice went with their
+father and mother into the room that was
+to be theirs and they planned just where
+each bed should be and where was the best
+place for the desk and dressing table and
+who should have which side of the closet.
+And by that time, it was nearly six o&#8217;clock&mdash;time
+to go back to the hotel for dinner.</p>
+<p>Mr. Merrill stopped at the desk for mail
+as they went up to their room and there he
+found a message telling him that their furniture
+had arrived in Chicago and that it must
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26' name='page_26'></a>26</span>
+be taken out of the freight house the next
+morning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dear me!&#8221; exclaimed Mrs. Merrill with
+a gasp of dismay, &#8220;I think it&#8217;s a good thing
+we found that flat! What ever would we
+have done if we hadn&#8217;t! Well, girls, I
+think we&#8217;d better eat a good dinner and then
+go to bed early for we&#8217;ll have to get down
+there and clean up the flat while father tends
+to getting our things delivered.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So bright and early the next morning
+everybody started to work. Mr. Merrill
+went down town to meet the moving men
+he had engaged by &#8217;phone and Mrs. Merrill
+and the two girls put aprons and cleaning
+rags and soap, all of which they had brought
+in their small trunk, into a little grip and
+went down to the new home.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane had lots of fun that morning.
+First she went down to the basement and
+borrowed a broom from the janitor. Then
+she went back for clean papers which she
+folded neatly and spread on the pantry
+shelves which Mrs. Merrill with the good
+help of the janitor&#8217;s wife had cleaned
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27' name='page_27'></a>27</span>
+and ready. Then she put papers on the
+shelf of the closet she and Alice were to
+share and papers in the drawers near the floor
+of that same closet. By that time&mdash;it takes
+pretty long to fold papers neatly and get
+every bit of the shelf covered, you know&mdash;the
+door bell rang&mdash;a great, long, hard ring.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, dear! Can you go, Mary Jane?&#8221;
+exclaimed Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;Alice and I both
+have wet hands!&#8221; You see, Alice had been
+washing mirrors that were on the closet doors
+while her mother and the janitor&#8217;s wife did
+windows and wood work.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m dry,&#8221; said Mary Jane, &#8220;and my
+papers are done and I&#8217;d like to go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>To tell the honest truth, Mary Jane had
+just that very minute been wishing the door
+bell would ring. For the janitor&#8217;s wife had
+showed her how to press the buzzer that
+would release the lock of the front door and
+let a person come up the stairs. And of
+course Mary Jane wanted to try it. So she
+hurried over to the house &#8217;phone, took down
+the receiver and said, &#8220;Who is it?&#8221; just as
+any grown-up person would.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28' name='page_28'></a>28</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s your things!&#8221; said a gruff voice,
+&#8220;we&#8217;ll bring &#8217;em up the back!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane didn&#8217;t stop to press any buzzer.
+She dashed over to the window nearest
+the alley and there, sure enough, was a
+great big moving van and it was piled up
+full of boxes and barrels and crates&mdash;all
+the things that Mary Jane had watched the
+packing of only such a few days before.
+Talk about fun! Moving was surely the
+best sport ever!</p>
+<p>Mary Jane stayed at the window watching
+till the men brought the first load up.
+Then they announced that they were going
+for lunch and Mrs. Merrill said she and the
+girls had better eat while the men were away.
+So hastily putting on wraps, they went over
+to a small tea room only a few doors away,
+where they had a tasty little luncheon so
+quickly served that they easily got back to
+their flat before the moving men arrived
+again.</p>
+<p>How that afternoon went, Mary Jane
+never quite remembered. It was one long
+succession of excitement and fun. The unpacking
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29' name='page_29'></a>29</span>
+of boxes and crates, the piling up of
+rubbish, the finding of cherished belongings
+and putting them where they belonged in the
+new home, and the gradual change of the
+living room from a mess of boxes to a place
+that might some day really look like home,
+all seemed thrillingly interesting to a little
+girl who had never moved before.</p>
+<p>But by half past four or thereabouts, even
+Mary Jane began to get a little tired.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you something to do,&#8221; suggested
+Mrs. Merrill, when a pause in her own work
+gave her a chance to notice that Mary Jane
+was getting flushed and tired. &#8220;Here is a
+box of doll things I have just come across.
+Suppose you take them out into your own
+little balcony and sort them over. Put in
+this box (and she handed her a little box)
+all the things you must surely have upstairs;
+and leave in the big box all the things you
+will be willing to put in the store room.
+Now take your time, dear, and sit down
+while you work.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane was very glad for that advice.
+For even though moving men are wonderful
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30' name='page_30'></a>30</span>
+to watch, and even though rubbish and boxes
+and barrels are all very fascinating, a person
+<i>does</i> get tired and sitting down isn&#8217;t at
+all a bad idea.</p>
+<p>One of the men who was unpacking gave
+her her own little chair that he had just uncrated
+and so she sat down in state, in her
+own chair, on her own balcony and opened
+the box of doll things. But that&#8217;s every bit
+that got done to those doll things that day,
+every bit.</p>
+<p>For at that very minute, who should come
+out of the house around the corner, the house
+with the back yard and garden and chickens
+and everything, but&mdash;yes, you must have
+guessed it&mdash;the same two girls that Alice and
+Mary Jane had seen on the Midway the day
+they arrived in Chicago. Think of that!
+Right under Mary Jane&#8217;s own balcony and,
+moreover, it was plain to see that they lived
+there.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I guess we&#8217;ll get to know them,&#8221;
+whispered Mary Jane to herself happily.
+But of course, she didn&#8217;t say a thing out
+loud. She only sat very still and watched.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31' name='page_31'></a>31</span></p>
+<p>And as she watched, two boys came out
+on the back porch of the house around the
+corner and one of the boys called, &#8220;Say,
+Fran, did you feed the chickens?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl who was about Alice&#8217;s age answered
+back, &#8220;No I didn&#8217;t, Ed, I thought it
+was Betty&#8217;s turn to-day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I know a lot,&#8221; Mary Jane whispered
+to herself. &#8220;She&#8217;s Frances, I&#8217;m sure,
+and he&#8217;s Ed; and Betty must be the little
+girl that&#8217;s &#8217;bout as big as me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Just then, when Mary Jane was wishing
+and wishing and wishing that she would
+come, Alice came to the door of the balcony
+and looked out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sh-h-h!&#8221; whispered Mary Jane, tensely,
+&#8220;they&#8217;re here, both of &#8217;em, and there&#8217;s more
+of &#8217;em, too!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Alice seemed to understand exactly what
+Mary Jane meant, even though her sentence
+was decidedly mixed up, and she stepped out
+onto the balcony.</p>
+<p>Frances heard the door shut and looked
+up. For a long minute the two girls looked
+at each other, then Frances, the girl with
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32' name='page_32'></a>32</span>
+the auburn hair and the friendly smile,
+nodded shyly.</p>
+<p>Little Betty didn&#8217;t take long deciding
+what she would do. She called eagerly,
+&#8220;Moving in?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, we are,&#8221; laughed Alice, waving her
+hand toward the piles of boxes and rubbish
+stacked up on the back stairs of the building.</p>
+<p>Ed, who had started back into the house,
+looked around and, seeing his sisters had
+made a small start toward conversation,
+called a question on his own responsibility.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Going to use &#8217;em all?&#8221; he asked, pointing
+to the boxes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dear me, I guess not,&#8221; said Alice. &#8220;I
+don&#8217;t see how we could!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then will you give me a box?&#8221; he asked,
+running back in the yard till he stood right
+under the balcony. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to get
+some rabbits, John and I are, and we want a
+box for their home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come on over and see which one you
+want,&#8221; suggested Alice, &#8220;and I&#8217;ll ask father.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_33' name='page_33'></a>33</span></p>
+<p>Ed and his brother John lost no time
+climbing over the fence and inspecting the
+boxes. By the time Alice brought Mr. Merrill,
+he had picked out just the one he wanted
+and was very grateful when it was given him
+for his own.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you want to come over and see &#8217;em
+make the rabbit house?&#8221; suggested Frances
+shyly. &#8220;Oh, maybe you&#8217;re busy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sure we can come,&#8221; replied Alice,
+&#8220;because mother just told me she wished
+we&#8217;d get some fresh air.&#8221; So Alice and
+Mary Jane followed the others to the back yard
+and helped hold nails and boards and make
+the rabbit house. When it was nearly finished
+the children&#8217;s mother, who proved to
+be very charming Mrs. Holden, came out
+with a plate of cookies and a welcome for
+the two little strangers.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thank you for the cookies,&#8221; said Mary
+Jane politely, &#8220;but we&#8217;re not strange&mdash;that
+is, not any more, we aren&#8217;t, we know each
+other&mdash;all of us do!&#8221;</p>
+<p>And so it really seemed to all the children.
+They were friends from the first day and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_34' name='page_34'></a>34</span>
+making the rabbit house was just the beginning
+of many nice times in that friendly back
+yard.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='VISITING_WITH_BETTY' id='VISITING_WITH_BETTY'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35' name='page_35'></a>35</span>
+<h2>VISITING WITH BETTY</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>Three days of hard work for everybody
+and then the little flat into which
+the Merrills had moved began to look like
+a real home. The unpacking was all done
+and the rubbish cleared away; the furniture
+was polished and set in place; the closets
+were in order and every cupboard and shelf
+held just the right things for comfort. It
+wasn&#8217;t such an easy matter to stow away all
+the things the Merrills had used in their
+pretty house&mdash;the five room apartment was
+much smaller than the house of course&mdash;but
+with everybody&#8217;s help the job was done.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill, happily,
+in the late afternoon of the third day, &#8220;if
+you&#8217;ll run the rods in these curtains, Mary
+Jane, I&#8217;ll hang them up where they belong
+and then we&#8217;ll all three go to market and
+then&mdash;guess what? We&#8217;ll have dinner in
+our own new home!&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36' name='page_36'></a>36</span></p>
+<p>Mary Jane thought that would be fun,
+for, much as she loved eating in the hotel
+where they had been living while getting
+the new home fixed, she liked better to eat
+her mother&#8217;s cooking. So it was a very
+happy little girl who slipped the rods into
+the living room curtains and then put on her
+hat and hunted up the market basket from
+the pantry.</p>
+<p>Now many times before this, Mary Jane
+had been marketing with her mother. But
+never had she been to such a market! Before,
+marketing meant going to the grocery
+store about three blocks from their home; it
+meant talking to the very interested and
+friendly grocer who had known Mary Jane
+ever since she first appeared at the grocery
+in her big, well-covered cab&mdash;she was then
+about two months old; it meant telling Mr.
+Shover, the grocer, just what they wanted
+and picking out the sorts of things they liked
+best. But marketing in Chicago was
+very different. In the first place there
+wasn&#8217;t a person around they had ever seen
+before; and then everything was so big and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37' name='page_37'></a>37</span>
+there was so much food. Mary Jane
+thought there couldn&#8217;t possibly be enough
+folks in Chicago to eat all those good things!
+But when she and her mother actually got
+into the store and began to buy, Mary Jane
+forgot all about the strangeness and remembered
+only the fun. For they didn&#8217;t get
+somebody to wait on them as they used to
+at Mr. Shover&#8217;s&mdash;not at all! They waited
+on themselves! They went through a little
+turnstile and then wandered around
+among the good things all by themselves and
+they took down from the well-stocked
+shelves anything they wanted. It certainly
+was queer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can we just take <i>anything</i>?&#8221; exclaimed
+Mary Jane in amazement as her mother
+explained what they were to do.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; laughed Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;you must
+remember we have to pay for things just the
+same as we used to at Mr. Shover&#8217;s. But we
+can take anything we want&mdash;if we pay for
+it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I&#8217;ll pick you out some good things
+to eat, mother!&#8221; cried Mary Jane happily,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38' name='page_38'></a>38</span>
+&#8220;don&#8217;t you worry about thinking what we&#8217;re
+going to have!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Now Mary Jane really did know how to
+read, at least a little, but she didn&#8217;t stop
+to read on this important occasion. She
+looked at the pictures on the cans of goodies
+and she picked out a can of all her favorites
+and set them in the basket Mrs. Merrill
+carried on her arm. But that didn&#8217;t
+work, for Mrs. Merrill had a long list and
+the basket wouldn&#8217;t hold only so much. So
+they decided to let Mrs. Merrill pick out
+three things from her list and then Mary
+Jane could buy one favorite; then three
+more things from the list and then another
+favorite. That proved to be great fun and
+it certainly did fill the basket in a hurry!
+Mary Jane was just trying to decide between
+a box of marshmallows and a pan of nice,
+gooey, sugary sweet rolls when Mrs. Merrill
+said, &#8220;whichever you decide, Mary Jane,
+you&#8217;ll have to carry the bundle yourself, because
+this basket won&#8217;t hold another parcel&mdash;not
+even a little one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane decided on the rolls and she
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39' name='page_39'></a>39</span>
+took them over to the counter to have them
+wrapped up and there she almost bumped
+into&mdash;Betty Holden, no less! Betty and
+her mother were shopping too, and their basket
+was almost as full as Mrs. Merrill&#8217;s.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We market after school,&#8221; said Mrs.
+Holden, &#8220;and then Ed brings his wagon to
+meet us and hauls the stuff home. We&#8217;ll
+get him to give you a lift too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And then can Mary Jane come over to
+our house to play?&#8221; asked Betty.</p>
+<p>&#8220;For a little while,&#8221; agreed Mrs. Merrill,
+smilingly, &#8220;but she won&#8217;t want to stay very
+long to-day because we&#8217;re going to have our
+first dinner in our new home and she&#8217;s promised
+to help me lots&mdash;and I need it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Just then they spied Ed&#8217;s face at the door
+so they hurried through the second turnstile,
+paid for their groceries and left the store.
+Ed&#8217;s wagon proved to be very big and he
+was glad to give them plenty of room for
+the Merrill basket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you going to start in school to-morrow?&#8221;
+asked Betty as they walked off toward
+home.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40' name='page_40'></a>40</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going over to see about that to-morrow
+morning,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill. &#8220;We&#8217;ve
+been so busy unpacking and settling that we
+haven&#8217;t even thought about it till now. Do
+you like your school, Betty?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I do, lots!&#8221; exclaimed Betty heartily.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m just through kindergarten this
+spring, I am, and next fall I&#8217;m first year.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I think you must be just about
+where Mary Jane will be,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill.</p>
+<p>The two little girls ran skipping ahead,
+talking about what they would do and where
+they would sit and all the things that girls
+plan for school.</p>
+<p>But when Mrs. Merrill took Alice and
+Mary Jane over the next morning, it didn&#8217;t
+work out as planned. Alice was entered
+and found herself in the very same room and
+only two seats away from Frances, which
+seemed perfect. But there wasn&#8217;t room
+for Mary Jane! The kindergarten was
+crowded, very, very crowded, and new little
+folks weren&#8217;t allowed to come in. Miss Gilbert,
+the teacher, talked with Mary Jane a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41' name='page_41'></a>41</span>
+while and Mary Jane told her all the work
+she had done and all the things she had
+learned about.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I really think, Mrs. Merrill,&#8221; said the
+teacher finally, &#8220;that your little girl is ready
+for the first grade. She seems very well
+prepared. But they don&#8217;t take new first
+graders so late in the year. Why don&#8217;t you
+keep her out of school the rest of this term
+and then next year, enter her in the first
+grade?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill thought that was a fine plan.
+There would be so many new sights to see
+and things to learn in the city that Mary
+Jane would find plenty to do.</p>
+<p>But Mary Jane was keenly disappointed.
+&#8220;I wanted to stay in Betty&#8217;s room,&#8221; she explained
+to the teacher. &#8220;She asked me to
+sit by her this morning, she did, and I promised
+yes I would.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I&#8217;ll tell you what you may do,&#8221;
+suggested the teacher kindly. &#8220;Two of our
+folks are absent this morning so we have
+enough chairs to go around. Wouldn&#8217;t you
+like to stay with Betty and visit? And
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42' name='page_42'></a>42</span>
+then just a little before time for school to
+be out, Betty can take you up to your sister&#8217;s
+room and she can bring you home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill agreed that that was a fine
+plan, so Mary Jane went to the cloak room
+to hang up her hat and her mother hurried
+back home.</p>
+<p>At first Mary Jane felt very strange in
+the new school room. There were so many
+children there and the songs were new and
+the games were new and everything seemed
+different. She almost&mdash;not really, but <i>almost</i>&mdash;wished
+she had gone home with her
+mother. And then, after singing three
+songs Mary Jane didn&#8217;t know, the children
+made a big circle and let Mary Jane stand in
+the middle and they sang the song Mary
+Jane knew so very well,</p>
+<p>&#8220;I went to visit a friend to-day,
+She only lives across the way,
+She said she couldn&#8217;t come out to play
+Because it was her &mdash;&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Quick as a flash Mary Jane dropped onto
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43' name='page_43'></a>43</span>
+her knees and began to act out packing
+things into a box.</p>
+<p>For a minute the children hesitated.
+That was a strange thing to be acting; Mary
+Jane was not washing or ironing or churning
+or sweeping or any of the things the children
+usually acted and they were all
+puzzled. Then suddenly Betty remembered
+the back stairway and all the piles of
+boxes and excelsior on Mary Jane&#8217;s back
+stairway and she called out the end of the
+song&mdash;&#8220;because it was her moving day!&#8221;
+And everybody finished the verse with a
+flourish.</p>
+<p>After that Mary Jane felt more at home
+and the morning went oh, so very quickly,
+till recess time, when they all went out into
+the big yard to play in the sunshine.</p>
+<p>Betty and her particular friends were
+gathering together for a circle game in the
+corner of the yard when Mary Jane heard
+a soft, helpless little sound close at hand.
+Without stopping to say anything to any
+one, she ran over to the fence and there,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44' name='page_44'></a>44</span>
+caught in between the tall iron bars, was the
+tiniest, blackest little dog she had ever seen.
+He evidently had seen the children coming
+out to play, had wanted to play with them
+and had supposed he could slip right
+through between the bars of the fence.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane tried to pull him out but he
+was stuck fast. So she called Betty.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here!&#8221; shouted one of the boys, &#8220;I&#8217;ll
+pull him out!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No you don&#8217;t,&#8221; cried Betty imperatively,
+&#8220;you let him alone! We&#8217;ll do it!&#8221; And
+her snapping black eyes flashed so positively
+that the boy obeyed. But Betty couldn&#8217;t
+pull the dog through either, the bars were
+too close, she couldn&#8217;t move him either way.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what let&#8217;s do,&#8221; she said.
+&#8220;Mary Jane, you stay here and guard him
+so nobody tries to pull him out and I&#8217;ll go
+and get Tom and he&#8217;ll know what to do.&#8221;
+Tom was the janitor.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane stood close by the dog and
+patted his head and talked kindly to him so
+he would know somebody was trying to help
+him. And all the girls and boys who had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45' name='page_45'></a>45</span>
+started to play together gathered around and
+watched Mary Jane while Betty ran back to
+the school building and down into the basement
+to fetch the janitor.</p>
+<p>Fortunately, Tom was in his office and
+came quickly in response to Betty&#8217;s call.
+He saw at once what the trouble was and
+discovered a way to remedy it. It seems
+that the big iron bars that made the fence
+were heavier at the bottom than nearer the
+top, so the space between the bars got wider
+higher up. Tom took firm hold of the wiggling
+little creature and gently but very
+firmly pushed him straight up between the
+bars. That didn&#8217;t hurt like trying to pull
+him out, so the dog stopped barking and
+whining. And in a second Tom had him
+out&mdash;half way up the fence there was plenty
+of room to lift him right through.</p>
+<p>Poor little doggie! He was so glad to be
+out and so frightened by his experience that
+when Tom laid him down on the grass he
+looked quite forlorn. Mary Jane sat down
+beside him and gathered him up into her
+arms.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46' name='page_46'></a>46</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you be afraid, doggie,&#8221; she said
+softly, &#8220;we&#8217;ll take care of you, don&#8217;t you be
+afraid a bit!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What you going to do with him?&#8221; asked
+one of the girls.</p>
+<p>But Mary Jane didn&#8217;t have to answer that
+question. Before she could speak, a small
+boy came running along the street, crying as
+hard as he could cry and shouting between
+sobs, &#8220;I&#8217;ve lost my dog! I&#8217;ve lost my dog!
+Somebody&#8217;s stole my dog!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No they haven&#8217;t,&#8221; called Betty, &#8220;maybe
+this is yours!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The little boy rubbed his eyes, looked
+through the fence&mdash;and a look of happiness
+spread over his small face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s him! It&#8217;s him! It&#8217;s him!&#8221; he
+shouted happily, &#8220;then he isn&#8217;t stole!&#8221;</p>
+<p>It took only a minute to run around the
+gate, dash across the school yard and grab
+the tiny little dog into his arms. And the
+children could tell by the way the little creature
+snuggled down that the love wasn&#8217;t all
+on one side&mdash;evidently the little boy was a
+good master.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47' name='page_47'></a>47</span></p>
+<p>Right at that minute, before there was
+a chance to start a game or any play, a great
+bell in the school doorway began to ring.
+Mary Jane was used to a small school of
+course&mdash;a school so small that the teacher
+came to the window and simply called when
+recess was over. So she stared in amazement
+when the great bell rang out so noisily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come on!&#8221; shouted Betty, &#8220;recess is
+over!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Soon as I tell this doggie good-by!&#8221; replied
+Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>Betty didn&#8217;t hear and, supposing Mary
+Jane was right behind her, she went on into
+her place in line. And Mary Jane, remembering
+how leisurely folks went up after recess
+at her old school, didn&#8217;t pay any attention
+to the rapidly forming lines. She
+turned around and patted the tiny dog and
+nodded and smiled and whispered her
+good-by.</p>
+<p>When she did turn to go in with Betty, she
+was amazed to see all the children had disappeared
+into the building. She scampered
+over to the door as fast as ever she could.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48' name='page_48'></a>48</span>
+And up the stairs&mdash;but not a soul did she
+see! Only the click of a closing door could
+be heard&mdash;a click that made Mary Jane feel
+really shut out and lonely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now let&#8217;s see,&#8221; said Mary Jane to herself,
+&#8220;Betty&#8217;s room was right around a corner&mdash;&#8221;
+But there wasn&#8217;t any room around
+that first corner&mdash;only a long hall. A lump
+came into Mary Jane&#8217;s throat. The building
+was so big, so very, very big. And she
+felt so little, so very, very little. She swallowed
+twice, determined not to cry and then
+she said out loud in a queer frightened little
+voice, &#8220;I guess I&#8217;m lost. I&#8217;m lost in school!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='SAND_CASTLES' id='SAND_CASTLES'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_49' name='page_49'></a>49</span>
+<h2>SAND CASTLES</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;I Guess I&#8217;m lost! I&#8217;m lost in school!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane&#8217;s frightened little whisper
+sounded like a shout and the doors and
+walls and hallways seemed to echo back,
+&#8220;Lost! Little girl lost!&#8221; in a most desolate
+fashion. Mary Jane was so frightened that
+she stood perfectly still&mdash;just as still as
+though her shoes were fastened to the floor.
+And she looked straight ahead as though she
+was trying to see through the wall at which
+she was staring. To tell the truth, Mary
+Jane wasn&#8217;t trying to see through the wall.
+She didn&#8217;t even know a wall was in front of
+her. She couldn&#8217;t see a single thing, not
+even a big wall, because a mist of tears was
+in her eyes and a great lump was growing in
+her throat.</p>
+<p>Now Mary Jane wasn&#8217;t a baby. And she
+never cried&mdash;or any way, she <i>hardly</i> ever
+cried because she was going on six and girls
+who are going on six don&#8217;t cry. But to be
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_50' name='page_50'></a>50</span>
+lost in a strange school and in a strange city
+and&mdash;everything; well, it&#8217;s not much wonder
+that Mary Jane felt pretty queer.</p>
+<p>But before the tears had time to fall, there
+was a heavy footstep behind her and Mary
+Jane whirled around to see&mdash;the kindly face
+of Tom the janitor smiling at her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Aren&#8217;t you pretty late getting to your
+room?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane couldn&#8217;t answer. She was so
+relieved to have someone around that for
+a minute she just couldn&#8217;t get the lump out
+of her throat enough to talk.</p>
+<p>Tom must have been used to little girls&mdash;maybe
+he had one of his own&mdash;because he
+didn&#8217;t pay any attention to Mary Jane&#8217;s silence.
+He took hold of her hand and said pleasantly,
+&#8220;Now don&#8217;t you worry a minute.
+You just show me which your room is and
+I&#8217;ll go with you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking for it too,&#8221; said Mary Jane,
+finding her voice again, &#8220;but I don&#8217;t know
+where it is.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t know where your room is?&#8221; asked
+Tom in surprise.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_51' name='page_51'></a>51</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; replied Mary Jane with a decided
+shake of her head, &#8220;I don&#8217;t.&#8221; And then, for
+talking was now getting comfortable and
+easy, she added, &#8220;you see, it isn&#8217;t really my
+room. It&#8217;s Betty&#8217;s. And I&#8217;m just a-visiting
+her. I&#8217;m just moved to Chicago and
+they haven&#8217;t any chair for me only just to
+visit in when somebody&#8217;s absent.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That sounds like the kindergarten,&#8221; said
+Tom.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It is,&#8221; agreed Mary Jane with a laugh
+of relief, &#8220;I&#8217;m kindergarten, I am.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then here we go, right down this way,&#8221;
+said Tom, and off they started in just the opposite
+direction.</p>
+<p>Before they got clear up to the kindergarten,
+though, they met Miss Gilbert, who
+was coming in search of the little visitor.
+&#8220;Betty missed her,&#8221; she explained, &#8220;but I
+thought you&#8217;d find her, Tom.&#8221; With a
+thank you to her janitor friend, Mary Jane
+took tight hold of the teacher&#8217;s hand and
+they went into the kindergarten room together.</p>
+<p>After that, the morning went very quickly
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52' name='page_52'></a>52</span>
+and happily and Mary Jane could hardly
+believe her ears when the big whistles began
+to blow for twelve o&#8217;clock and Miss Gilbert
+told them to put away their scissors and
+cut-out papers and get ready to go home.
+Mary Jane had cut out two beautiful tulips
+and she was very happy when she was told
+they might be taken home as a souvenir of
+her visit.</p>
+<p>On the way home they met Frances and
+Alice and Ed so they had plenty of company.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What you doing Saturday?&#8221; asked Ed
+as they neared their own corner.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; replied Alice, &#8220;is there
+anything nice to do&mdash;special?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; answered Frances, &#8220;we were
+afraid you might all be busy&mdash;but&mdash;well
+you see, we were going to have a beach party
+and we thought maybe you folks would like
+to go along. All of you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Now Alice and Mary hadn&#8217;t the slightest
+idea what a beach party was, only of course
+they knew it must be something about the
+lake. But there wasn&#8217;t time for questions
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53' name='page_53'></a>53</span>
+and talk just then for Frances discovered
+that they had walked so slowly that they
+must rush on home to lunch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll get mother to tell you,&#8221; she promised,
+&#8220;and do say you&#8217;ll come &#8217;cause it&#8217;s a
+fire and cooking and marshmallows and
+piles of fun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And we&#8217;ve plenty of wires,&#8221; added
+Betty, &#8220;and they&#8217;re plenty long so you won&#8217;t
+burn your fingers.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It sounded amazingly puzzling to Alice
+and Mary Jane, who couldn&#8217;t in the least
+understand what a fire and wires and all that
+had to do with a beach. But they were to
+find out before so very long. For that same
+afternoon, while Alice was still in school,
+Mrs. Holden and Betty came over to call
+on Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane and then
+the beach party was all explained.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We go over to the lake very often,&#8221; said
+Mrs. Holden. &#8220;And on the sandy beach,
+close by the water, the children build a big
+fire. Then, when the coals are good, we
+toast sandwiches and roast &#8216;weenies&#8217; and
+toast marshmallows. The children are so
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54' name='page_54'></a>54</span>
+anxious to show your girls just how it is
+done,&#8221; she added, &#8220;and as the weather promises
+to be warm and sunny I think we should
+have an extra fine time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So it was settled. And a person would
+have thought from the excitement and fun
+of preparation that the party was to be that
+same day instead of twenty-four hours away.
+For as soon as Alice and the older Holden
+children came home from school, they all
+set to work planning the menu and getting
+out baskets and cleaning the wires on which,
+so the Merrill girls learned, marshmallows
+were held over the coals to be toasted.</p>
+<p>But when everything that could be done
+the day before, was finished, there was still
+some time for play, so the children went
+down into the Holden yard and the boys,
+Ed and John, showed the girls how to run a
+track meet&mdash;how to jump and vault and
+race in proper track style. Alice and Mary
+Jane thought the boys wonderfully skilled
+and the boys, thrilled by such warm admiration,
+broke all their previous records and had
+a beautiful time.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55' name='page_55'></a>55</span></p>
+<p>At four o&#8217;clock the next afternoon the two
+families set out for the beach party. And
+it surely was quite a procession that made its
+way the four or five blocks to the park.
+First there was John with the wagon which
+held all the heavy things&mdash;baskets of food
+and such. Next came Ed, who started
+out walking behind the wagon to see that
+nothing dropped off. He and John were to
+take turns pulling the load. Then the
+others carried bundles of kindling and the
+wires for marshmallows and toasting racks
+for meat. They had such a jolly time getting
+off that everybody felt sure the party
+was to be a success.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane had been so busy helping get
+settled and all that, that she hadn&#8217;t had
+time for a real visit on the beach. To be
+sure she had had glimpses of the big blue
+they could see down their own street, but to
+really come over and see the lake and play
+in the sand&mdash;this was her first trip. So she
+skipped along very happily and thought she
+could hardly wait till they got there.</p>
+<p>Fortunately they hadn&#8217;t far to go. Three
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56' name='page_56'></a>56</span>
+blocks down and two blocks over and there
+was the park&mdash;such a beautiful park with
+tiny lakes and bridges and great trees whose
+buds were swelling in the warm afternoon
+spring sunshine. Mary Jane thought she
+must be in fairyland come to life, it was all
+so beautiful. They crossed an arched
+bridge; saw a lovely view off toward the
+south where other bridges and lagoons and
+trees made such a pretty picture they were
+tempted to stay and look longer; walked
+around a big circle where, so John told them,
+the band gave concerts in the summer time;
+circled a tiny little inlet lake and came out,
+quite suddenly, right close to the big lake&mdash;Lake
+Michigan. It almost took Mary
+Jane&#8217;s breath way, coming suddenly that
+way, upon the sight of so much water. It
+was all so blue and clear, she thought, for
+the minute, that surely it must be the very
+same ocean she had seen in Florida only a
+few weeks before.</p>
+<p>But the boys didn&#8217;t give much time for
+sight-seeing of lakes&mdash;they had seen the
+good old lake many a time and they were
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57' name='page_57'></a>57</span>
+thinking more about supper than any view,
+however pretty.</p>
+<p>So they hurried their wagon across the
+boulevard driveway, and of course all the
+folks had to follow close behind, and down
+the beach walk a couple of hundred yards
+and there they settled themselves on a
+stretch of clean white sand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now,&#8221; said big brother Linn, whom the
+girls hadn&#8217;t seen much of as yet, but who
+seemed to be master of ceremonies, &#8220;you boys
+gather those big logs down there, you girls
+fix the kindling and I&#8217;ll set these stones up
+so we get a good draft when we light our
+fire.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Everybody set to work. The logs proved
+to be so big and heavy that Ed and John
+were very glad to have the help of their
+father and Mr. Merrill to roll them into
+place. The four girls sorted out the kindling
+in their basket and added to it by picking
+up drift wood on the beach. Frances
+explained that they always brought some
+along to be sure they had some real dry
+wood for a start.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58' name='page_58'></a>58</span></p>
+<p>With such good help and so much of it,
+of course it wasn&#8217;t long till a fine blaze was
+going and the beach party was actually begun.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go ahead and play now,&#8221; said Linn,
+when he saw the fire was started and that
+there was a big pile of reserve wood close
+by. &#8220;You know we can&#8217;t cook till we get
+some coals.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;m starved,&#8221; hinted Ed, with a hungry
+look toward the baskets his mother and
+Mrs. Merrill were guarding.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then you&#8217;ll have to stay starved, young
+man,&#8221; said his mother, laughing, &#8220;because
+not a basket is to be opened till the coals are
+ready for cooking.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then let&#8217;s make a sand castle,&#8221; suggested
+Betty and she ran down to a smooth place
+on the beach, away from possible smoke, and
+began molding the white sand.</p>
+<p>That pleased Mary Jane. She hadn&#8217;t
+forgotten the fun she had playing on
+the beach in Florida, and while this beach
+was different&mdash;it didn&#8217;t have any of the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59' name='page_59'></a>59</span>
+pretty shells or funny little crawdads she
+had found on the Florida beach&mdash;still it had
+lovely white sand and dainty little waves
+and was quite the nicest place for play that
+Mary Jane had seen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what let&#8217;s do,&#8221; suggested
+Alice, as she saw that all the children were
+going to play in the sand, &#8220;let&#8217;s each build a
+castle and make it any way we like best and
+then when they&#8217;re all finished, have an exhibition
+and everybody look and see which
+is the best.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right, let&#8217;s,&#8221; agreed the children and
+they set to work.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane chose for her castle a place
+down close by the water. She loved the
+nearness of the waves and the thrill of knowing
+that maybe, if she didn&#8217;t watch out, a
+wave would come up really close and get
+her wet. Betty picked out a spot nearer the
+fire on the side away from the smoke and
+Alice chose a place where a few pretty pebbles
+would give her material with which to
+pave a &#8220;moat&#8221; she intended to make.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60' name='page_60'></a>60</span></p>
+<p>And then everybody set to work. So busy
+were they that Linn had to tend the fire all
+by himself and Ed forgot he was hungry.</p>
+<p>Before very long that beach looked like a
+picture book. Towers and ditches and castles
+and bridges were where flat sand had
+been a few minutes before. The Holden
+children had made many a sand house and
+they knew just how to pack the damp sand
+so it would stay in place and just how to put
+a small board here and there to hold a second
+story or a tower straight and tall.</p>
+<p>But with all their experience, Alice&#8217;s castle
+was as pretty as theirs, or at any rate she
+thought it was, and Mary Jane&#8217;s was quite
+wonderful. She smoothed off the &#8220;garden&#8221;
+in front of her palace, stuck in a few sticks
+for flowers, made a pebbly path down to the
+tiny lake she had scooped out at one side
+and then shouted, &#8220;Mine&#8217;s done! Look at
+mine!&#8221; and stepped aside so all could see
+her handiwork.</p>
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_2' id='linki_2'></a>
+<img src='images/maryj-061.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 327px; height: 462px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 327px;'>
+And then, sliding in the wet sand, she sat right down in<br />
+the lake and sent a wave of ripples right over her castle <i>Page 61</i><br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63' name='page_63'></a>63</span></div>
+<p>But Mary Jane wasn&#8217;t used to working so
+close to the water and she forgot entirely
+where she was! Instead of stepping to one
+side, as she should have done, she stepped
+backwards&mdash;straight into the big lake!
+And then, sliding in the wet sand, she sat
+right down in the lake and sent a big wave
+of ripples&mdash;right over her castle and garden
+and lake and everything and washed it all
+away, every bit!</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='THE_BEACH_SUPPER' id='THE_BEACH_SUPPER'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64' name='page_64'></a>64</span>
+<h2>THE BEACH SUPPER</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>A minute before Mary Jane slid into
+the lake, the beach was a scene of busy
+building and fun. Linn tended the fire, the
+grown folks gathered wood and visited and
+guarded baskets and the children all were intent
+on their sand castles. But with Mary
+Jane&#8217;s tumble everything changed.</p>
+<p>Sand flew helter skelter as the children
+jumped hastily and ran to Mary Jane&#8217;s assistance;
+castles were trampled on as though
+they didn&#8217;t exist and fire wood and baskets
+were all forgotten.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid, you&#8217;re all right!&#8221; called
+Mrs. Merrill as she ran toward her little
+girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Coming! Coming! Here!&#8221; shouted
+Mr. Merrill reassuringly as he dashed over
+to his little daughter, picked her up by the
+shoulders and set her, safe and sound, on
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65' name='page_65'></a>65</span>
+dry sand just in time to miss a fair sized
+wave.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;m wet!&#8221; said Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess you are,&#8221; laughed Mr. Merrill,
+&#8220;but I guess things will dry and you&#8217;re not
+so very awfully too wet&mdash;not enough to
+spoil the party, is she, mother?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill looked thoughtful and all
+the children waited anxiously for her answer.
+Would Mary Jane have to go clear
+off home and miss the party and everything!
+But it wasn&#8217;t to be as bad as all that. Mrs.
+Merrill remembered the warm day, the glowing
+sun that was still bright and warm and
+she also remembered the hot fire Linn had
+underway and the warm sand all around the
+fire.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course she isn&#8217;t wet enough to spoil
+the party,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill, much to every
+one&#8217;s relief. &#8220;Only she&#8217;ll have to stay close
+by the fire till she gets warm and dry. Suppose
+we appoint her head cook and make her
+stay right there where it&#8217;s hot?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll get dry then!&#8221; exclaimed Ed, so
+fervently that they all knew he had had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66' name='page_66'></a>66</span>
+many a hot face from working by the fire
+at previous picnics.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But how about your castles?&#8221; asked Mr.
+Holden, &#8220;weren&#8217;t we to have an exhibit?&#8221;</p>
+<p>But the castles! Dear me! In the excitement
+of Mary Jane&#8217;s tumble, no one had
+given a thought to the castles. They were
+stepped on, and trampled down and all
+matted down into the sand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just too bad!&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pooh!&#8221; exclaimed John, dismissing the
+whole question of castles with one wave of
+the hand, &#8220;who cares about castles! <i>We&#8217;re</i>
+going to have supper.&#8221; And every one set
+to work.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane was supposed to be head cook,
+but as she had never before been to a beach
+party, she really didn&#8217;t know what to do.
+So she simply stayed close by the hot fire
+while the boys brought three benches and
+made them in a triangle around the fire&mdash;a
+little way back of course. Then Mrs.
+Holden and Mrs. Merrill unpacked the
+baskets and fixed a place on the bench for
+each person. To be sure nobody was expected
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67' name='page_67'></a>67</span>
+to sit on the bench&mdash;that would be
+quite too proper for a beach party meal.
+But the mothers put a paper plate and a cup
+for each person on the benches and then they
+put on the plate as many sandwiches and
+pickles and cookies and everything as each
+person was entitled to.</p>
+<p>While they were doing this, Linn raked
+down the hot coals, set in place a light wire
+rack he had made and spread a couple of
+dozen weenies out to roast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then, Mary Jane,&#8221; he said to the
+head cook, &#8220;you take this long fork. And
+as soon as a weenie begins to sputter and
+brown, turn it over so it browns on the other
+side too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>That was a very important job, Mary
+Jane could easily see, and she determined
+that every weenie <i>she</i> cooked would be done
+just to a turn. She bent over the fire till
+her back got a crook in it; then she sat down
+on the hot sand close to the coals and by the
+time the weenies were done ready to eat she
+was so dry and hot that she felt sure she had
+never slipped into the lake&mdash;never!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68' name='page_68'></a>68</span></p>
+<p>And all the time Mary Jane was cook,
+Linn and Mr. Merrill stayed close to see that
+the coals kept evenly hot and that no bit of
+flame started up to burn the head cook.</p>
+<p>At last the weenies were ready. Each
+one was beautifully brown and was sizzling
+and sputtering and sending a most tempting
+odor to hungry folks.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Form a line, folks,&#8221; said Mrs. Holden,
+&#8220;ladies first!&#8221;</p>
+<p>With much laughter, each person got their
+own roll, which had been split and buttered,
+and filed passed Mary Jane. And Mary
+Jane, instructed by Linn just how to do her
+job, picked up one weenie after another on
+the long fork and dropped each one in an
+open roll held out before her. It was a scary
+job, for the sand was close below and Mary
+Jane knew that weenies dropped into the
+sand wouldn&#8217;t taste very good. But she
+took her time&mdash;too much time, John thought.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t be &#8217;fraid of any old sand,&#8221; he assured
+her when she put his weenie in his
+roll so very carefully, &#8220;I eat &#8217;em any way&mdash;sand
+or not.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69' name='page_69'></a>69</span></p>
+<p>Betty eyed Mary Jane a bit enviously.
+This being chief cook and having a chance
+to fill the rolls of each person must surely
+be fun.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Next time we have a beach party,&#8221; she
+announced between bites, &#8220;<i>I&#8217;m</i> going to fall
+into the lake too!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll save you the trouble,&#8221; replied Mr.
+Holden understandingly, &#8220;I&#8217;ll let you be
+chief cook without getting wet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Betty needn&#8217;t have worried about Mary
+Jane&#8217;s being willing to give up her job.
+For there was one disadvantage in that position
+Miss Betty hadn&#8217;t thought of and Mary
+Jane had just discovered&mdash;the head cook
+had no time to eat. And Mary Jane was
+getting fearfully hungry. She was more
+than willing to give up the big fork, let
+Betty fill her roll for her and stand up with
+the others to eat the good hot morsel.</p>
+<p>Did anything ever taste as good as those
+hot weenie sandwiches, eaten there on the
+edge of Lake Michigan, with the fine lake
+air blowing in their faces and the sunshine
+warming them and making them forget the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_70' name='page_70'></a>70</span>
+chill of the long winter? The Merrills
+thought they had never had so much fun and
+tasted such good things. Every weenie
+(and there had seemed to be far too many)
+was eaten up; every roll disappeared and
+cookies and pickles and sandwiches just vanished
+as though a warm breeze had melted
+them away.</p>
+<p>Supper over, the sun going down reminded
+the children that they must get the
+fire ready for dark. They scampered up
+and down the broad beach, gathering together
+all the pieces of drift wood they could
+find. Later in the year wood along that
+beach would be hard to find. But in the
+early spring, before the driftings of the winter&#8217;s
+storms had been burned up by picnickers
+like themselves, there was plenty to be
+had.</p>
+<p>Linn and Ed put away the cooking rack
+in the case they had made for it, the two
+mothers packed up débris and burned it so
+the beach would be left clean and tidy, and
+all the others gathered wood. Such a lot
+as they did find! Linn piled it on high and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71' name='page_71'></a>71</span>
+by the time the sun went to sleep in the
+west, the fire was so bright that nobody noticed
+the growing darkness. They all sat
+around on the warm sand and sang&mdash;college
+songs that the children had learned from the
+fathers, school songs and popular songs that
+they all knew. It was fun to sit there close
+by the big lake, to watch the sparks fly upward,
+to hear the waves swish against the
+sand and to sing and sing as loud as they
+liked.</p>
+<p>But when the darkness settled down
+enough so that mysterious shadows lurked
+over every shoulder and the stars helped the
+fire make a light, Ed announced, &#8220;Now let&#8217;s
+play Indian.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So they did. Playing Indian, the Merrill
+girls found, meant a queer follow-the-leader
+game. Ed led off first and everybody had
+to follow. He ran round and round the
+fire, prancing and yelling like a wild man.
+And the point of the game was for everybody
+to do exactly as he did. They ran and
+jumped and yelled till everybody was
+breathless with exercise and laughter and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72' name='page_72'></a>72</span>
+was glad to sit down again and do nothing.</p>
+<p>By this time the fire had again died down
+to a bed of coals.</p>
+<p>&#8220;<i>Now</i> it&#8217;s time for the marshmallows,
+isn&#8217;t it?&#8221; asked Betty. She was right, it
+was.</p>
+<p>The boxes of marshmallows were opened,
+wires pulled out of the baskets and all the
+children sat around the fire a-toasting.
+&#8217;Twas just as Betty had promised. The
+wires were plenty long enough so that no
+fingers needed to be burned or dresses
+scorched and the bed of coals was big enough
+to make room for all.</p>
+<p>Betty and Mary Jane thought they would
+keep count and see who could eat the most,
+but after six they lost count, and they ate
+and ate till they simply couldn&#8217;t eat any
+more.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s play still pond,&#8221; suggested Frances.</p>
+<p>She stood up near the fire and announced,
+&#8220;Twenty steps, two jumps, three hops and
+a roll. One, two, three, four, five, six,
+seven, eight, nine, ten&mdash;<span style='font-variant: small-caps'>STILL POND</span>.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73' name='page_73'></a>73</span></p>
+<p>As she said the numbers off, the children
+began scampering to a place to safety. All
+but Mary Jane. She wasn&#8217;t used to playing
+on the slippery, slidy sand. And
+though she started off just as big as anybody,
+she slipped and stumbled and hadn&#8217;t more
+than got to her feet when the words, &#8220;Still
+pond!&#8221; were called. And after that she
+couldn&#8217;t move but just to use the steps,
+jumps, hops and roll Frances had given
+them.</p>
+<p>To make matters even more exciting,
+Frances started off exactly in her direction.</p>
+<p>But Mary Jane hadn&#8217;t played &#8220;Still
+Pond&#8221; in her own yard for nothing. Perhaps
+she hadn&#8217;t learned to run on slippery
+sand as yet, but she did know how to play
+that game. Instead of trying to quietly
+take her twenty steps in an effort to get out
+of Frances&#8217; way, she took two quick steps,
+dropped down on the sand, gave one little
+roll, and&mdash;was safely hidden under one of
+the picnic benches they had used for supper!</p>
+<p>Frances passed so close Mary Jane could
+have touched her. Other folks were chased
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74' name='page_74'></a>74</span>
+and found, but Mary Jane&#8217;s hiding place
+was undiscovered. Of course when she
+rolled in under the bench, Mary Jane had
+expected to roll right out again when somebody
+else was caught. But when she found
+that they couldn&#8217;t see her; that they went
+right around close at hand, talking about her
+and wondering where she was and all that,
+she thought it was such a good joke that she
+lay very still and watched.</p>
+<p>She heard them asking each other where
+she was seen last; she heard her father say
+she couldn&#8217;t be so very far away; and she
+saw them all start off in search of herself.
+Then, just the minute their backs were
+turned but before they had had time to be
+really frightened, she slipped out from under
+her seat, stood up close by the dying fire
+and shouted, &#8220;Here I am, can&#8217;t you see me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>They thought it a very good joke she had
+played and Mary Jane was sure she would
+always remember that the best hiding place
+is often the nearest one.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Time to go home,&#8221; said Mr. Holden,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_75' name='page_75'></a>75</span>
+looking at his watch, &#8220;the fire&#8217;s most out and
+the party&#8217;s over.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But there&#8217;ll be another one, won&#8217;t
+there?&#8221; begged Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s have it next week,&#8221; said Betty.</p>
+<p>The boys loaded up the empty baskets on
+their wagon&mdash;not much of a load going
+home! Mr. Merrill raked out the fire so no
+harm would come to anything; Mr. Holden
+gathered the children together and started
+the line of march. It was a happy little
+crowd that wandered homeward and they all
+agreed with Mary Jane when she said,
+&#8220;Well, anyway, I think a beach party&#8217;s the
+mostest fun I know. It&#8217;s more fun than
+moving!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='MARY_JANE_GOES_SHOPPING' id='MARY_JANE_GOES_SHOPPING'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76' name='page_76'></a>76</span>
+<h2>MARY JANE GOES SHOPPING</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The days after the beach party seemed
+to fly past on wings. First it was a
+Monday and then, before a person could do
+half the nice things planned, Saturday was
+coming &#8217;round again and Alice was home
+all day from school and fun for the four
+Merrills could be planned. Mrs. Merrill
+and Mary Jane took to doing all their &#8220;Saturday
+marketing&#8221; on Friday afternoon so
+they could have more time on Saturday for
+trips and sight-seeing and all the lovely
+things folks like to do when they&#8217;ve just
+moved to a big city.</p>
+<p>One Saturday morning, not so very long
+after the beach party, dawned&mdash;not bright
+and warm and sunny as Mary Jane had
+hoped it surely would&mdash;but rainy and cold
+and windy as some May mornings are sure to
+be in Chicago. A cold northeast wind raced
+across the city and folks had blue noses and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77' name='page_77'></a>77</span>
+shivery finger tips and not a single thing to
+be seen looked like spring.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now just look at it!&#8221; exclaimed Mary
+Jane as she stared out of the living-room
+window, &#8220;and we were going to take a trip
+through the parks and I was going to wear
+my new hat and everything. And look!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And we can&#8217;t go to the parks again for
+another whole week!&#8221; bemoaned Alice,
+&#8220;&#8217;cause there&#8217;s school!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just look!&#8221; exclaimed Mary Jane again
+as a hard gust of wind tossed the rain against
+the winds exactly as though Mr. Rain was
+saying to Mary Jane, &#8220;Thought you&#8217;d go
+out, did you? Well, look what I&#8217;m doing!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You girls talk as though parks were the
+only things to see in Chicago,&#8221; said Mrs.
+Merrill as pleasantly and comfortably as
+though there was no such thing as a disappointment
+in the world.</p>
+<p>Alice and Mary Jane turned away from
+the window quickly. Something in their
+mother&#8217;s tone of voice made them suspect
+that the day wasn&#8217;t to be a disappointment
+after all.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78' name='page_78'></a>78</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s funny to me,&#8221; continued Mrs. Merrill
+in a matter of fact voice, &#8220;that you folks
+haven&#8217;t asked to go to the big stores&mdash;wouldn&#8217;t
+you like to?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Like to!&#8221; exclaimed Alice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Would we?&#8221; cried Mary Jane. &#8220;But
+we didn&#8217;t think about it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then we&#8217;ll think about it now,&#8221; replied
+Mrs. Merrill. &#8220;If you can hold an umbrella
+down tight over your head so as not
+to get your hat wet, I think we could manage
+to get to the train without getting soaked.
+And once down at the store, we could check
+our wet umbrellas and shop and sight-see
+through the stores all we wished to without a
+bit of hurry.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, may we really go?&#8221; asked Alice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; answered Mrs. Merrill, pretending
+to hesitate, &#8220;if you <i>really</i> care to&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>That settled it and there was no more time
+wasted talking about weather <i>that</i> morning.
+Dishes were washed and beds were made
+and dusting was done so quickly that the
+little flat must have been quite surprised and
+pleased with itself&mdash;it got put into rights so
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79' name='page_79'></a>79</span>
+very quickly. Then Mary Jane got her
+hair fixed nicely and a pretty hair bow put
+on&mdash;the bow wouldn&#8217;t show very much under
+the new hat, but even that little had to
+be just right&mdash;and then, while mother fixed
+her own and Alice&#8217;s hair, she put on a pretty
+dress&mdash;not a party dress, of course, but a
+nice, pretty, dark dress. Then they all put
+on rubbers and raincoats and locked up the
+doors and took their umbrellas and started
+for the train.</p>
+<p>Going down town on the train was fun.
+In the city where Mary Jane lived before,
+one could walk down town. Or if one
+really wanted to ride, a street car hustled
+one to the stores in about five minutes. But
+in Chicago, so she discovered, she had to
+have a ticket and go through a gate, and up
+stairs and onto a platform and aboard a train
+and everything just as though one intended
+to go away, far off. The girls both liked to
+ride down town. To be sure they couldn&#8217;t
+see much of the lake, even though they did
+ride right along beside it, because the rain
+made it all look dim and gray and foggy.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80' name='page_80'></a>80</span>
+But they knew the lake was there; they could
+see the spray the waves made and once in a
+while they could hear the noise of splashing
+water above the roar of the train. All too
+soon, for there was so much to see, the train
+pulled into their station and the conductor
+shouted, &#8220;Randolph Street! Everybody
+out! Far&#8217;s we go!&#8221; And all the folks
+aboard got their umbrellas ready and went
+out into the rain.</p>
+<p>Fortunately it was only a very little way
+from the station to the big store where Mrs.
+Merrill took the girls, so they didn&#8217;t have a
+chance to get tired or very wet. And as
+soon as they got indoors, Mrs. Merrill found
+a checking place and they left wet umbrellas
+and wet raincoats and wet rubbers and
+started out for fun.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think that&#8217;s awfully convenient&mdash;just
+to leave things that way,&#8221; said Alice as she
+settled her collars and cuffs and made sure
+she was tidy, &#8220;and of course we&#8217;ll get them
+back safely?&#8221; This checking system was
+new to her and she wanted to be assured it
+was all right.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_81' name='page_81'></a>81</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;To be sure we will,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill.
+&#8220;See? I have the checks for them.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, then,&#8221; said Mary Jane, &#8220;let&#8217;s
+begin.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Alice, &#8220;let&#8217;s. And let&#8217;s see
+<i>everything</i>!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; laughed Mrs. Merrill; &#8220;shall
+we take an elevator first?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no,&#8221; answered Alice, &#8220;&#8217;cause then
+we&#8217;d miss the first floor.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So they &#8220;did&#8221; the first floor, seeing all the
+handkerchiefs and jewelry and bags and
+fans and pretty decorations and ribbons&mdash;Alice
+could hardly leave those lovely ribbons&mdash;and
+neckwear&mdash;Mary Jane saw five
+different neckties she needed&mdash;and so many
+things.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do they have anything left for the second
+floor?&#8221; asked Mary Jane when they
+finally got around to where they had started.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You just see,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill.</p>
+<p>And sure enough there were plenty of
+things on the second floor, pretty dishes and
+lamps and so many things that, really, Mary
+Jane almost got tired looking at them all.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82' name='page_82'></a>82</span></p>
+<p>By the time they got ready for the third
+floor, Mary Jane was wondering if there
+were any seats in that store. Not seats
+where you sit down to buy things, but really
+seats where you just sit down whether you
+buy anything or not. And sure enough
+there were just those seats. Nice, big
+comfy ones, that appeared to be made for
+Mary Janes who went a-shopping and
+wanted to sit down. The Merrills sat down
+on a big couch and Mary Jane leaned back
+ready to rest when&mdash;who should she see
+right in front of her but Frances Westland!
+The girl she met at grandmother&#8217;s house
+nearly a year ago.</p>
+<p>In a jiffy Mary Jane forgot all about
+wanting to sit down. She slid down from
+the comfortable couch, dashed after Frances,
+who, not guessing that a friend was so near,
+was hurrying by, and brought her back to
+meet mother and Alice.</p>
+<p>Then they all sat down for a visit.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I&#8217;m not living here,&#8221; said Frances in
+answer to Mrs. Merrill&#8217;s question, &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+been spending the spring with my auntie
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83' name='page_83'></a>83</span>
+and going to school here. But just as soon
+as school is out I&#8217;m going back home.
+Mother needs me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t doubt it,&#8221; replied Mrs. Merrill,
+who was much pleased with the little girl,
+&#8220;I&#8217;m sure your mother misses you greatly.
+But where are you living and can&#8217;t we see
+you before you go and can&#8217;t you take lunch
+with us to-day?&#8221;</p>
+<p>It seemed that Frances&#8217;s auntie lived in
+the same part of the city the Merrills lived
+in and there was every reason to believe that
+the girls might see each other at least once or
+twice in the little time left of the school
+year.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I don&#8217;t believe I can eat lunch with
+you,&#8221; added Frances, &#8220;&#8217;cause auntie and I
+have to hurry home.&#8221; So with a promise to
+come to see them soon at the address Mrs.
+Merrill wrote out on her card for Frances,
+the friends said good-by.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll declare!&#8221; exclaimed Mrs. Merrill,
+looking at her watch after Frances left them.
+&#8220;It&#8217;s almost twelve o&#8217;clock already! And
+we were to meet father at one. If you girls
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84' name='page_84'></a>84</span>
+want to see anything of the toys and dolls
+and playrooms, we&#8217;d better not be sitting
+around here any longer.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Of course the girls did want to see the
+toys and dolls and everything. When they
+got to the fourth floor where all the children&#8217;s
+things were kept, they were sorry they
+had spent even a minute any place else.
+For all the lovely dolls and marvelous toys
+and enticing games and beautiful pictures
+and fascinating puzzles made a person think
+that Santa Claus&#8217;s shop and fairyland and
+magic were all mixed up together and set
+down in one place. The girls looked and
+looked and looked. They &#8220;oh-ed&#8221; and
+&#8220;ah-ed&#8221; and exclaimed till they couldn&#8217;t
+think of anything more to say&mdash;and then
+they kept right on looking just the same.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane picked out the doll coat she
+wanted Georgiannamore to have and Alice
+selected a lovely desk. They agreed upon
+a set of dishes and upon charming furniture
+for their balcony&mdash;just the right size too.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And we&#8217;ll pretend we&#8217;ll buy it all,
+mother,&#8221; said Mary Jane, who knew perfectly
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85' name='page_85'></a>85</span>
+well she couldn&#8217;t buy all the things
+she talked about getting, &#8220;and we&#8217;ll pretend
+we&#8217;ll have it all sent up, that&#8217;ll be such fun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So they pretended and looked and looked
+and pretended till they had been over most
+all that part of the store.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;if we&#8217;re
+to meet Dadah for lunch&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, goody!&#8221; cried Alice, &#8220;are we to meet
+him here?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not here,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;but in
+this store in the lunch room and in ten minutes.
+So we&#8217;d better wash our hands and go
+to the lunch room floor.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. Merrill was waiting for them and had
+a table engaged close by a charming fountain
+(&#8220;Just think of a fountain in a house!&#8221;
+exclaimed Mary Jane when she spied it) and
+all the time Mary Jane sat there eating, she
+could look right over and watch the fishes
+and she could hear the splash of the water.</p>
+<p>But Mary Jane wasn&#8217;t thinking of fishes
+or water just then. She was hungry. And
+the things her father read to her sounded so
+good&mdash;oh, dear, but they did sound good!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86' name='page_86'></a>86</span>
+She and Alice had a dreadfully hard time
+deciding just what did sound the best. But
+Alice finally decided on stuffed chicken legs
+(she hadn&#8217;t an idea what they were but they
+sounded good) and potato salad and strawberry
+parfait. And Mary Jane chose
+chicken pie&mdash;a whole one all her own&mdash;and
+hashed brown potatoes and orange sherbet.</p>
+<p>While the lunch was being fixed, Mr.
+Merrill took Mary Jane over to the window
+so she could look down, down, way down, to
+the street below, where the folks appeared
+so little and upside down and where the
+automobiles looked like the ones they had
+just seen in the toy department.</p>
+<p>When the lunch came, it proved to be just
+as good as the menu promised it would be
+and the girls enjoyed every bite. Mary
+Jane was afraid for a minute that she had
+made a mistake. For Alice&#8217;s parfait came
+in a tall glass, with a long spoon that made
+the girls think of the story of the fox and
+the goose and the banquet, and Mary Jane
+was sure nothing she had ordered could be
+as nice as parfait. But when the maid set
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87' name='page_87'></a>87</span>
+the orange sherbet at her place, Mary Jane
+was quite satisfied, for the ice was set in a
+real orange, all cut out in dainty scallops
+and trimmed with green.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yummy-um!&#8221; she whispered, happily.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m so glad you had this party, Dadah!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Dadah seemed to want everything to be
+all right, for he had added to their order
+some little cakes, done up in frilly papers
+and unlike anything the girls had ever seen.
+They almost hated to eat them, they were so
+pretty, but cakes one cannot eat are not good
+for much, Mr. Merrill reminded them, and
+so the cakes were eaten up.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; said Mary Jane, as she dabbled
+her fingers in the finger bowl and ate up
+the candy she found at the side of the tiny
+tray, &#8220;what do we do next?&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='THE_BUS_RIDE' id='THE_BUS_RIDE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88' name='page_88'></a>88</span>
+<h2>THE BUS RIDE</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;What do we do next?&#8221; asked Mr.
+Merrill, repeating Mary Jane&#8217;s
+question. &#8220;I&#8217;m sure of this much&mdash;we must
+do something <i>very</i> nice because it&#8217;s such a
+nice day.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;<i>Nice day</i>!&#8221; exclaimed Alice. &#8220;What in
+the world are you talking about, Dadah?
+This is the worst weather we&#8217;ve had since we
+came to Chicago&mdash;but we don&#8217;t care &#8217;cause
+we&#8217;re having such a good time anyway.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mr. Merrill laughed and replied, &#8220;Suppose
+you look out of the window.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So they left their cozy table, where nothing
+but empty dishes told the story of their
+delightful lunch party, and wandered over
+to the window where Mary Jane had looked
+down at the street not much over an hour
+before. But what a difference! With a
+sudden, unexpected shift of wind that only
+the Chicago weather man knows how to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89' name='page_89'></a>89</span>
+bring about, the stiff, cold northeaster that
+had brought the cold rain of the morning had
+been sent off and in its place a warm breeze
+from the south blew softly across the city,
+bringing with it sunshine and warmth and
+pleasantness for all.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why&mdash;&#8221; exclaimed Mary Jane, much
+puzzled, &#8220;where&#8217;s the rain?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you want it back?&#8221; laughed Mrs.
+Merrill, and then she explained to the girls
+something about the effect the big lake
+might have on weather and told them that
+one of the queer things about Chicago was
+its sudden changes to good, or sometimes
+bad, weather.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So I was wondering,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill,
+&#8220;if you folks wouldn&#8217;t like an hour of fresh
+air and then, if you&#8217;re not through shopping
+we can come back to the stores.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girls hadn&#8217;t an idea what he might
+want to do, but they were pretty sure it
+would be fun. So they agreed that an hour
+out of doors was just what they most wanted
+and they went down to get wraps from the
+check room. They left the umbrellas till
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90' name='page_90'></a>90</span>
+later, put on their wraps and left the store.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill, &#8220;see that
+big bus down there&mdash;we&#8217;re going for a ride
+on the top.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s a bus?&#8221; asked Mary Jane, who
+had never heard the word before. But before
+her father could answer they were
+pushed into the crowd at the crossing, hurried
+across and the next second Mr. Merrill
+had hailed a great, lumbering, top-heavy
+automobile and was helping the girls to step
+aboard.</p>
+<p>The &#8220;bus&#8221; proved to be a large-sized passenger
+automobile, with a deck on top for
+passengers who wished to ride in the open
+air. Mary Jane and Alice were thrilled
+with the fun of getting on it. It seemed
+exactly like going aboard a house-boat on
+wheels. They stepped into a little hallway
+and then&mdash;and this wasn&#8217;t so easy because
+the bus immediately began to move&mdash;they
+climbed up a curving flight of stairs and
+walked down an aisle&mdash;an awfully wiggly
+aisle it was too!&mdash;to seats on the very front
+row.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91' name='page_91'></a>91</span></p>
+<p>Then, before they had had a chance to
+look around or feel at home, the conductor,
+who stood at the back, shouted, &#8220;Low
+bridge!&#8221; and everybody ducked their heads
+while the great bus went under the elevated
+railroad. Mary Jane felt, truly, as though
+she must be a person in a story book&mdash;Arabian
+Nights or something marvelous&mdash;because
+surely the things that were happening
+to her weren&#8217;t <i>really</i> happening.</p>
+<p>But after the elevated was passed, the bus
+rolled out onto Michigan Boulevard and
+Mary Jane settled herself comfortably in
+her front seat with her mother, smiled across
+the aisle to Alice and her father and began
+to feel really at home in her high perch.
+By the time the bus had turned northward
+and crossed the river, she began to
+feel that riding on the top of a bus was the
+thing she&#8217;d been wanting to do all her life.
+It was such fun to sit up high and watch the
+lake, so blue and beautiful in the sunshine,
+the trees just getting a tinge of green at the
+tips, the pretty houses that lined the parkway,
+the people&mdash;it seemed as everybody in
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92' name='page_92'></a>92</span>
+Chicago must be out in their &#8217;tother best
+clothes&mdash;and most of all, it was fun to watch
+the automobiles dart in and out of the crowd,
+around the bus and beside it, till Mary Jane
+was sure their driver must be some wonderful
+being to be able to manage so that everybody
+stayed alive!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here, Mary Jane,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill, interrupting
+Mary Jane&#8217;s sight-seeing, &#8220;don&#8217;t
+you want to pay your fare&mdash;Alice is paying
+ours.&#8221; He slipped two dimes into her hand
+just as the conductor stepped to the front of
+the bus. Mary Jane wasn&#8217;t quite sure what
+she was to do with the dimes till she noticed
+that the conductor had in his hand a queer-looking
+thing like a clock, only it had a hole
+in the top just the right size for a dime.
+Into that hole Mary Jane dropped a dime.
+And&mdash;&#8220;ding<i>ding</i>!&#8221; went a musical little
+bell somewhere in the &#8220;clock.&#8221; Then she
+dropped the other dime. And again the bell
+sounded, &#8220;ding<i>ding</i>!&#8221; just as though it tried
+to say &#8220;Thank <i>you</i>!&#8221; that way. Alice then
+dropped her two dimes and Mary Jane had
+the fun of hearing the bell again. She
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93' name='page_93'></a>93</span>
+thought she wouldn&#8217;t do a thing but watch
+the conductor and listen to his bell all the
+time he collected fares, but just as he
+stepped back to get the next folks&#8217; money
+the bus passed in front of the queer old stone
+building with great tower that Mr. Merrill
+said was the city water works building, and
+of course that meant the girls wanted to hear
+about when it was built and hear again the
+story Mr. Merrill had started to tell them
+several evenings before about how the great
+Chicago fire started and how it burned up to
+this very spot they were now passing.
+Somehow, being at that place and seeing the
+one building that stood through the fire
+made the history stories seem very plain and
+there were a lot of questions to be asked
+and answered.</p>
+<p>But buses don&#8217;t wait for questions&mdash;the
+girls soon discovered that! Long before the
+fire story was told they had raced up Lake
+Shore Drive, passed its beautiful old homes,
+and were turning into Lincoln Park. Here
+it seemed to the girls that the city
+ended and fairyland began. The grass
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94' name='page_94'></a>94</span>
+seemed greener, the lake bluer and the trees
+greener than any place they had seen; and
+hundreds of tulips peeping up through the
+ground here, there and everywhere, made
+spots of bright vivid color and beauty.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh!&#8221; exclaimed Mary Jane happily, &#8220;I
+hope the bus goes on and on forever!
+I&#8217;d like to keep on riding all the time!&#8221;</p>
+<p>But when, a minute or two later, they
+passed near the buildings of the Zoo, Mary
+Jane forgot all about wanting to ride forever
+and wanted to get out, right away quick
+and see all the animals she had heard lived
+there.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not to-day,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill, looking
+at his watch. &#8220;You remember we are to go
+back to the stores&mdash;we&#8217;re just out for a bit of
+fresh air this time. Some other day when
+it&#8217;s still warmer so we can get our dinner
+here, then we&#8217;ll come and visit the Zoo.
+But to-day I want to get back to the stores
+before they close.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course,&#8221; added Alice, &#8220;for our umbrellas.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course for something else too,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95' name='page_95'></a>95</span>
+laughed her father, and though both girls
+were very curious, not another word would
+he say.</p>
+<p>So they stayed on the bus and rode clear
+through the park, and up Sheridan Road a
+long way till the bus turned around at a corner
+and the conductor shouted, &#8220;Far&#8217;s we
+go!&#8221;</p>
+<p>But the Merrills didn&#8217;t get off. They
+wanted to keep those good front seats so they
+sat still and in about two minutes the bus
+started south and whirled them through the
+park and past all the same interesting
+sights on the way cityward. This time,
+Mary Jane felt very much at home in her
+high-up perch. She dropped in the dimes
+her father gave her, eyed the passing autos
+without a bit of fear and looked down on all
+the children she saw walking and playing
+quite as though she had lived in a city and
+ridden in busses all her young life.</p>
+<p>It was a very reluctant pair of young
+ladies that Mr. Merrill assisted to the sidewalk
+when the big stores and &#8220;time to get
+off&#8221; were reached.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96' name='page_96'></a>96</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;But what was it besides umbrellas you
+wanted to get?&#8221; asked Mary Jane, suddenly
+remembering.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t been
+through the toy department with anybody.
+And I have a calendar.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girls looked puzzled. What had the
+toy department to do with a calendar?
+They couldn&#8217;t guess. Even Mrs. Merrill
+looked puzzled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course if you don&#8217;t intend to have
+birthdays since we&#8217;ve moved&mdash;&#8221; said Mr.
+Merrill teasingly. And then everybody
+knew! To be sure! It was almost time for
+Mary Jane&#8217;s birthday&mdash;almost a year, it
+was, since the lovely birthday party when
+the little girl was five years old&mdash;and in the
+excitement of moving and getting settled
+and seeing new sights, even the little lady
+herself had forgotten how near the day was
+at hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s mine!&#8221; exclaimed Mary Jane happily,
+&#8220;and I&#8217;ll be six! Come on, quick,
+Dadah! and I&#8217;ll show you perzactly what I
+want.&#8221; When Mary Jane got excited she
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97' name='page_97'></a>97</span>
+sometimes got words a little mixed, but her
+father knew well enough just what she
+meant. She grabbed hold of his hand,
+called to her mother and Alice to come on
+with them and away they went toward the
+elevator that quickly took them to the toy
+section.</p>
+<p>Going through that department the second
+time was even more fun than the first
+trip, because now father was along to
+see things and to explain mechanical toys.
+And also because there was the fun of picking
+out the thing she wanted to wish for, for
+her birthday. That last was a very serious
+matter, as every little girl knows.</p>
+<p>They looked at dolls&mdash;but not a doll was
+as lovely as Georgiannamore, at least that
+was Mary Jane&#8217;s opinion&mdash;and then they
+looked at furniture and at dishes and toys
+and games and clothes for dolls and, well,
+at every single thing in that whole big department.
+After everything had been considered
+and looked at and thought about,
+and it was about time for the big warning
+bell to ring and tell folks that in ten minutes
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98' name='page_98'></a>98</span>
+the store would close and everybody&#8217;d have
+to get out, then and not until then, Mary
+Jane decided that the thing she wanted most
+of all was a doll cart. A beautiful little
+ivory enameled doll cart made just exactly
+like the one that Junior&#8217;s little brother had
+back at their old home. A cart with a top
+that moved back and forth just like a real
+baby cart and that had cushions and tires and
+everything that a really truly mother is particular
+to want for her baby.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Mary Jane, as she looked
+around the store with a rather tired sigh, &#8220;I
+think that&#8217;s the thing I want the most and
+I&#8217;m going to wish for it, Dadah.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sounds easily settled,&#8221; laughed her father,
+&#8220;but do you know what time it is?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Before she could answer, the warning bell
+rang and clerks began to cover up counters
+and to straighten up the store for its Sunday
+rest. So the Merrills four hurried down to
+get umbrellas and to go home.</p>
+<p>On the train going home Mary Jane was
+so tired looking at things that she didn&#8217;t
+care a bit about looking any more. She
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99' name='page_99'></a>99</span>
+watched the lake some, but mostly she simply
+settled back in her little corner behind the
+door and just sat. Thoughts of all the wonderful
+things she had seen that day raced
+through her mind&mdash;the lunch, the ride, the
+lake, the park&mdash;but most of all, that wonderful
+doll cart, and she couldn&#8217;t help wondering
+(and of course hoping) if she really truly
+would, <i>possibly</i>, get that lovely gift for her
+birthday.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='THE_BIRTHDAY_LUNCHEON' id='THE_BIRTHDAY_LUNCHEON'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_100' name='page_100'></a>100</span>
+<h2>THE BIRTHDAY LUNCHEON</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>As soon as they got home that evening,
+and had dinner and rested up a bit,
+Mary Jane hunted up a calendar so she
+could find out about her birthday. And she
+discovered that two weeks from that same
+day was &#8220;her&#8221; day.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Saturday, so you can do something
+too!&#8221; she said to Alice. &#8220;Now, Mother,
+let&#8217;s plan.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So they talked over all the nice things a
+person <i>might</i> do for a birthday, but long before
+they could decide which was the very
+nicest of all the plans, bedtime came. Then
+the next morning there were interesting
+things to do, and nobody thought about
+plans for a day that was two weeks away.
+That is, nobody but Mary Jane thought
+about it, and, if the truth must be told, she
+thought more about the doll cart she had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_101' name='page_101'></a>101</span>
+wished for than she did about what she might
+do to celebrate.</p>
+<p>Monday noon, when Alice came home for
+her luncheon, she was much excited.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who do you s&#8217;pose I saw at recess this
+morning?&#8221; she demanded. &#8220;Guess!&#8221;</p>
+<p>But Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane couldn&#8217;t
+guess&mdash;they didn&#8217;t know anybody in Chicago
+to guess! Or at least they thought
+they didn&#8217;t.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I saw&mdash;&#8221; began Alice slowly, for she
+wanted the fun of keeping them waiting to
+last as long as possible, &#8220;I saw&mdash;Frances
+Westland! And she goes to my school!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why in the world didn&#8217;t we know that?&#8221;
+said Mrs. Merrill. &#8220;We should have
+guessed! Of course she goes to your school.
+I remember of thinking she wasn&#8217;t very far
+from us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t we have her come to see us?&#8221; asked
+Mary Jane eagerly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I already asked her if she couldn&#8217;t come,&#8221;
+explained Alice, &#8220;because I knew you&#8217;d want
+me to, and she says she&#8217;s sure she can. But
+she can&#8217;t come next Saturday because she
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102' name='page_102'></a>102</span>
+and her auntie are going to Milwaukee to
+spend the week-end. But she thought she
+could come the next Saturday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And that&#8217;s my birthday,&#8221; Mary Jane reminded
+her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it,&#8221; agreed Alice, &#8220;but I didn&#8217;t
+tell her. I just said I&#8217;d find out what we
+were doing that day and let her know this
+afternoon&mdash;was that all right, Mother?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You did exactly right, dear,&#8221; said Mrs.
+Merrill reassuringly. &#8220;Come right out to
+the dining-room now, because your soup is
+ready and you mustn&#8217;t hurry yourself too
+much with your lunch. While we eat, we&#8217;ll
+plan for the birthday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Of course there were many plans to be
+talked of, because in a big city there are so
+many kinds of things one may do. And it
+was awfully hard to decide which plan was
+the very most fun&mdash;you know how that is
+yourself. But after every plan that any of
+the three could think of had been discussed
+carefully, Mary Jane decided that there
+were two things she wanted the most to do.
+First, she wanted to stay home to celebrate
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103' name='page_103'></a>103</span>
+and have a party and all that; and, second,
+she wanted to go down town and go to a big
+grown-up theater where there was music and
+lights and pretty things just like grown
+folks see up town. And for her part she
+admitted that she didn&#8217;t see how a person
+possibly, even on a birthday, could do those
+two conflicting things.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pooh!&#8221; laughed Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;that&#8217;s
+easy! I was telling Dad the other night
+that inasmuch as this was the first birthday
+in the city and on Saturday and everything&mdash;so
+convenient for us all&mdash;we&#8217;d better do
+those very two things.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But how&#8217;ll we do it, Mother?&#8221; asked
+Alice. &#8220;We can&#8217;t stay home for a party
+while we&#8217;re down town at the theater!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;To be sure, we can&#8217;t,&#8221; agreed Mrs. Merrill.
+&#8220;But we can stay home for a party
+<i>before</i> we go down town for a show. And
+that&#8217;s just what we&#8217;re going to do. You
+hurry off to school now, dear, because it&#8217;s
+ten of one. And next time you see Frances
+Westland, you invite her to come here for
+twelve o&#8217;clock luncheon a week from next
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104' name='page_104'></a>104</span>
+Saturday. Be sure to tell her it&#8217;s an all-afternoon
+party, so she can stay long enough to
+go down town with us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And who else&#8217;ll we have?&#8221; asked Mary
+Jane, when Alice had gone. &#8220;It wouldn&#8217;t
+be a party with one person.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course not,&#8221; said her mother.
+&#8220;There are going to be three folks. After
+school this very day you are going to invite
+Frances and Betty Holden&mdash;that&#8217;ll make it
+almost a &#8216;Frances&#8217; party, won&#8217;t it? We&#8217;ll
+ask them right away, even though a week
+from Saturday is a long time off, because
+Dadah will want to get the tickets and we
+will all want to make our plans.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A week and five days seem a very long
+time, when you have to wait for them. But
+Mary Jane found that, after all, they went
+quicker than she had thought they could, because
+there was so much to do. First she
+had to decide what she wanted to have to
+eat at the luncheon. After much thought
+and consultation the menu was made out
+and tacked up on the kitchen cabinet for future
+reference. Mary Jane printed it out
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105' name='page_105'></a>105</span>
+all by herself and the letters were big and
+plain and could be easily read by any cook&mdash;especially
+Mother. It said:</p>
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>CHICKEN BALLS</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>HOT ROLLS</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>FRUIT SALAD WITH WHIPPED CREAM</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>ICE CREAM&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;CAKE</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>HASHED BROWN POTATOES</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>JELLY</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<p>Chicken balls really meant chicken croquettes,
+but croquettes proved to be such a
+big and puzzling word that Mary Jane decided
+she would say balls and Mrs. Merrill
+agreed to take a verbal order for the croquette
+part of the luncheon.</p>
+<p>When the food was planned for, Mary
+Jane began to talk about the decorations.
+It was soon found that to be really pretty,
+the table trimmings would have to be made
+by the hostess herself, so Mary Jane set to
+work. From the advertising sections of
+magazines she cut letters about an inch high.
+Letters enough to spell everybody&#8217;s first
+name and last initial. She had to have the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106' name='page_106'></a>106</span>
+last initial because two of her guests had
+the same first name. These she sorted very
+carefully and put in envelopes; one envelope
+for each person and just the right letters
+in that envelope for the person&#8217;s name.
+Then, she planned, when the luncheon was
+all ready, she would put the letters in little
+piles in front of each person&#8217;s place and let
+them puzzle out the names before they sat
+down.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill promised to have a basket of
+flowers, spring flowers that Mary Jane loved
+so very much, in the center of the table.
+And Mary Jane planned to make a procession
+of girls and boys all around the basket.
+These she cut out of magazines too and she
+chose girls and boys who were doing all the
+things that she herself liked to do.</p>
+<p>With all these things, besides regular
+duties and fun, to keep her busy, Mary Jane
+didn&#8217;t really have a chance to think her
+birthday was a long time coming. First
+thing <i>she</i> knew it was Friday night and the
+birthday was the very next morning!</p>
+<p>On Saturday morning, she waked up
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107' name='page_107'></a>107</span>
+knowing something nice was going to happen.
+Then, before her eyes were really
+open, she felt herself getting mother&#8217;s birthday
+kisses and, before those were all delivered,
+Alice&#8217;s birthday spats&mdash;six good big
+lively ones!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never you mind, Alice,&#8221; she promised,
+&#8220;just wait till it&#8217;s <i>your</i> birthday and you&#8217;ll
+get some of the hardest&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t stop for promises,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill,
+coming in to deliver his spats too, &#8220;what
+I want is breakfast and for the life of me, <i>I</i>
+can&#8217;t get into that dining-room.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;<i>Oh!</i>&#8221; cried Mary Jane rapturously, &#8220;I&#8217;ll
+be right out!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not till you get dressed, you know,&#8221;
+Alice reminded her, &#8220;so do hurry!&#8221; For it
+was one of the rules of the Merrill household
+that birthdays and Christmases didn&#8217;t
+really begin till folks were dressed. So
+Mary Jane scrabbled into her clothes and
+gave her face and hands about the most
+hurry-up washing they had ever had and
+then rushed out to the dining-room.</p>
+<p>And there, standing right by her chair, was
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_108' name='page_108'></a>108</span>
+the&mdash;yes, really&mdash;the very doll cart she had
+picked out! She was so happy that for a
+minute she couldn&#8217;t speak, she just stared.
+The next minute she was down on her knees
+with her arms around the whole cart&mdash;or at
+least as much of the cart as two six-year-old
+arms could get around&mdash;and she was counting
+over all the wonderful virtues of her
+gift. It surely was a cart to make any little
+girl proud and when Mary Jane saw her own
+Georgiannamore, wearing a lovely new coat
+(Mrs. Merrill&#8217;s gift), and a pair of really
+truly gloves (from Alice), and sitting up as
+big as life in the cart, she thought the happiest
+day of her life had come.</p>
+<p>After breakfast the morning raced by on
+wings. Of course Mary Jane had to show
+the cart and doll&#8217;s clothes to Betty and they
+had to walk around the block to give the doll
+an airing. Then, just as they got back to
+Mary Jane&#8217;s apartment, the postman came
+with a box from grandpa and grandma.
+Betty was invited up for the fun of opening
+it and she was glad to come both for the fun
+and for the big pieces of grandmother&#8217;s
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109' name='page_109'></a>109</span>
+candy that she got when the box was opened.
+Then there was the table to set and the puzzle
+letters to put around and everybody to
+dress in their best&mdash;that&#8217;s a good deal for
+one morning. No wonder it seemed to be
+an unusually short one.</p>
+<p>At the very last minute, Mary Jane with
+her new white dress and pink ribbons all
+just as they should be, went in to the kitchen
+to see if she could help. And at that very
+minute a neighbor came in to get Mrs. Merrill&#8217;s
+advice about an important matter.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Everything&#8217;s ready now,&#8221; said Mrs.
+Merrill, as she left the kitchen. &#8220;Only, I
+believe, Mary Jane, it would be a good idea
+for you to put that whipped cream into the
+ice box. We won&#8217;t make the salad till they
+get here and I want to keep it stiff and cold.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Now, Mary Jane had put things in the ice
+box many a time. Big things and little
+things and spilly things and all, and there
+was no reason in the world why she couldn&#8217;t
+do it all right. No reason, except&mdash; Just
+as she picked up the bowl of cream, the door
+bell rang a long, loud peal that she was sure
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110' name='page_110'></a>110</span>
+must be her three guests coming all at once,
+so she hurried and the cream jiggled in the
+bowl, and slid over the edge&mdash;and all down
+the front of her best new dress!</p>
+<p>Fortunately Alice came into the kitchen
+just then, in time to see the accident, and
+to notice two big tears which popped into
+Mary Jane&#8217;s eyes and threatened to spill
+down her cheeks.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pooh!&#8221; she exclaimed comfortably,
+&#8220;don&#8217;t you worry about a little thing like
+that, Mary Jane,&#8221; and she made a grab for
+the bowl, rescued some of the cream and set
+it in the ice box. &#8220;I&#8217;ll have you fixed up so
+soon that you won&#8217;t know anything happened.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s all down my dress,&#8221; said Mary
+Jane, trying her very best not to cry.</p>
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_3' id='linki_3'></a>
+<img src='images/maryj-111.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 327px; height: 459px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 327px;'>
+&#8220;But it&#8217;s all down my dress,&#8221; said Mary Jane, trying her<br />
+very best not to cry <i>Page 111</i><br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113' name='page_113'></a>113</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, well,&#8221; replied Alice, nothing
+daunted, &#8220;it&#8217;s not going to stay there long.&#8221;
+She took a clean cloth, dampened it with
+cold water and, with quick little dabs,
+scrubbed the cream all off the front of the
+birthday dress. Then she took a fresh cloth,
+and more cold water and, putting a big, clean
+towel under the front of the dress, scrubbed
+again till every trace of the cream was gone.
+Then she opened the oven door so the heat
+would help dry the wetness and with a fresh
+cloth rubbed and rubbed the wet place till it
+was entirely dry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There now,&#8221; she said, as she shook the
+dress into place, &#8220;I think the girls are here;
+let&#8217;s go see.&#8221; And immediately the accident
+that threatened to spoil Mary Jane&#8217;s
+fun was forgotten.</p>
+<p>Sure enough, the girls had come and the
+party began at once.</p>
+<p>The letter puzzles for place cards proved
+to be lots of fun and filled in the time while
+Mrs. Merrill brought in the plates of good
+things to eat. Judging by the appetites
+Mary Jane&#8217;s menu must have been a favorite
+with everybody, for the goodies disappeared
+by magic and Mrs. Merrill filled up plates
+and passed rolls and brought in salad and
+everything till she hardly had time to eat her
+own luncheon.</p>
+<p>The ice cream was a surprise even to Mary
+Jane. On the plate was, first, a big, round
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114' name='page_114'></a>114</span>
+piece of cake; then, on top of that, was a slice
+of ice cream, white, and on top of <i>that</i> a ball
+of pink ice cream with a pink candle,
+lighted, stuck in the top. They looked so
+pretty and bright that the girls hated to blow
+them out, but Mrs. Merrill said every one
+was to make a wish and then blow and if the
+candle went out on the first blow the wish
+would come true.</p>
+<p>Alice suddenly remembered that they were
+to take a train at one-thirty and that it was
+nearing one now, so the dessert was finished
+in a hurry, wraps were hastily put on and the
+whole party started for the train to meet Mr.
+Merrill and have the rest of the fun.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='LOST_ONE_DOLL_CART' id='LOST_ONE_DOLL_CART'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115' name='page_115'></a>115</span>
+<h2>LOST&mdash;ONE DOLL CART</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>There was only one thing wrong
+about the birthday celebration and
+that was that the day was such a very busy,
+happy one that there was very little time for
+playing with the new doll cart. Of course
+Mary Jane and Betty took their dolls out
+for one airing in the morning soon after
+breakfast. But what is one little airing
+when one has a new cart? Nothing at all,
+Mary Jane thought. All through the luncheon
+and the ride down town and the play
+father took them to, which proved to be just
+the very most interesting kind of a play for
+little girls to see, Mary Jane kept thinking
+of her new cart and of the fun she would
+have on Monday when there was a whole
+day for Georgiannamore and the doll cart.</p>
+<p>So when Monday morning actually came
+Mary Jane lost no time getting up and doing
+her share of the morning work. Mary
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116' name='page_116'></a>116</span>
+Jane was very particular about her morning
+work. She didn&#8217;t want her mother to have
+to do the things a six-year-old girl was
+plenty big enough to do; and then, anyway,
+she knew it was lots more fun to work when
+two did the job than for one person to work
+alone. She picked up all the papers, and
+emptied the waste baskets, and cleaned the
+bathroom washstand and the kitchen sink&mdash;she
+liked those jobs the best because they
+were so scrubby and grown-up and interesting&mdash;and
+put out clean towels and dusted
+the living-room. Of course this was after
+the dishes were washed and put away; that
+was a job with which Alice helped too, before
+she started for school. So by the time
+Mary Jane was ready to play Mrs. Merrill
+was about through too, ready for sewing or
+baking or whatever she had to do that day.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think I&#8217;d better help you take down
+your cart,&#8221; suggested Mrs. Merrill, when the
+last job was finished. &#8220;It&#8217;s not so easy for
+one person to take that cart down from the
+second floor. But it will be no trouble at
+all for you to take one end and me to take
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117' name='page_117'></a>117</span>
+the other and carry it down together. Then
+you can put Georgiannamore in it before you
+start down and there&#8217;ll be no danger of
+bouncing her out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But how&#8217;ll I get back up, Mother?&#8221;
+asked Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ring the bell three short taps and I&#8217;ll
+come down to meet you,&#8221; answered Mrs.
+Merrill. &#8220;Don&#8217;t try to bring it up alone;
+it&#8217;s far too heavy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane dressed Georgiannamore in
+her very best dress, put on the new coat and
+gloves, tucked her carefully into the cart so
+she wouldn&#8217;t catch cold by being out for a
+long walk, and then she and Mrs. Merrill
+carried the cart, oh, so very carefully, down
+stairs and out to the sidewalk.</p>
+<p>Fortunately, that May morning was
+bright and sunny; the breeze blew warm
+from the southland instead of cold and blustery
+from the lake, and it was the very
+best kind of a morning possible for being out
+of doors. Mary Jane walked around the
+block, starting toward the lake, then she
+went around the block the other way, and of
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118' name='page_118'></a>118</span>
+course she went rather slowly because there
+was so much to see and to show Georgiannamore.
+Bright colored crocuses were blooming
+in all the yards where there were houses&mdash;and
+in that particular neighborhood
+there were many houses as well as apartments&mdash;tulips
+were bursting up through the
+ground and the lilac buds were swelling
+their plump green sides nearly to the bursting
+point.</p>
+<p>On the third time around, Mary Jane
+thought of school&mdash;to be sure, it couldn&#8217;t be
+anywhere near time for school to be out, because
+the morning hadn&#8217;t much more than
+begun, but then it would be fun to go around
+to the corner where the children crossed the
+street to go to school. There were so many
+automobiles whizzing around the streets
+that a little girl even as old as six couldn&#8217;t
+be allowed to cross streets without a grown
+person or an older sister along.</p>
+<p>She went around the block to the corner
+where the children would come, after a
+while, and there, just as she turned to start
+back home, thinking she&#8217;d come here again
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119' name='page_119'></a>119</span>
+nearer noon, she heard a commotion. Looking
+down the half block to the yard around
+the school house she heard a bell peal out
+and saw, yes, truly, crowds of children coming
+out of school! And just as she was
+about to look around to see if there was a
+fire or a parade or anything special to cause
+school to be dismissed early, she heard the
+whistles blow for noon&mdash;the morning was
+gone! That&#8217;s how time flies when a person
+has a new doll cart!</p>
+<p>Mary Jane waited at the corner till Alice
+and Frances and Betty came along together
+and they all four walked home.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You shouldn&#8217;t bother to carry your cart
+clear upstairs every time,&#8221; suggested Frances,
+&#8220;when our front porch is so handy.
+Just run the cart up on the porch, lock the
+brake and it will be safe as can be till you
+eat your lunch.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Alice thought that was a good idea too, so
+the cart was left there, locked with the
+brake, and with the understanding that if
+Mrs. Merrill didn&#8217;t approve, the girls would
+come down and get it at once.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120' name='page_120'></a>120</span></p>
+<p>Lunch was ready and waiting, so the cart
+stayed on the porch while the girls ate and
+then Mary Jane walked back toward school
+as far as she was allowed to go.</p>
+<p>By the time Mary Jane got back in front
+of her own apartment, Mrs. Merrill was
+ready to go and do her marketing and errands
+and of course Mary Jane and Georgiannamore
+went along and had a beautiful
+time&mdash;especially when they looked in the
+windows and saw all the good things to eat.
+Mary Jane had thought that she knew every
+sort of good thing a person could possibly
+want to eat, but she soon found out that she
+didn&#8217;t. For in one of the windows they
+passed she saw a tray of apples, covered with
+something slick and brown and carrying in
+their stem ends a small smooth stick like a
+butcher&#8217;s skewer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What are they, Mother?&#8221; she exclaimed.
+&#8220;Don&#8217;t they look <i>good</i>! And may we buy
+some?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill went inside the store and
+Mary Jane, anxiously watching her mother
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121' name='page_121'></a>121</span>
+through the window, waited outside with the
+doll and cart. She saw her mother speak to
+the salesman, look at the apples and then,
+oh, joy! saw him pick out four fine ones under
+Mrs. Merrill&#8217;s direction and put them
+in a paper bag.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He says they are called Taffy Apples,&#8221;
+explained Mrs. Merrill when she came out,
+&#8220;and that all the girls and boys like them
+very much. So I didn&#8217;t bother to consult
+you,&#8221; she added with a twinkle in her eye.
+&#8220;I bought some for you four girls to eat after
+school&mdash;just on a chance that you might like
+them.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The bag was carefully tucked in under the
+folds of Georgiannamore&#8217;s robe and the
+walking and shopping were resumed, but all
+the time, Mary Jane kept her eye on the
+hump made by the bag of apples and kept
+wishing that time for school to be out would
+hurry up and come. Some good fairy must
+have heard the wishes too, for the afternoon
+hurried by almost as fast as the morning and
+first thing Mary Jane knew they were all
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_122' name='page_122'></a>122</span>
+through the errands and were going down
+the street toward the school, ready to meet
+Alice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you like &#8216;Taffy Apples&#8217;?&#8221; Mary Jane
+asked Betty as soon as she came out of the
+school yard.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Like &#8217;em&mdash;u-um!&#8221; replied Betty expressively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; continued Mary Jane slowly, so
+the surprise wouldn&#8217;t be over too soon, &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+got one in there,&#8221; pointing to the cart.</p>
+<p>Betty eyed the hump Mary Jane pointed
+out and smiled knowingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It looks like more than one,&#8221; she suggested
+hopefully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It is more than one,&#8221; answered Mary
+Jane delightedly; &#8220;it&#8217;s four&mdash;all for us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can we eat &#8217;em now?&#8221; demanded Betty.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Better wait till we get home,&#8221; suggested
+Mrs. Merrill; &#8220;that won&#8217;t be more than five
+minutes and then there won&#8217;t be any danger
+of stumbling and running a stick into your
+throats.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The two little girls didn&#8217;t loiter much
+after that. They skipped along briskly and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_123' name='page_123'></a>123</span>
+soon were ahead of Mrs. Merrill and Alice
+and Frances.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what,&#8221; said Betty, as they
+turned into her own yard, &#8220;let&#8217;s put the cart
+up on the porch while I get my doll and then
+when we get through eating our apples we&#8217;ll
+be all ready to go walking.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She picked up the front end and Mary
+Jane took the handle end and they set the
+cart up at the end of the porch and went into
+the house. Fortunately Mary Jane took
+Georgiannamore along with her into the
+house; if she hadn&#8217;t&mdash;but then, that&#8217;s getting
+ahead of the story.</p>
+<p>The little girls had no more than gone inside
+before Mrs. Merrill, Alice and Frances
+turned the corner and strolled along toward
+the Holden house.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Funny where those girls have gone,&#8221; said
+Frances, looking at the empty porch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ve hid our Taffy Apples somewhere,
+I just know they have!&#8221; said Alice.
+&#8220;Frances, we ought to be smart enough to
+find them so quickly they won&#8217;t try teasing
+again.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_124' name='page_124'></a>124</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe they&#8217;ve hidden the apples,&#8221;
+said Frances thoughtfully, &#8220;because
+Betty would be so hungry she wouldn&#8217;t
+bother with teasing till after she was
+through eating. Maybe they&#8217;ve gone into
+the house to get Betty&#8217;s doll and cart.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But why would they bother to take
+Mary Jane&#8217;s cart indoors if Betty was just
+going in for her doll?&#8221; asked Alice.</p>
+<p>Before Frances or Mrs. Merrill could suggest
+an answer, the two little girls themselves
+came out of the front door, turned to
+look at the porch and then stood there, as
+though fastened to the floor&mdash;they were that
+surprised.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why&mdash;why&mdash;&#8221; said Mary Jane, &#8220;I left
+it right here!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, nobody ever stole anything before,&#8221;
+said Betty. &#8220;Maybe the boys just
+hid it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, they didn&#8217;t,&#8221; replied Frances, &#8220;because
+they haven&#8217;t come home from school
+yet. They stopped to see Jimmie&#8217;s new
+chicken house and they won&#8217;t be home for
+an hour.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125' name='page_125'></a>125</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the trouble?&#8221; asked Mrs. Holden,
+who, hearing voices, came to the front
+door to invite folks in for a visit.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Trouble enough, Mother,&#8221; said Frances,
+worriedly. &#8220;Mary Jane left her brand new
+doll cart on our porch and it&#8217;s gone!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And we just went in to get my doll,&#8221; explained
+Betty, getting very excited. &#8220;We
+just went in a little minute and then we
+were going to eat the taffy apples and now
+they&#8217;re gone too&mdash;oh, dear!&#8221;</p>
+<p>At that minute, yes, things really do happen
+this way sometimes, who should go by
+the house but the big friendly policeman
+who always stood at the street corner nearest
+the school to guard the children from swiftly
+moving autos. Betty spied him and ran
+down the walk to speak to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So the cart&#8217;s gone, is it?&#8221; he said as he
+and Betty came up toward the house.
+&#8220;Well, if you&#8217;ll let me use your &#8217;phone, I&#8217;ll
+tell them down at the station just what kind
+of a cart it is and maybe we can get a trace of
+it&mdash;anyway, we can try.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Holden went indoors with him and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126' name='page_126'></a>126</span>
+the others stood around on the porch hardly
+knowing what to do. Losing her cart was
+a real calamity to poor Mary Jane&mdash;she very
+well knew that her father couldn&#8217;t afford to
+get her another one and she had hard work,
+awfully hard work, to keep back the tears
+that came to her eyes and to swallow the
+lump that filled her throat. She didn&#8217;t
+want to be a crybaby, but&mdash;and the lump got
+bigger and bigger&mdash;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill noticed that Mary Jane was
+trying so very hard to be brave so she did
+her best to help.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wasn&#8217;t it lucky that officer came by just
+then!&#8221; she said cheerfully. &#8220;I can&#8217;t for the
+life of me see why anybody would be mean
+enough to steal a little girl&#8217;s doll cart and I
+keep thinking we&#8217;ll find it somewhere.
+Come on, Mary Jane, let&#8217;s sit down on this
+settee here till Mrs. Holden comes out.
+Then perhaps some of you girls will be good
+enough to go up to the candy shop with me
+and get some more taffy apples&mdash;I suppose
+those went with the cart!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane stepped over toward her
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_127' name='page_127'></a>127</span>
+mother, who had already seated herself on
+the settee at the end of the porch. But before
+she sat down she just happened to look
+down toward the ground. The Holden
+porch had no railing around the side and as
+Mary Jane was always a little timid about
+falling she kept a close watch on the end of
+the porch every time she went near it. She
+glanced down at the ground and then&mdash;her
+face changed! The sorrowful look vanished
+and smiles spread like sunshine over
+her face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look!&#8221; she exclaimed, as she pointed to
+the ground. &#8220;Look there!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='A_TRIP_TO_THE_ZOO' id='A_TRIP_TO_THE_ZOO'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128' name='page_128'></a>128</span>
+<h2>A TRIP TO THE ZOO</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>It wasn&#8217;t hard to guess what Mary Jane
+had found; nothing but her precious doll
+cart could have made her feel and look so
+happy. They all ran to the end of the
+porch, looked over the edge, and there, sure
+enough, was the birthday cart all tumbled
+down in a heap. Alice and Frances jumped
+down, set it up straight and then, with Mrs.
+Merrill&#8217;s help from above, lifted it up to the
+porch just as the policeman and Mrs. Holden
+came out of the house.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bless my soul!&#8221; exclaimed the officer.
+&#8220;Another cart?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, it&#8217;s mine!&#8221; cried Mary Jane happily.
+She ran her hands over the hood, the body
+part and then the wheels to make sure nothing
+was broken. Everything seemed all
+right, even the bag of taffy apples was still
+tucked under the carriage robe that had come
+loose but had not fallen clear out.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_129' name='page_129'></a>129</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;Yours?&#8221; asked the officer. &#8220;But I
+thought yours was lost!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was,&#8221; admitted Mary Jane, &#8220;but it
+isn&#8217;t any more.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill hastened to explain that the
+cart had just then been discovered on the
+ground at the end of the porch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know what was the trouble,&#8221; said Frances,
+&#8220;she didn&#8217;t fasten the brake&mdash;did you,
+Mary Jane?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane and the policeman bent down
+to inspect the brake. No, it wasn&#8217;t fastened.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It wouldn&#8217;t take much of a breeze to
+blow that cart off the porch, young lady,&#8221;
+said the officer, laughingly, &#8220;and so I suggest
+that if you ever want to leave your doll in
+the cart, you&#8217;d better be sure the brake is
+locked. You might have a smashed doll instead
+of a lost cart to report and then things
+wouldn&#8217;t be so easy to straighten out!&#8221;
+And with a pleasant good-by he went on
+about his business.</p>
+<p>Left alone the two mothers looked at each
+other and laughed&mdash;such an easy ending to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_130' name='page_130'></a>130</span>
+disappointment didn&#8217;t often come! The
+four girls made a dive for the bag of apples
+and settled themselves on the broad
+front steps for a few minutes of real enjoyment.
+Mary Jane found that taffy apples
+were a lot of fun to eat. The hard, slick
+surface was delicious to &#8220;lick&#8221; and then,
+when a small part was licked thin, it was
+fun to bite right straight through to the apple.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you think they&#8217;re good now,&#8221; said
+Frances, &#8220;you should taste them in the fall
+when the fresh apples are in&mdash;yummy-um!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;These are good enough for me,&#8221; said
+Betty contentedly and she bit off a big chunk
+of apple.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Betty Holden!&#8221; exclaimed Frances with
+big sisterly chagrin, &#8220;you look like a monkey
+with that apple all over your face!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, fiddle!&#8221; replied Betty indifferently,
+&#8220;I like monkeys.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you ever see one?&#8221; asked Mary
+Jane, &#8220;a really truly live one?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Betty stared. &#8220;Why of course!&#8221; she answered,
+&#8220;haven&#8217;t you?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131' name='page_131'></a>131</span></p>
+<p>Mary Jane shook her head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well then you ought to go up to the
+Zoo,&#8221; she said positively, &#8220;let&#8217;s all go.&#8221;
+She jumped up and ran over to her mother.
+&#8220;Mother!&#8221; she announced, &#8220;Mary Jane&#8217;s
+never seen a monkey&mdash;never! Can&#8217;t we
+take her up to the Zoo and show &#8217;em to
+her?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never seen a monkey!&#8221; exclaimed Mrs.
+Holden and she was as surprised as Betty
+had been, &#8220;are you sure?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, Betty&#8217;s right,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill.
+&#8220;Mary Jane has seen a great many things
+for a little girl who has just had her sixth
+birthday. But she hasn&#8217;t seen a monkey.
+Her father and I were saying only last night
+that we must take the girls up to the Zoo as
+soon as possible.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s all go next Saturday,&#8221; suggested
+Mrs. Holden, &#8220;no, we can&#8217;t go next Saturday
+because the girls and I have some shopping
+to do. Let&#8217;s go a week from Saturday.
+By that time the restaurant in Lincoln Park
+will be open. The way we do,&#8221; she explained
+to the Merrills, &#8220;is to take our lunch,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132' name='page_132'></a>132</span>
+a picnic lunch, with us. We start up about
+eleven, eat over by the lake and then
+have the whole afternoon for watching the
+animals; we eat dinner in that nice restaurant,
+before dark, and then come home in the
+early evening. Can you all go on that
+day?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill said she was sure they could,
+so plans were made right then and there.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane and Alice thought those two
+weeks, or nearly two weeks, never would
+pass. Of course there was the doll cart to
+play with and Mary Jane loved it exactly as
+much as ever. But she did want to see the
+monkeys, and the foxes (Betty told her she
+would love the foxes!) and all the creatures
+that Betty seemed to know so much
+about and which she had never even seen.</p>
+<p>But at last the morning came, warm and
+sunny and clear and the lunch boxes were
+packed, the apartment locked up and everybody
+started toward Lincoln Park feeling
+happy and ready for fun. The fathers
+couldn&#8217;t come for lunch, but really when all
+the Holden girls and boys were added to the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_133' name='page_133'></a>133</span>
+three Merrills, there was such a crowd that,
+for the time at least, fathers weren&#8217;t so very
+much missed.</p>
+<p>When they reached the park Mary Jane
+realized, for the first time, how close it was
+getting to really truly summer. The sun
+shone with real summer warmth, the lake
+was blue and beautiful and flowers bloomed
+on every corner.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I&#8217;d just like to live in a park all the
+time,&#8221; she exclaimed as she looked around
+her, &#8220;it seems just like home!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, it does,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill, with a
+wee bit of a sigh, &#8220;I&#8217;m afraid I know some
+folks who are going to miss their gardens
+and flower bed this summer.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How stupid of me not to have thought
+of that!&#8221; exclaimed Mrs. Holden. &#8220;You
+know it will be just two weeks now till we
+go up to the lake for all the summer. Why
+didn&#8217;t I think to have you plant stuff in our
+back garden? Then you could have all the
+garden you liked right there handy&mdash;we always
+do hate to leave the ground idle.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Perhaps we might plant something even
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_134' name='page_134'></a>134</span>
+yet,&#8221; suggested Mrs. Merrill, much delighted
+with the idea, &#8220;we&#8217;d love to try.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But there was no time for further planning
+just then&mdash;John Holden demanded his
+lunch; Betty made a lively second and in a
+minute or two a clean grassy place was
+picked out, the individual lunch boxes were
+passed out and then, for a few minutes,
+everybody was quiet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to feed the black bear,&#8221; announced
+Betty, as she paused to pick out
+another sandwich, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to feed him
+peanuts&mdash;I saved up enough money for two
+bagsful.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But aren&#8217;t you afraid of him?&#8221; asked
+Mary Jane breathlessly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Afraid? Pooh!&#8221; grunted Betty.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never you mind, Mary Jane,&#8221; said Linn
+comfortingly, &#8220;she was afraid the first time
+she saw him and I remember all about it.
+But now she&#8217;s learned that he can&#8217;t get out
+the cage.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, Linn, I never&mdash;&#8221; began Betty.</p>
+<p>But John interrupted. &#8220;There!&#8221; he said,
+&#8220;I&#8217;m through. Come on, let&#8217;s gather up the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_135' name='page_135'></a>135</span>
+boxes and papers and stick &#8217;em in the trash
+box on the way to get the peanuts.&#8221; So the
+children all helped and in a jiffy the pretty,
+grassy spot where they had eaten lunch was
+as clean and tidy as when they came. And
+then away they scampered after the peanuts.</p>
+<p>Such an afternoon as it was! Mary Jane
+tried to remember each thing they did so she
+could tell her father when he met them after
+three o&#8217;clock. But she couldn&#8217;t remember
+half what they had done. She knew they
+saw the little foxes&mdash;such pretty, dainty
+white and tan colored foxes that played together
+like little pet kittens and made her
+want to hold them in her lap and pet them.
+She knew they saw the bears&mdash;great big
+bears and middle sized bears and little bit o&#8217;
+bears just like in the story book, and she fed
+them peanuts which they caught very deftly
+in their soft cushioned paws. But all the
+rest, she really couldn&#8217;t remember in the
+right order&mdash;there were kangaroos and buffaloes
+and a giraffe who stuck his long neck
+over the top of a great high fence and made
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_136' name='page_136'></a>136</span>
+Mary Jane think of nothing so much as a
+funny paper picture. And then of course
+the monkeys&mdash;dozens of them and queer
+birds with curious colored feathers and
+funny bills and feet. Really, she had seen
+in that one afternoon, more animals than she
+had guessed lived in the whole world, oh,
+many more!</p>
+<p>&#8220;But have you seen the seals?&#8221; asked Mr.
+Merrill who met them at the bird house.</p>
+<p>No, they hadn&#8217;t.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s almost four o&#8217;clock,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill,
+looking at his watch, &#8220;and Mr. Holden
+said they ate at four and we should meet him
+there, so let&#8217;s hurry.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was a good thing they did hurry for
+other folks seemed to know, too, that the
+seals were fed at four. From all directions,
+folks could be seen walking toward the big
+enclosed pond where the seals were kept.
+But, by hurrying, they got there in time to
+stand close to the iron fence where they
+could see the antics of those queerest of animals,
+the seals.</p>
+<p>One would suppose that even the seals
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_137' name='page_137'></a>137</span>
+knew it was nearly four o&#8217;clock, dinner time,
+for they were so excited and eager. They
+barked and swam and flung themselves
+around vigorously as though they could
+hardly stand waiting for anything. Then,
+just at four, a man came out of a near-by
+building. In his hand he carried a basket
+of fish&mdash;a great, well-filled basket. He
+came over to a little platform close by where
+the Merrill and Holden children were standing;
+so they could see everything.</p>
+<p>He picked up a big fish, tossed it over into
+the rocky island in the middle of the seals&#8217;
+pond and then! such a scrambling as there
+was till the middle-sized seal with a few ungainly
+flops, grabbed the fish and gulped it
+down in one bite.</p>
+<p>Then he threw another fish and another
+and another&mdash;one after the other so fast that
+Mary Jane felt sure the seals must get all
+mixed up about catching them. But they
+didn&#8217;t. Those seals must have been smarter
+than folks had thought for they seemed to
+know, every time, just about where the fish
+was to hit on the rocks and to know, too,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_138' name='page_138'></a>138</span>
+just how to get to that particular spot the
+quickest. Mary Jane thought it very wonderful.</p>
+<p>But one thing worried her. There was
+one small seal, who for some reason or other,
+seemed to be always just a second too late to
+get a fish. Mary Jane was sure he had had
+but one and all the others had had, oh, a lot.
+And she couldn&#8217;t help wishing all the others
+wouldn&#8217;t be quite so grabby.</p>
+<p>When the man who was feeding the seals
+got almost to the bottom of his big basket,
+he stopped and looked at the crowd of children
+assembled for the feeding. And as
+he looked, he spied Mary Jane&#8217;s sober little
+face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you like to watch them?&#8221; he asked
+her in surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I like to only they&#8217;re so grabby,&#8221;
+she replied promptly, &#8220;and he hasn&#8217;t had
+but one.&#8221; She pointed out the little seal
+who was a bit too slow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll fix that,&#8221; said the keeper, kindly,
+&#8220;you just watch.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He tossed a great big fish close to the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_139' name='page_139'></a>139</span>
+crowd of waiting seals, then, quick as a flash
+and before they had had time to get that one,
+he tossed another, straight at the little seal
+who was on the edge of the crowd.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He got it! He got it!&#8221; cried Mary
+Jane happily, &#8220;he got it before they had a
+chance!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And he&#8217;s going to get another,&#8221; said the
+keeper as he threw another and still another,
+straight at the hungry little seal. &#8220;There!&#8221;
+he added as he looked at the now empty
+basket, &#8220;that ought to do him till to-morrow.&#8221;
+Mary Jane thought he looked so
+comfortable now that surely he had had as
+much as he needed for the day.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Better hurry if we&#8217;re to see the lions
+eat,&#8221; said Mr. Holden, who during the seals&#8217;
+dining hour had come up behind his little
+party.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lions!&#8221; exclaimed Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, hurry up!&#8221; called Betty and she
+and her brother who were quite familiar with
+the park because of many previous visits,
+ran on toward a big brick house near by.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane wasn&#8217;t afraid, but all the same
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140' name='page_140'></a>140</span>
+she thought it would be more fun to hold
+her father&#8217;s hand and even though they were
+a bit behind, they got into the lions&#8217; house
+in time.</p>
+<p>Here the dinner was of meat, great big
+chunks of raw, red meat that the keepers
+tossed into the cages. And it was so funny
+to watch! Just before the keeper appeared,
+the lions and tigers and jackals and leopards
+were pacing up and down their cages with
+such weird roars and grunts and growls that
+Mary Jane held tightly to her father&#8217;s hand
+and didn&#8217;t go very close to the iron bars.
+But when the keepers appeared with the
+meat there was a wild scramble, and then
+silence except for the crunching and smacking
+of eating. It certainly was different, oh,
+very, very different from anything Mary
+Jane had ever seen before!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s not wait here any more,&#8221; suggested
+Alice, &#8220;let&#8217;s show Dadah the monkeys.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, and the foxes&mdash;the white ones,&#8221;
+said Mary Jane, &#8220;they&#8217;re my favorites of
+all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But before they had had time to show Mr.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_141' name='page_141'></a>141</span>
+Merrill every single creature they had seen,
+the Holden boys announced that they were
+hungry and that it was long past dinner
+time. And sure enough! Even though it
+wasn&#8217;t really long <i>past</i> dinner time, it <i>was</i>
+half past five&mdash;the time they had agreed
+upon for dinner. So a very jolly party
+seated themselves at a big round table on a
+second story porch of the Park restaurant.
+That was the nicest place to eat Mary Jane
+had ever seen&mdash;unless perhaps a diner on a
+train. For after they gave their order, she
+discovered that they could look right down
+on a small lake where ducks and geese and
+swans lived. The children got so interested
+watching the pretty creatures that for
+once they didn&#8217;t have time to think the
+waiter was slow!</p>
+<p>They stayed there eating and watching
+the birds, till the sun set back of the trees.
+Then, when there wasn&#8217;t another scrap of
+cake or teaspoonful of ice cream left, they
+gathered up wraps and hats and started for
+home.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know one thing,&#8221; said sleepy Mary
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142' name='page_142'></a>142</span>
+Jane as they waited for the bus that was
+to take them to their train. &#8220;I know
+there&#8217;re a lot more animal folks in the world
+than I thought for&mdash;oh, a lot more! And I
+think I&#8217;d better come again to see them all.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='A_DAY_IN_THE_PARKS' id='A_DAY_IN_THE_PARKS'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_143' name='page_143'></a>143</span>
+<h2>A DAY IN THE PARKS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>A whole long vacation begun! Alice
+home all day and plenty of time for
+walks and playing together! It seemed almost
+too good to be true. For although
+Alice was several years older than her sister
+Mary Jane, the two girls had always had
+very happy times playing together and they
+had missed each other very much during
+school days. Now that the Holden family
+was away, for they went off, bag and baggage,
+to their country home up in Wisconsin
+the very day school closed, the two girls had
+no one near by to play with, so more than
+ever before they needed and enjoyed each
+other&#8217;s company. Frances Westland had
+gone back to the country and the Merrill
+girls had not made friends with anyone who
+lived near enough to make a convenient
+playmate.</p>
+<p>They didn&#8217;t do as some girls and boys do
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144' name='page_144'></a>144</span>
+in vacation, get up late in the morning.
+No, they thought it was more fun to get up
+promptly and have breakfast with Dadah
+and then, when the afternoon got hot, as
+often happened, they took a nice long rest
+and dressed fresh and clean for dinner. On
+many a day Mrs. Merrill packed a basket of
+dinner and they met Mr. Merrill over by the
+park, had their dinner near one of the small
+lagoons or close to the big lake. After dinner
+they played ball or tennis&mdash;Alice was
+learning to be very good at tennis.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish there were swans in our park,&#8221;
+said Mary Jane as she sat on the edge of
+the lagoon and watched the row boats and
+the electric launches gliding about on the
+water. &#8220;I liked those swans at Lincoln
+Park.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was just thinking to-day,&#8221; said Mr.
+Merrill, &#8220;we haven&#8217;t seen all the parks and
+I promised you, that you should see them&mdash;all
+the big ones anyway. I wonder when
+we could go, mother?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wonder <i>how</i> we could go,&#8221; said Mrs.
+Merrill, &#8220;the parks are so far apart that a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_145' name='page_145'></a>145</span>
+journey through them all would be a hopeless
+task, seems to me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Depends on how you do it,&#8221; laughed Mr.
+Merrill. &#8220;I&#8217;ll tell you what I thought.
+I&#8217;ll take the whole day away from the office
+so as to go along. We&#8217;ll start fairly early
+and take the elevated out to Garfield Park&mdash;you
+know we promised the girls a trip on
+the elevated and we&#8217;ve always taken the
+train! We&#8217;ll see that park well, you know
+it has gardens and greenhouses and lakes,
+and then we&#8217;ll get a taxi and go to two or
+three other parks and ride home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girls thought that was a wonderful
+plan and they wanted to set the day for that
+very same week. So Thursday was decided
+upon.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now there&#8217;s one thing besides getting a
+good lunch ready that I want you folks to
+do,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill as they picked up their
+baskets and balls ready to go home, &#8220;I want
+you to get out that map of Chicago we had
+on the train the day we came up here and
+find just where Garfield Park is and how we
+get there and how many interesting sights
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146' name='page_146'></a>146</span>
+like rivers and parks and boulevards we pass
+on the way.&#8221; And of course the girls
+promised that they would find the map and
+get all that information first thing in the
+morning.</p>
+<p>Riding on the elevated proved to be great
+fun. Mary Jane was afraid for a few minutes
+she wasn&#8217;t going to like it&mdash;the stairs
+were so very high up with holes in each step
+to see down to the ground; and the train
+dashed to the platform with such a roar and
+bustle and people crowded on and jerk! the
+train rushed off. But when she settled
+down in the seat, comfortingly near her
+mother, and looked out over the roofs of
+houses and stores, and down long streets,
+one after another, she found she wasn&#8217;t a bit
+afraid and that she liked it very much.
+She liked watching for children on folks&#8217;
+back porches. Some played on the porch
+and some played in the dining-room windows&mdash;it
+was easy to tell which were the
+dining-room windows because always there
+were three big windows and always she could
+look right through the curtains and see the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_147' name='page_147'></a>147</span>
+big table in the middle of the room. The
+only trouble with watching folks from an
+elevated was that the train dashed by so
+quickly she couldn&#8217;t any more than see, till&mdash;flash,
+flash, and they were gone and there
+was another street and another set of back
+stairs and some different children playing.
+It really was awfully queer.</p>
+<p>Pretty soon they reached the big down
+town and there they got off their train,
+climbed over a big bridge to another elevated
+train and away they went whizzing
+again. It certainly was a queer way to
+travel, Mary Jane thought.</p>
+<p>But finally father announced that they
+had come to Garfield Park, so they got off,
+walked down the stairs to a park that looked
+so much like their own park that Mary Jane
+had to rub her eyes and look twice to make
+sure she wasn&#8217;t dreaming. Here were the
+same winding driveways, beautiful trees
+and small lakes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did we come back to our Park?&#8221; she
+asked in surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no,&#8221; answered Alice who had run on
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_148' name='page_148'></a>148</span>
+a little ahead, &#8220;look at the big greenhouse
+and look back there! Now don&#8217;t you see
+the swans?&#8221;</p>
+<p>No, it wasn&#8217;t their own neighborhood
+park, Mary Jane soon realized that, because
+there were many new things to be seen.
+The wonderful tropical greenhouse where
+palms and bananas and wonderful ferns
+such as the girls had seen in Florida were
+growing. And then there were beautiful
+out of door gardens&mdash;Mary Jane liked those
+even better than the greenhouse gardens,
+wonderful as those were. She seemed to
+feel, someway, as though the flowers must
+like the out of doors better.</p>
+<p>Right in the middle of the many lovely
+flower beds in the out of doors gardens, there
+was a lily pool in which grew water lilies of
+all colors and sorts. Mary Jane had never
+seen water lilies before and she thought them
+very lovely&mdash;and rather queer too, if the
+truth must be told. She decided she would
+stay right there a while and let Alice and
+her father explore the rest of the gardens&mdash;they
+wanted to know names of flowers and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149' name='page_149'></a>149</span>
+names didn&#8217;t seem a bit interesting to the
+little girl.</p>
+<p>Just after she had decided to stay there
+and play, she spied a boy of about her age
+who was watching the lilies too.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you walk all the way around the
+edge?&#8221; he asked her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Edge of what?&#8221; asked Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The edge of the pool,&#8221; he replied,
+&#8220;see,&#8221; and he put his foot up on the stone
+rim of the pool, &#8220;all the way around on
+this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you?&#8221; asked Mary Jane. She
+wanted to see what he would say before she
+answered his question.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure!&#8221; he replied, &#8220;it&#8217;s just as easy!
+Only girls are &#8217;fraidies.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess I&#8217;m not,&#8221; declared Mary Jane
+firmly, &#8220;watch!&#8221; She stepped up on the
+stone rim&mdash;it was about eight inches wide&mdash;and
+walked boldly along toward the middle
+of the long side of the pool.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can, can&#8217;t you,&#8221; said the boy admiringly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just as easy,&#8221; replied Mary Jane, for
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_150' name='page_150'></a>150</span>
+when she found she could do what he had
+asked she was anxious to have it appear to
+be as easy for her as for him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come on,&#8221; the boy suggested, &#8220;let&#8217;s
+race!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Race?&#8221; asked Mary Jane, &#8220;how?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Round the pool. You start this way,
+and I&#8217;ll start that way and the one that gets
+around home first beats.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right,&#8221; agreed Mary Jane, &#8220;let&#8217;s.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Now before Mary Jane saw the boy by the
+pool, Mrs. Merrill spied some very beautiful
+grasses over at one side of the gardens;
+the very sort of grasses, she decided,
+that Mary Jane&#8217;s grandmother would like to
+use in her flower beds by the driveways.
+And of course she wanted to find out the
+names of the grasses so she could write to
+grandmother about them. Seeing that
+Mary Jane was so absorbed in the pool and
+the lilies, she slipped over to look at the
+name sign which she knew would be stuck
+right by the roots. She jotted the name
+down in her note book, looked along at a
+few others and&mdash;turned back to the pool just
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151' name='page_151'></a>151</span>
+in time to see her small daughter and a
+strange boy run racingly along the rim of
+the pool straight at each other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mary Jane! Mary Jane!&#8221; she called,
+&#8220;jump down onto the ground! Jump
+down!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Whether Mary Jane heard her and became
+confused, or whether the boy&#8217;s bumping
+into her made her lose her balance, nobody
+ever quite found out. But anyway,
+right before Mrs. Merrill&#8217;s astonished eyes,
+Mary Jane Merrill tumbled &#8217;kplump&mdash;into
+the lily pool!</p>
+<p>Fortunately the lily pool wasn&#8217;t very deep
+so Mary Jane didn&#8217;t fall far. But she did
+hit the bottom pretty hard; so hard that
+when she bobbed up, her head out of water
+and her feet on the bottom, she hardly knew
+what had happened to her.</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill screamed and Mr. Merrill,
+Alice, three policemen and about twenty
+other people came running to see what had
+happened. It wasn&#8217;t necessary for anybody
+to jump in and make a triumphant rescue for
+Mary Jane was so close to shore that Mrs.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_152' name='page_152'></a>152</span>
+Merrill had taken firm hold of her hand and
+pulled her out just as all the folks got there.
+So there was nothing for them to do but to
+stare and to ask questions.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How did she do it?&#8221; asked the first
+policeman.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hurt you any?&#8221; asked the second.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You and your mother come with me,&#8221;
+said the third (and Mary Jane guessed right
+away from his voice that he must have some
+little girls of his own), &#8220;and I&#8217;ll show you
+where you can dry your clothes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The procession of policemen and onlookers,
+led by a very wet and greatly embarrassed
+little girl, crossed the gardens, crossed
+the street and went into a comfortable big
+building. There a kindly matron produced
+a big bathrobe in which Mary Jane sat while
+her dress was wrung out and dried. And
+wasn&#8217;t she glad there was a good hot sun so
+things could dry quickly!</p>
+<p>Finally, when Mary Jane was beginning
+to get awfully hungry, mother announced
+that the clothes were dry and that she had
+pulled and stretched them the best she could
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_153' name='page_153'></a>153</span>
+in the place of ironing. So Mary Jane
+dressed and they went in search of Alice and
+her father.</p>
+<p> &#8220;Well, you certainly do mix up baths with
+your picnics,&#8221; laughed Mr. Merrill when he
+saw them coming. &#8220;Remember the time
+you fell into Clearwater, Pussy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But it isn&#8217;t so bad, really, Dadah,&#8221; said
+Mary Jane, &#8220;and I&#8217;m not wet now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you&#8217;re not,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill, &#8220;but <i>I</i>
+am hungry&mdash;anybody agree with me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>They all admitted to being nearly starved,
+so they found a pretty, grassy spot close by
+the lake on which several beautiful swans
+were sunning themselves, and there they
+spread out the luncheon they had brought.
+At first the girls were so hungry they didn&#8217;t
+want to do anything but eat. But by the
+time they had eaten a plateful of potato
+salad and three or four sandwiches, the
+swans discovered their lunching place and
+came to call. Evidently swans were used
+to being treated very nicely by folks who
+came to the park for they didn&#8217;t seem to have
+a trace of fear of strangers.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_154' name='page_154'></a>154</span></p>
+<p>The girls tossed the crusts of the sandwiches
+to the edge of the water and the
+swans bent their long necks and picked them
+up and ate them, every crust, so daintily
+just as though crusts were a diet fit for kings&mdash;and
+swans. The swans didn&#8217;t actually
+come out of the water, but they came so close
+to the shore that the girls could almost touch
+them and they soon got to feeling very well
+acquainted.</p>
+<p>So it was with some regret that they heard
+Mr. Merrill say, &#8220;Well, girls, weren&#8217;t we
+to see some of the other parks too?&#8221; And
+here it was four o&#8217;clock!</p>
+<p>The basket was packed&mdash;and there wasn&#8217;t
+a scrap of anything a swan could eat, you
+may be sure of that&mdash;and they strolled down
+to the roadway. In a minute or two Mr.
+Merrill hailed a passing taxi and they settled
+themselves for a nice long ride.</p>
+<p>They didn&#8217;t stop at any other park; Mary
+Jane was sure no other could be as interesting
+as the one where she had had such exciting
+experiences and Alice was quite as content
+as her father and mother to sit back,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_155' name='page_155'></a>155</span>
+cool and comfortable, and see the beautiful
+flowers and shrubbery slip past them. So
+they rode and rode through one park after
+another, it seemed, till suddenly Mary Jane
+spied something that looked familiar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s my Midway!&#8221; she announced, as
+the car turned into the long, broad stretch of
+parkway near their own home.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure enough it is!&#8221; exclaimed Mr. Merrill
+in pretended amazement, &#8220;we&#8217;ll have to
+turn around and go back!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No we won&#8217;t,&#8221; said Mary Jane, &#8220;we&#8217;ll
+go home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So they went on home, just in time to cook
+a good warm dinner and to talk over and
+over again the many things they had seen in
+the parks.</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='VISITORS_AND_A_BOAT_RIDE' id='VISITORS_AND_A_BOAT_RIDE'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_156' name='page_156'></a>156</span>
+<h2>VISITORS&mdash;AND A BOAT RIDE</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>One day, not so very long after the
+trip through the parks, the bell at the
+Merrills&#8217; front door pealed long and hard.
+Mary Jane, whose job was answering the
+door, ran to the little house &#8217;phone, and
+heard a loud voice shout, &#8220;Special for Merrill!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s he mean, mother?&#8221; she asked, in
+a puzzled voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Better press the buzzer and let him in,
+dear,&#8221; replied Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;if he has the
+name right he must have something for us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So Mary Jane pressed the downstairs buzzer
+and then opened the front door. Yes,
+it was for them&mdash;a special delivery letter
+for Mrs. Merrill. Mary Jane and Alice
+were much excited and could hardly wait
+till the messenger&#8217;s book was signed and the
+letter was opened.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s from grandma,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill as
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157' name='page_157'></a>157</span>
+she glanced at the writing, &#8220;and listen!
+This is what she says:</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8216;Grandpa finds quite unexpectedly that
+he must come to Chicago on business and he
+says that if it&#8217;s convenient to you folks I
+can come along and we&#8217;ll stay two or three
+days for a visit. Please wire reply because
+we must start Wednesday evening.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And it&#8217;s ten o&#8217;clock Wednesday morning
+now!&#8221; exclaimed Mrs. Merrill. She
+hurried to the telephone, called Mr. Merrill
+so he could send a telegram at once, then she
+and the two girls went right to work making
+ready for the guests.</p>
+<p>It was decided that Alice and Mary Jane
+should sleep on couches and give up their
+room to the visitors. &#8220;Now&#8217;s when I wish
+we had our nice guest room,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill,
+&#8220;but then, grandma knows that folks
+who live in Chicago flats don&#8217;t keep guest
+rooms for infrequent visitors.&#8221; For her
+part, Mary Jane thought sleeping on a couch
+would be great fun&mdash;so grown up and different
+from every day. She was to have the
+dining-room couch and Alice was to sleep in
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_158' name='page_158'></a>158</span>
+the living-room. When all plans were
+made, bedding sorted out and laid ready for
+making up the beds fresh first thing in the
+morning, Mrs. Merrill began planning the
+meals. If the visitors were to stay only a
+short time she wanted to have as much baking
+and marketing as possible done beforehand,
+so every minute could be spent in fun and
+visiting. Alice and Mary Jane, who had
+been marketing so much with their mother of
+late that they really could be trusted, took a
+long list up to the grocery and Mrs. Merrill
+set to work baking coffeecake and bread and
+cookies. Um-m! It wasn&#8217;t an hour till
+that tiny kitchen began to smell so good that
+the girls could hardly be coaxed away.
+Mrs. Merrill let them help in a good many
+ways. Mary Jane put the sugar and nuts
+on the tops of the cookies after her mother
+put them in the pan and Alice, who was getting
+to be a really good cook, tended to the
+baking. She put the big pans in, and
+watched the baking, and took them out when
+every cookie was evenly browned. Then,
+after she took a pan out of the oven, she
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_159' name='page_159'></a>159</span>
+gently lifted the hot cookies out from the
+baking pan onto a wire rack where they
+could cool without losing their pretty
+shapes. When the cookies were cool, it was
+Mary Jane&#8217;s turn again. She put them all
+in the tin cookie box, counting them and
+laying them neatly between layers of paraffin
+paper so they would keep fresh even in
+the hot weather.</p>
+<p>It was a rule that only perfect cookies
+should be packed away&mdash;scraps never went
+into the tin box. But for some reason or
+other, the girls never seemed to mind the job
+of eating the broken ones! In fact Mary
+Jane often asked Alice <i>not</i> to be so careful&mdash;to
+please break a few so there would be
+plenty to eat right then and there.</p>
+<p>The day went by so quickly that it was
+bed time before the girls realized it and then,
+after about forty winks, it was morning&mdash;the
+morning when grandma and grandpa
+were coming.</p>
+<p>Everybody was up early, Alice and Mary
+Jane made up the beds fresh and neat,
+mother cooked a good breakfast and Dadah
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160' name='page_160'></a>160</span>
+went to the train, at a near-by suburban
+station, to meet the travelers. It was a
+jolly party that sat around the breakfast
+table&mdash;you may be sure of that!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill, when the
+breakfast was eaten up and news of the farm
+had been told, &#8220;I&#8217;ll have to go to work and I
+suppose grandpa has to do his business to-day,
+so we&#8217;ll leave you folks to yourselves.
+Then to-morrow, if grandpa is through his
+business, we can plan some fun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So the two business folks went down town
+and grandma was left to enjoy life at home.
+The girls were glad she could stay.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s take grandma over to the lake,&#8221;
+suggested Alice, &#8220;I know you&#8217;d love riding
+in one of those little electric launches,
+grandmother.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s take some lunch and not come home
+till she&#8217;s seen everything in Chicago,&#8221; said
+Mary Jane in a rush of hospitality.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dear me! Child!&#8221; exclaimed grandma
+in dismay, &#8220;don&#8217;t you know there&#8217;s another
+day coming!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane agreed to leave a few sights
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161' name='page_161'></a>161</span>
+for the next day, but she didn&#8217;t want to lose
+any time getting off. Fortunately the
+morning work didn&#8217;t take but a tiny bit of
+time, and as grandma, who didn&#8217;t care much
+for &#8220;stuffy sleepers,&#8221; was very glad to get
+out into the fresh air, they very soon were
+on their way to the park.</p>
+<p>The girls felt quite at home in the neighborhood
+and in the park by this time, and
+they thought it was great fun to show the
+sights to somebody else&mdash;somebody who
+didn&#8217;t know all about Chicago. Grandma
+loved the beautiful Midway, the charming
+lagoons and she enjoyed her ride on the little
+launch fully as much as the girls had
+thought she would.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But don&#8217;t you have any <i>big</i> boats?&#8221; she
+asked, &#8220;great big ones with two decks and
+lots of passengers and all that? I&#8217;d like
+to ride on a big boat too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then that&#8217;s exactly what we&#8217;ll do to-morrow,
+mother,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill.
+&#8220;There is a big boat that runs from Jackson
+Park up to the municipal pier. We&#8217;ll go on
+it to-morrow and we&#8217;ll get our lunch up
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_162' name='page_162'></a>162</span>
+town and then we&#8217;ll come back home on the
+boat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And that&#8217;s exactly what they did.</p>
+<p>When Mr. Merrill heard that grandma
+wanted a ride on a big boat, the plans for the
+next day were as good as made. He thought
+the idea of going to town on the boat and
+then getting lunch and coming home was a
+fine one and he only made one change in
+the plan.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Instead of going to a store, in the loop,
+let&#8217;s take one of the little launches that run
+from the Municipal pier to Lincoln Park
+and go up there for our lunch so grandma can
+see your favorite swans and perhaps, if we
+want to stay that long, see the seals get their
+four o&#8217;clock tea.&#8221; But dear me, he little
+guessed what would happen as his nice-sounding
+plan worked out!</p>
+<p>So the next morning, the Merrills all
+had a nice, leisurely, visity breakfast, then
+a walk through the park, and never did the
+park look lovelier than on the sunny summer
+morning, and then, boarding the boat
+that rocked at the pier on the big lake, they
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_163' name='page_163'></a>163</span>
+found comfortable seats on the shady side
+and prepared for a pleasant ride.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane chose to sit on the side nearest
+the pier because she loved to look down
+from the upper deck and watch the people
+boarding the boat. She had never ridden
+on boats very much, only when she went to
+Florida, and this boat they were now aboard
+seemed very different from the big, awkward,
+flat bottomed boat they took their
+river trip on through Florida jungles.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t need to sit by me if you want
+to talk to mother,&#8221; she said to her father.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Humph!&#8221; said her father teasingly,
+&#8220;how do I know you&#8217;re not going to tumble
+overboard! You know you have a way of
+mixing up picnics and water, Mary Jane, so
+I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ll take any chances.&#8221; But
+when Mary Jane promised that she would
+sit very still and not walk around a step and
+not lean over the edge, he went to speak to
+grandpa a few minutes. And while he was
+gone, Mary Jane leaned up against the side
+of the boat and watched the folks down on
+the pier.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164' name='page_164'></a>164</span></p>
+<p>She thought it must surely be about time
+for the boat to start because there was hurrying
+on the pier, and men were busy taking
+ropes off of the big wooden posts along the
+side nearest the water. While she was
+watching, a woman came along the dock toward
+the boat and with her were two little
+children, a girl about Mary Jane&#8217;s own age
+and a little boy some two years younger.
+Just as they reached the gang plank, ready
+to step onto the boat, the little boy began to
+cry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I left my boat! I left my boat! I left
+my boat!&#8221; he cried. Mary Jane could hear
+him very plainly even though she sat so far
+up above him.</p>
+<p>She couldn&#8217;t hear what the mother said,
+but evidently she promised to get the missing
+boat for him, because she left both children
+by the side of the gang plank, and
+hurrying as fast as possible she ran back toward
+the shore. And right at that minute,
+the big bell overhead rang three times and
+the engine aboard the boat began to throb&mdash;it
+was time to go.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_165' name='page_165'></a>165</span></p>
+<p>The men on the dock noticed the two children
+and one said to the little girl, &#8220;Were
+you going?&#8221; and she nodded yes. So he
+picked up the boy and hurried the two children
+aboard just as the gang plank was
+hauled in and the boat made away from the
+pier.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane was so thrilled and excited she
+could hardly sit still. She tried to call her
+father but he was on the other side of the
+boat and she had promised to sit still&mdash;perfectly
+still&mdash;till he came back. What in
+the world was a little girl to do? And back
+on the shore that was so rapidly getting farther
+and farther way, Mary Jane could see
+the mother of the children, running frantically
+toward the dock which the boat had
+left. Surely the captain would see her,
+Mary Jane thought. But if he did, he likely
+thought she was merely somebody who had
+missed the boat and that he had no time for
+turning back. And so the boat continued
+out into the lake.</p>
+<p>Finally after what seemed the <i>longest</i>
+time (though it really was hardly more than
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_166' name='page_166'></a>166</span>
+five minutes), Mr. Merrill came back and
+then, such a story as he heard!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you sure, Mary Jane?&#8221; he asked,
+&#8220;certain sure? The men wouldn&#8217;t put children
+on a boat without grown folks along!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But they did, Dadah!&#8221; insisted Mary
+Jane, &#8220;I saw &#8217;em!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then you come with me,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill,
+&#8220;and we&#8217;ll see if we can find them.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So Mr. Merrill and Mary Jane went
+down the stairs, and that took some time
+because folks were coming and going and
+getting settled for the trip, and there, huddled
+close together and crying as hard as
+they could cry, were the two little waifs!</p>
+<p>Mary Jane with real motherliness began
+talking to the little girl; Mr. Merrill picked
+up the boy and together the whole party
+went in search of the captain. By the time
+he was found though, the boat was still farther
+on its journey toward the city and the
+dock they started from was farther and farther
+behind.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, that is a time we were wrong,&#8221; admitted
+the captain when he had listened to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_167' name='page_167'></a>167</span>
+all Mary Jane had to say and talked with
+the man who had put the children aboard.
+&#8220;But even though we were wrong, we can&#8217;t
+go back now. We&#8217;ll have to make the children
+comfortable and take them back to their
+mother on the return trip.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So Mr. Merrill and Mary Jane went back
+to the deck, only this time they took with
+them the two little strangers. Mrs. Merrill
+was told the story and she and Alice and
+Mary Jane, with help from grandma,
+grandpa and Mr. Merrill, set themselves to
+the task of making the little children happy.
+At first it was hard work, because they cried
+all the time for their mother. But erelong
+they understood the friendliness around
+them and they stopped crying and began to
+have a good time. Grandpa discovered
+some crackerjack and everybody knows what
+a help <i>that</i> is; Mrs. Merrill told some funny
+stories and Mr. Merrill took them all over
+the boat&mdash;to see the great engine and everything.
+Then there were the sights to watch
+from the deck and the big buildings to count
+and the boats they passed to watch&mdash;oh,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168' name='page_168'></a>168</span>
+there surely was a lot to do that made that
+trip interesting and so very short.</p>
+<p>As the boat pulled up near the down town
+pier, the Merrills saw a taxi dash up near
+where the boat was to land: saw a woman
+get out and, followed by a policeman, hurry
+up to the side where the boat would pull
+in.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look!&#8221; exclaimed Mary Jane excitedly.
+&#8220;Look!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The little girl, whose name was Ann,
+looked along with the others, and then she
+gave a happy cry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mother!&#8221; she shouted, so loudly that
+her mother, waiting on the pier could hear
+and was so very relieved!</p>
+<p>When the boat pulled into the dock, the
+captain was the first one to step off; he met
+the mother and the officer and brought them
+aboard at once. Mary Jane was called upon
+to explain all that she had seen and the officer,
+as well as the mother, was satisfied that
+the whole thing was an accident and not an
+attempt to steal the children.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But how did you get up here so quickly?&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169' name='page_169'></a>169</span>
+asked Mary Jane, when the first excitement
+was over.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My dear child!&#8221; laughed Ann&#8217;s mother,
+&#8220;a person can do a lot when she thinks something
+is happening to her children! I took
+a passing taxi, dashed to a police station
+and then on up here. And nothing has happened
+at all&mdash;except you nice people have
+given my little folks a very pleasant trip.
+Next time, Bobby,&#8221; she added, &#8220;we&#8217;ll leave
+your toy boat or we&#8217;ll all go together to find
+it. We won&#8217;t take any chances of losing
+each other!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; laughed Mr. Merrill when the
+mother and children and officer and captain
+had all gone on about their own business,
+&#8220;what was it we were going to do to-day?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Everybody laughed at that! They had
+been so excited that they had forgotten, yes,
+actually forgotten, that this was a sight-seeing
+trip for grandma and grandpa. But
+once they remembered, they knew just what
+to do. They climbed aboard a waiting
+launch, rode up to Lincoln Park, had a wonderful
+dinner and fun all the rest of the day.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170' name='page_170'></a>170</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t see,&#8221; remarked grandma, as they
+neared home, late that evening, &#8220;how you
+girls are ever going to settle down to school
+again! Did you know that school was only
+a few weeks away? Vacation will be over
+before you know it!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='SCHOOL_BEGINS' id='SCHOOL_BEGINS'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171' name='page_171'></a>171</span>
+<h2>SCHOOL BEGINS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>When grandma suggested that it
+was nearly time for school to begin,
+on that day of the boat ride, she guessed
+better than the girls suspected. At the
+time they laughed and thought she was joking,
+but, after she and grandpa had gone
+home, they got out a calendar and counted
+up and there, to be sure, only one and one-half
+weeks of vacation were left.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t realize school began so early,&#8221;
+exclaimed Mrs. Merrill in dismay.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought summer was a long time!&#8221;
+cried Alice, &#8220;but it isn&#8217;t any time at all!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Goody! Goody! Goody!&#8221; Mary Jane
+said happily, &#8220;then I get to start to school
+like a big girl.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was no wonder Mary Jane was happy,
+for she remembered that the plan was for
+her to start in the really truly school, not the
+kindergarten where she had gone in her other
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_172' name='page_172'></a>172</span>
+home, and any little girl likes to start to
+school like her big sister.</p>
+<p>When the day finally came, Alice was as
+much excited as Mary Jane herself. For
+although the summer had been so pleasant
+she almost hated to see it end&mdash;the free days
+with plenty of time for visits with mother
+and picnics and marketing and all&mdash;still,
+school was pleasant too and any little girl
+who does nice work and tries to learn, will
+make good friends and have happy days, just
+as Alice always had had.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane had a hard time deciding
+which dress to wear. She wanted to look
+very grown up, so that teacher would realize
+she was a big girl, so she finally decided
+upon a dark blue sailor suit. The one that
+had the red insignia on the sleeve and that
+looked just like a big girl&#8217;s dress. With a
+clean &#8217;kerchief peeking out of her pocket
+and a smashing big red bow on the top of her
+brown head, she looked very nice.</p>
+<p>Alice and Mary Jane waked up that
+morning the very minute they were called
+for they wanted to help mother so she could
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_173' name='page_173'></a>173</span>
+go over to school with them. And with all
+that good help of course they were off on
+time. Alice was glad to have company going
+to school for Frances wasn&#8217;t home yet
+and wouldn&#8217;t be there for a couple of weeks.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane&#8217;s heart went thump, thump as
+she and her mother went in at the teachers&#8217;
+gate, and up the stairs and into the principal&#8217;s
+office. And thump, thump some more
+when she saw the whole roomful of strange
+boys and girls and thump, thump some more
+when her turn came and she was sent (fortunately
+with her mother along) to the first
+grade room&mdash;number 104. The room was
+full of children, hundreds, Mary Jane
+thought there must be, though the teacher
+told Mrs. Merrill there were about forty-five.
+And if her heart went thump, thump
+before, it certainly went thump, thump,
+<i>thump</i> when the teacher, smiling at her so
+kindly, gave her a seat in the&mdash;front-row&mdash;such
+a nice seat for her very own! and
+she sat down and tried to look as though she
+had been used to going to school all her
+whole life.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174' name='page_174'></a>174</span></p>
+<p>For a minute she couldn&#8217;t look around
+or anything, she felt so queer. Then she
+glanced at the next seat and there, sitting
+right beside her, was&mdash;whom do you suppose?
+Ann! The same pretty little Ann
+who had been lost on the boat. Immediately
+Mary Jane forgot all about being
+afraid and thumping hearts and strangeness
+and everything and began to like school.
+The two little girls had much to say about
+what they would do at recess and where did
+they live and everything, so the time before
+school began passed very quickly.</p>
+<p>Suddenly, in the midst of their talk, a
+bell rang, &#8220;GONG-GONG!&#8221; Two loud
+tones close together that way, and school
+began. Mary Jane Merrill was in a really
+truly school like the big girl she was getting
+to be.</p>
+<p>Ann came home with Mary Jane that first
+afternoon and Mrs. Merrill discovered that
+her name was Ann Ellis and that she lived
+two blocks from their own home and that
+the two little girls would no doubt find it
+very easy to be friends. They began having
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175' name='page_175'></a>175</span>
+a good time that very afternoon and they
+planned still better times when Betty would
+be back and they could all play together.
+Now wasn&#8217;t that fine!</p>
+<p>Mary Jane found that she liked school
+every bit as much as she had thought she
+would. She liked her teacher, a charming
+Miss Treavor, and she liked her studies.
+But most of all she liked the fun she had on
+the playground. In the big cities, like Chicago,
+where lots of girls and boys have no
+yards, the school yards are the only places
+were children can play. So, to make everything
+safe and orderly, the school folks have
+a playground teacher stay at school all the
+day, to help in the games and to see that
+every one has a happy time. The playground
+teacher at Mary Jane&#8217;s school liked
+little girls very much and she knew many
+good games for them to play. So in addition
+to &#8220;London Bridge&#8221; and &#8220;Drop the
+Handkerchief&#8221; and &#8220;Tag&#8221; that all children
+play, Mary Jane learned &#8220;Roman Soldiers&#8221;
+and &#8220;Ghost Walk&#8221; and &#8220;Three times
+Three.&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176' name='page_176'></a>176</span></p>
+<p>Of the new ones, Mary Jane liked &#8220;Ghost
+Walk&#8221; the best. To play it, the girls and
+boys made a big circle, then they selected
+some one to be &#8220;Ghost.&#8221; This person stood
+in the middle of the circle and everybody
+shut eyes tight, very tight. Then the
+Ghost, while every one kept very quiet, tried
+to tip-toe to the edge of the circle, slip out
+between two folks and get away without being
+caught. That may sound easy, but
+played in a yard full of romping boys and
+girls, it is not really as easy as it might seem
+and it was lots of fun, because often folks
+would think the &#8220;Ghost&#8221; was near them and
+would try to grab&mdash;and the joke was on them
+because all the while, maybe, the &#8220;ghost&#8221;
+was in another part of the ring. And
+whenever folks thought they caught the
+&#8220;Ghost&#8221; and <i>didn&#8217;t</i>, then every one opened
+their eyes, the person who had made the mistake
+had to get out of the circle and the
+game began again. But if the &#8220;Ghost&#8221;
+really did get out of the circle without being
+caught, then the &#8220;Ghost&#8221; could hide
+anywhere in the yard and the game became
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_177' name='page_177'></a>177</span>
+an old-fashioned hide-and-seek with everybody
+hunting one lucky person.</p>
+<p>One day, when Mary Jane was &#8220;Ghost,&#8221;
+she was determined she would get out of
+that circle without getting caught. She
+had tried it many a time before and failed;
+this time she was going to do it. She tiptoed,
+oh, so softly over the loose gravel to
+the edge of the circle. Then noiselessly she
+dropped down on hands and knees and, without
+a thought for her dress, crawled slowly
+between Ann and the girl next to her. She
+could hardly keep from giggling, it was so
+funny to be so close she almost bumped them
+and yet not to be discovered. Now she was
+right between them, now she was almost
+outside&mdash;now she was free and away she
+dashed to the spot she had long ago picked
+out as a hiding place for just such a time as
+this.</p>
+<p>The folks in the circle waited&mdash;but nobody
+was caught, so they shouted, &#8220;Ghost
+Walk?&#8221; and when the &#8220;ghost&#8221; didn&#8217;t answer
+they opened their eyes and&mdash;no Mary
+Jane was there!
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_178' name='page_178'></a>178</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll get her,&#8221; shouted Ann, &#8220;I&#8217;ll find
+her! I&#8217;ll bet she got out on your side of
+the circle, Janny, she never could have
+passed <i>me</i>!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll find her myself,&#8221; answered Janny,
+&#8220;but she never passed by me, she didn&#8217;t!&#8221;</p>
+<p>So they hunted, up and down the yard,
+around the bushes, by the doorway, everywhere
+they could think of. But no sign of
+Mary Jane did they discover. They hunted
+and they hunted till the gong sounded and
+they had to go into school again. But not
+a sign of any Mary Jane did they find.
+Was Mary Jane lost? Miss Treavor must
+be told so everybody could hunt, for something
+surely must have happened to a little
+girl who didn&#8217;t answer the recess bell when
+it rang for school to begin.</p>
+<p>Now it happened that some days before,
+when Mary Jane had first learned to play
+&#8220;Ghost walk&#8221; she hunted around the yard
+for a good place to hide&mdash;in case she ever
+succeeded in getting out of the circle so she
+<i>could</i> hide. She didn&#8217;t want to hide among
+the bushes because that was the first place
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_179' name='page_179'></a>179</span>
+the children looked; she didn&#8217;t want to hide
+in the doorway because that was against
+rules and if a child was discovered there by
+a teacher, the child had to go straight upstairs
+and stay the rest of recess. And there
+didn&#8217;t seem to be any other place. But
+there was another hiding place&mdash;and Mary
+Jane found it. Around the corner of the
+building, on the side nearest the furnace entrance,
+there was a jog in the brick wall.
+And in front of the little niche made by this
+jog, boards left by some carpenters had been
+carelessly tossed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I could climb over the boards,&#8221; Mary
+Jane had thought, &#8220;and hide down behind
+and nobody&#8217;d ever find me&mdash;ever.&#8221;</p>
+<p>So when her time came, and she really did
+get out of the circle without being caught,
+she didn&#8217;t have to stop and hunt a hiding
+place; she knew exactly where she wanted
+to go.</p>
+<p>But there was one thing Mary Jane hadn&#8217;t
+figured on; one thing she didn&#8217;t even think
+of as she crouched down behind her boards
+while the children hunted for her, hither and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_180' name='page_180'></a>180</span>
+yon over the school yard. She hadn&#8217;t
+thought that way off, &#8217;round the corner and
+behind boards that way, she couldn&#8217;t&mdash;<i>hear</i>.
+The sounds of playing and romping seemed
+so quiet, so quiet that they were hardly noticeable.
+She didn&#8217;t hear the bell and she
+didn&#8217;t even notice the sudden quiet when the
+children fell in line to march upstairs. She
+sat there, huddled in a snug little heap, and
+she laughed to herself about the joke she was
+playing on her mates.</p>
+<p>To be sure the time <i>did</i> seem pretty long
+and she thought they were very stupid&mdash;but
+then&mdash;she never suspected that recess
+was over and&mdash;</p>
+<p>Till suddenly there descended upon her
+a cloud of chalk dust! It powdered her
+face and dress and shoes and made her forget
+all about being quiet and jump up with
+a lively scream of fright.</p>
+<p>Overhead she heard Miss Treavor&#8217;s voice,
+exclaiming, &#8220;Whatever in the world!&#8221;
+And then, before she could quite get the dust
+out of her eyes and understand what had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_181' name='page_181'></a>181</span>
+happened, Miss Treavor and two other
+teachers who had heard the scream, stood before
+her and the whole story came out.
+Miss Treavor tried not to laugh when Mary
+Jane told her she was hiding but she couldn&#8217;t
+help it. Mary Jane looked so be-powdered
+and forlorn. But Mary Jane didn&#8217;t mind
+the laughing because at the same time, Miss
+Treavor lifted her out from behind the
+boards and set her down in the cheerful sunlight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That <i>was</i> a good place to hide,&#8221; the
+teacher admitted, &#8220;and you were a clever
+little girl to think of it. But I believe,
+dear,&#8221; she added kindly, &#8220;that next time
+you&#8217;d better hide some place where you can
+hear the bell, even though you <i>are</i> more
+likely to get caught.&#8221;</p>
+<p>And Mary Jane promised that she would
+never, never hide in such a very good place
+again.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane hated to go back into the
+school room all mussed and tumbled as she
+was, so Miss Treavor sent for Alice and the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182' name='page_182'></a>182</span>
+two little girls skipped home for a fresh dress
+and clean ribbons so Mary Jane could enjoy
+the classes.</p>
+<p>When, a half an hour later, she came back,
+with the dark blue dress changed to a plaid
+gingham and the red bow changed to green,
+the children wanted to know where she had
+been and what had happened. But Miss
+Treavor wouldn&#8217;t tell. And she had made
+Mary Jane promise not to tell, because that
+place was <i>such</i> a good hiding place that the
+teachers didn&#8217;t want other folks finding it
+and hiding there to make trouble too.</p>
+<p>But all of Mary Jane&#8217;s school fun wasn&#8217;t
+from trouble. That was just one day.
+Most of the time, she played without
+anything happening just as the other folks
+did. And all the time she made more
+friends and had a better time, till, when
+Betty came back from the country, she knew
+most everybody in her room.</p>
+<p>She liked school so very much that the
+days slipped by one after another so fast a
+person could hardly count them&mdash;one day
+and another day and another day&mdash;just that
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183' name='page_183'></a>183</span>
+way. Till one Monday morning when they
+went to school, Miss Treavor announced,
+&#8220;Do you boys and girls know what we are
+going to do to-day? We&#8217;re going to start
+making Christmas presents. Because
+Christmas is only <i>three weeks away</i>!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Christmas!&#8221; thought Mary Jane, with a
+thrill of joy, &#8220;Christmas! Why, they <i>do</i>
+have Christmas in Chicago! I wonder what
+I&#8217;ll get and what I&#8217;ll do!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='CHRISTMAS_IN_CHICAGO' id='CHRISTMAS_IN_CHICAGO'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_184' name='page_184'></a>184</span>
+<h2>CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>Christmas in Chicago! When
+Mary Jane heard those words she had
+her first real pang of homesickness for the
+home she had left when they moved to Chicago.
+Would any Christmas anywhere ever
+be so beautiful as the Christmas in that dear
+home? She remembered the pine trees in
+the yard, loaded down with their wealth of
+snow: the glowing fire on the hearth with its
+Christmas-y smell from the pine cones that
+were saved through the year for the Christmas
+Day fire; the tree in the angle near the
+fireplace where the afternoon sun touched
+it into a blaze of glory; the party for the
+poor children that had been such fun to plan
+for&mdash;would anything in Chicago ever be
+half the fun of Christmas in the old home?
+But Mary Jane was soon to discover that
+Christmas doesn&#8217;t need certain houses or
+fires or trees to make it perfect; that
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_185' name='page_185'></a>185</span>
+Christmas is made in folks&#8217; hearts and that
+wherever there is a Christmas heart, there
+will be a happy day&mdash;in village or city, the
+place makes no difference.</p>
+<p>When she went home from school that
+afternoon and announced that Miss Treavor
+said Christmas was so very near, she found
+that mother wasn&#8217;t even a little surprised.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why to be sure Christmas is coming,&#8221;
+laughed Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;and here I&#8217;ve been
+waiting and waiting and <i>waiting</i> for you to
+talk about it till, actually, I thought I&#8217;d had
+to begin myself, if you didn&#8217;t wake up pretty
+soon.&#8221; And then everybody began to talk
+at once.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do they have trees in Chicago?&#8221; asked
+Alice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are there any poor folks who would like
+parties?&#8221; asked Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is anybody coming to see us?&#8221; demanded
+Mary Jane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here! Here! Here!&#8221; exclaimed Mr.
+Merrill, &#8220;one at a time, ladies, one at a
+time! If you doubt that there will be trees
+in Chicago, you should see what I saw this
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_186' name='page_186'></a>186</span>
+morning as I went down to work. A train
+load of Christmas trees&mdash;yes, sir!&#8221; (for he
+noticed the girls could hardly believe him)
+&#8220;a whole train load of trees. And I see by
+the paper this evening that a boat load has
+arrived, too, so there will be no shortage of
+trees.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then we can have one,&#8221; said Mary Jane,
+with a satisfied sigh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And let&#8217;s put it in front of this foolish
+little gas log,&#8221; suggested Alice, &#8220;then
+we won&#8217;t think about a real fireplace.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And there are plenty of poor folks,&#8221; said
+Mrs. Merrill, going back to Mary Jane&#8217;s
+question, &#8220;only they will not be so easy to
+get together, as back at home. How would
+you like to take a Christmas party to some
+family instead of having a party at home as
+we did last year?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girls hardly knew what to say about
+that new idea so Mrs. Merrill explained further.
+&#8220;I telephoned to the Associated
+Charities this very day,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and they
+gave me the names of a fatherless family
+in which there are two girls about your ages,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187' name='page_187'></a>187</span>
+and one boy. I thought we could plan a
+fine Christmas for them and then, on Christmas
+morning, take it over and surprise
+them.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, let&#8217;s do that, mother,&#8221; said Mary
+Jane happily, &#8220;then we&#8217;d be like a real Santa
+Claus only we&#8217;d be a morning Santa. May
+we do it, surely?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought you&#8217;d like the idea,&#8221; said Mrs.
+Merrill, &#8220;so I got lists from the association
+as to just what was most needed. Alice, if
+you&#8217;ll get a pencil and paper, we&#8217;ll figure
+it all out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Making plans was the girls&#8217; favorite way
+of spending an evening so they whisked the
+cover off the dining table, pulled up chairs
+for four and went to work list-making.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tom,&#8221; began Mrs. Merrill, consulting
+her list, &#8220;hasn&#8217;t a bit of warm clothing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why couldn&#8217;t I knit him a muffler and
+some mittens?&#8221; asked Mary Jane. &#8220;I remember
+how and I haven&#8217;t knitted anything
+since the war stopped.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fine!&#8221; approved Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;I think
+I have enough yarn for the mittens and if
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_188' name='page_188'></a>188</span>
+you&#8217;ll get it out of the drawer there we can
+wind it while we talk and it will be all ready
+for you to set up at once. You&#8217;ll have to
+work hard and fast if you want to make a
+muffler and a pair of mittens before Christmas.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; she continued, looking at the
+list, &#8220;they have very few bed covers and the
+children get so cold at night.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why couldn&#8217;t you make some covers,
+mother?&#8221; suggested Alice, &#8220;and let me make
+them each some flannelette pajamas like we
+wear&mdash;you know how toasting warm they
+are. And I have the pattern and I know I
+could make them all myself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a beautiful idea,&#8221; approved Mrs.
+Merrill, &#8220;and I hadn&#8217;t even thought of such
+a thing. When we get through planning,
+dear, you can get out your pattern and see
+how much material you&#8217;ll need. Then,
+when I go up town to-morrow, I&#8217;ll get it for
+you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And they need stockings,&#8221; she continued,
+&#8220;and shoes&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Could any of &#8217;em wear my good shoes
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189' name='page_189'></a>189</span>
+that are too little?&#8221; asked Mary Jane eagerly.
+She had been greatly distressed about
+those &#8220;best&#8221; shoes that were so good, and
+yet were hopelessly outgrown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think they&#8217;ll be exactly right,&#8221; said
+Mrs. Merrill. &#8220;In fact I picked out this
+particular family because I was sure we
+could find nice things for them among you
+girls&#8217; outgrown things and that, put with
+what we buy new, would make all the bigger
+Christmas for them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And about toys,&#8221; she continued with the
+list, &#8220;the girls have never had a doll&mdash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never had&mdash;&#8221; began Mary Jane but she
+couldn&#8217;t quite get the words out. Never
+had a doll. Never had a Marie Georgiannamore
+to love and care for and take riding
+in a beautiful cart. Never had&mdash;no,
+she couldn&#8217;t quite imagine it.</p>
+<p>After that there was no more reading off
+a list. Mary Jane and Alice began making
+a list of their own, of what those children
+were to have for Christmas.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But,&#8221; objected Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;you girls
+forget that things cost money&mdash;a lot of
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_190' name='page_190'></a>190</span>
+money these days. And you can&#8217;t possibly
+buy all those things and get any Christmas
+of your own too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Humph!&#8221; grunted Mary Jane as she
+squeezed her face up tight in an effort to
+write, &#8220;then we won&#8217;t have one of our own!
+Haven&#8217;t we got Marie Georgiannamore and
+a cart and a nice house and warm clothes&mdash;and&mdash;everything?&#8221;</p>
+<p>That settled it. There would be a tree
+and dinner and a lot of fun in the Merrill
+house on Christmas Day, but the presents
+were to go to their adopted family to make
+<i>their</i> Christmas one never to be forgotten.</p>
+<p>If you have ever planned a Christmas for
+somebody who never, in all their lives had
+one, you will know something about the fun
+that Mary Jane and Alice had in the time
+that was left before Christmas. They were
+about the busiest girls in all Chicago! They
+hurried home from school and they worked
+Saturdays but, actually, as soon as they got
+one thing done they thought of something
+else they wanted to make or buy and they
+had to begin all over again. They made
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_191' name='page_191'></a>191</span>
+cookies and candies and dressed dolls, one
+for each girl, and made a complete set of
+covers and pillows and &#8220;fixings&#8221; for an adorable
+doll bed that Mr. Merrill made in the
+evenings. Alice had to work pretty hard to
+get the pajamas all finished in time for there
+was considerable work on each pair; but she
+got them finished and she could hardly wait
+till Christmas to take them over to their family.</p>
+<p>Mary Jane finished the muffler and mittens
+though she <i>almost</i> had to knit while she
+ate&mdash;towards the last&mdash;it takes a good many
+stitches to make a muffler big enough for an
+eight year old boy. The muffler was a deep
+crimson and the mittens a warm shade of
+gray with three rows of crimson in the wrist
+end; Mary Jane had picked colors she was
+sure Tom would like.</p>
+<p>At last the twenty-fourth of December
+came around&mdash;cold and snowy and just the
+kind of a day for making a Christmas. The
+trees were bought and set on the balcony, the
+turkeys, two of them, were in the pantry
+ready to dress and three big baskets were set
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_192' name='page_192'></a>192</span>
+on the dining-room table ready for packing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, then,&#8221; said Mrs. Merrill, &#8220;if you
+have everything ready, I think we&#8217;d better
+pack all the things we can now, because
+when Dadah comes home there&#8217;ll be plenty
+to do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane thought the packing was the
+most fun of anything she had ever done.
+They packed all the doll things in one
+basket, doll things and toys and three nice
+books. Of course the doll bed wouldn&#8217;t go
+in the basket; it had to have a package all by
+itself. A second basket was for clothing,
+the pajamas&mdash;and no one would ever guess
+that a girl as young as Alice had made those
+charming garments&mdash;the muffler, the mittens,
+one pair for each child, warm underwear
+and a dress for each girl (one of the
+nicest of Alice and Mary Jane&#8217;s outgrown
+frocks). Mr. Merrill had added a nice flannel
+shirt for Tom and Mrs. Merrill put in a
+warm sweater for the good mother.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a basket they&#8217;ll like to open,&#8221;
+said Alice, proudly, as she tucked the brand
+new comforter Mrs. Merrill had made,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_193' name='page_193'></a>193</span>
+around the top, &#8220;they&#8217;ll be so happy they
+won&#8217;t hardly be able to wait till they can
+put &#8217;em on!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The third basket was fully as interesting
+as the others. It was a big, big one and in
+it the girls packed groceries, cans of vegetables
+and soup and sugar&mdash;a very little bit
+to be sure for there wasn&#8217;t much to be had,
+but the Merrills had decided to send exactly
+half of what they had&mdash;and oranges for
+breakfast and cereals and bread. Then on
+top, they were to put cookies and candy and
+the turkey. But of course those last things
+would go in in the morning, just before the
+baskets were taken away.</p>
+<p>By the time Mr. Merrill came home, the
+three baskets were packed, covered up and
+set in the corner of the dining-room ready
+for morning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now for the tree!&#8221; said Mr. Merrill as
+he took off his coat ready for work. He set
+their tree in the dining-room and with Alice&#8217;s
+good help fixed a solid bottom standard and
+set it up in the living-room right in front of
+the foolish little fireplace. They wired it
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_194' name='page_194'></a>194</span>
+firmly and then Mrs. Merrill brought in the
+boxes of Christmas trimmings and everybody
+set to work.</p>
+<p>Such fun as it was! Mary Jane kept saying,
+&#8220;Remember this!&#8221; And Alice added,
+&#8220;Remember that!&#8221; till it seemed as though
+it <i>couldn&#8217;t</i> be more than a week since last
+Christmas when they had put the same things
+on a tree that looked exactly like the one
+they were now trimming. This year, seeing
+Mary Jane was such a <i>very</i> old person, she
+was allowed to put the gold star on the top
+of the tree; she climbed the ladder, with
+father holding one hand and wired it on all
+by herself; and Alice, as a special privilege,
+was allowed to hang the crystal icicles on
+every tip.</p>
+<p>Nobody put any tinsel on the tree&mdash;that
+was left for the middle of the night like the
+story of the old time legend. Whether the
+spiders and the Christmas fairies, working
+together, really covered the tree with silver,
+Mary Jane never stopped to figure out.
+But at any rate the tree was covered with
+strings of gold the next morning and Mary
+Jane thought it the prettiest Christmas tree
+she had ever seen!</p>
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<a name='linki_4' id='linki_4'></a>
+<img src='images/maryj-195.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 327px; height: 461px;' /><br />
+<p class='caption' style='margin: 0 auto; text-align:center;width: 327px;'>
+This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a <i>very</i> old person,<br />
+she was allowed to put the gold star on the top of the tree<br />
+<i>Page 195</i><br />
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_197' name='page_197'></a>197</span></div>
+<p>The very last thing before she went to
+bed, Mary Jane hung up her stocking. And
+Alice, looking a bit foolish, hung hers close
+by.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought you two folks weren&#8217;t going to
+have any Christmas,&#8221; said Mr. Merrill teasingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Of course we&#8217;re not,&#8221; said Mary Jane
+bravely, &#8220;but we want to hang our stockings
+just the same as if&mdash;you know.&#8221; And
+Dadah must have understood for he nodded
+his head and didn&#8217;t tease any more.</p>
+<p>Nobody would say how it ever happened.
+Certainly it was well understood that there
+were to be no presents. But, anyway, when
+Mary Jane and Alice looked at those stockings
+Christmas morning they were fat, as
+fat could be! Just bulging over with queer
+shaped parcels!</p>
+<p>Mary Jane couldn&#8217;t even wait to put her
+slippers on! She bundled a kimono around
+her, grabbed up her stocking and ran into her
+mother&#8217;s room to open it. Alice wasn&#8217;t far
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198' name='page_198'></a>198</span>
+behind and certainly for girls who were to
+have <i>no</i> presents, they fared very well indeed!
+Santa Claus must have got his signals
+mixed some way! There were doll
+things for Marie Georgiannamore, and a
+ring for Mary Jane; hair ribbons, handkerchiefs,
+skates for Alice (think of that in a
+stocking!) and slippers for the little girl
+who forgot to put on her old pair and, oh,
+many lovely little things that could be
+tucked into a stocking.</p>
+<p>The girls spread the things out on mother&#8217;s
+bed and had a happy time till suddenly
+Mr. Merrill exclaimed, &#8220;Girls! It&#8217;s eight
+o&#8217;clock and I ordered that taxi for nine!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then there <i>was</i> a scramble! Gifts were
+hustled away, clothes were put on, breakfast
+was eaten and a few last things packed in the
+baskets, just as the taxi arrived.</p>
+<p>It was fortunate Mr. Merrill had ordered a
+big car for with three baskets, a bundle containing
+the doll bed and another the turkey,
+to say nothing of the tree roped on the side
+of the car and the box of trimmings on Mrs.
+Merrill&#8217;s lap even a big car was pretty full.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_199' name='page_199'></a>199</span></p>
+<p>Mary Jane felt like a real Santa Claus for
+sure!</p>
+<p>The family they were going to see didn&#8217;t
+know they were coming, so when the car
+stopped in front of a shabby little house,
+three puzzled and very sober faces pressed
+against the window and looked out. But
+the sober faces soon changed. In a few minutes
+the mother was helping Mrs. Merrill
+put the turkey in to roast, the older girl was
+helping Mr. Merrill set the Christmas tree
+in place and Tom and Ellen, the little girl,
+were helping the Merrill girls trim the tree.</p>
+<p>When the Merrills left the house some
+two hours later the turkey was almost
+cooked, the tree was trimmed, presents unpacked
+and happiness and good cheer had
+settled down in the little house for many a
+day.</p>
+<p>It was a good thing they came away
+when they did, though, for exactly as they
+drove up to their own home, they met an
+express wagon. And in their own vestibule
+they found the driver. &#8220;Family of Merrill
+here?&#8221; he asked them.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_200' name='page_200'></a>200</span></p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re us,&#8221; said Mary Jane eagerly.
+And whereupon the driver carried upstairs
+the biggest, fattest Christmas box Mary Jane
+had ever seen.</p>
+<p>Of course it was from grandma and in it
+were so many lovely things from uncles and
+grandparents and cousins that Mary Jane
+thought she never would get everything unpacked!</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well,&#8221; said the little girl as some time
+later the family sat down to their own belated
+dinner, &#8220;I think for not having any
+presents, we got a lot! And I think I like
+Christmas in Chicago just as much as anywhere,
+I do.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='major' />
+<div style='margin: auto; text-align: center; padding-top: 2em; padding-bottom: 1em'>
+<a name='A_SUMMER_HOME_AND_A_TELEGRAM' id='A_SUMMER_HOME_AND_A_TELEGRAM'></a>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201' name='page_201'></a>201</span>
+<h2>A SUMMER HOME&mdash;AND A TELEGRAM</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s go skating!&#8221; called Frances one
+cold morning as she saw Alice shake
+the bath room rug from the balcony.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Skating?&#8221; answered Alice, &#8220;where?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Down on the Midway,&#8221; said Frances.
+&#8220;As soon as you get your work done, you and
+Mary Jane come around to our front door
+and Betty and I will be ready.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But Mary Jane doesn&#8217;t know how to
+skate,&#8221; said Alice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Betty doesn&#8217;t either,&#8221; answered Frances,
+&#8220;but they can take their sleds and coast down
+the sides of the bank while you and I skate.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Alice promised and then she hurried inside
+to finish her work. She had heard
+about the fine skating on the Midway where
+the park board flooded the sunken greens
+for the benefit of neighborhood children, but
+thus far the weather had been too mild for
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_202' name='page_202'></a>202</span>
+any skating, so she hadn&#8217;t had a chance to
+try it. But a sudden cold snap, with snow
+enough to cover the sloping banks, had provided
+both skating and coasting.</p>
+<p>Well protected with warm mittens and
+leggings the girls set out and had the jolliest
+kind of a morning. At one end of the ice,
+the younger folks did their coasting, the sloping
+sides giving a flying start and the smooth
+ice a glorious finish. At the other end the
+older boys and girls did their skating, so
+there was no mix up or interference.</p>
+<p>That morning was the first of many happy
+Saturday mornings spent on the ice. Even
+Mary Jane got some skates and, with the
+help of Dadah when he could get away from
+the office, she learned to be a fine skater.</p>
+<p>But winter fun never lasts very long.
+Just about the time Mary Jane learned to
+skate well enough to challenge Alice to a
+race, the spring sun sent the ice to nowhere
+land and the while-ago ice pond turned to
+green grass! Spring had come.</p>
+<p>With the coming of spring, Mary Jane
+grew very restless. She wasn&#8217;t sick, but
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_203' name='page_203'></a>203</span>
+something was wrong. Something was
+making her very solemn and sober&mdash;quite
+unlike her usual lively self.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know what&#8217;s the matter with me,&#8221; she
+announced one warm sunny morning, &#8220;I
+want to dig.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You want to dig?&#8221; exclaimed Mrs. Merrill
+in amazement, &#8220;well, why don&#8217;t you go
+down and dig in the Holdens&#8217; yard? You
+know Mrs. Holden said you might.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I don&#8217;t want to dig in somebody&#8217;s
+yard,&#8221; answered Mary Jane, without a spark
+of interest, &#8220;I want to dig in my <i>own</i> yard
+and have flowers and a sand pile and everything
+right in my own yard, I do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mrs. Merrill didn&#8217;t reply but she did do a
+lot of thinking and that evening she and
+Mr. Merrill had a long conference.</p>
+<p>As a result, at breakfast table the next
+morning Mr. Merrill said, &#8220;How would you
+girls like to have a summer home of your
+own? A place in the woods where we could
+go as soon as school closes and where you
+could wear bloomers and play in the sand
+and gather flowers and make garden and all
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204' name='page_204'></a>204</span>
+the things you love to do but can&#8217;t do in
+the city. How would you like that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mary Jane and Alice stared at him.
+Would they <i>like</i> it? anybody could see by
+their faces that they would <i>love</i> it!</p>
+<p>&#8220;But we wouldn&#8217;t want to leave you here
+in Chicago, all summer,&#8221; objected Alice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I wouldn&#8217;t want to be left,&#8221; Mr.
+Merrill assured them. &#8220;But I am sure,
+somewhere in the suburbs around Chicago
+there must be <i>some place</i> we could get a summer
+home. And we&#8217;ll make it our business
+to find that place.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought,&#8221; began Mrs. Merrill, and then
+she hesitated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Something nice?&#8221; asked Alice, encouragingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would have been nice,&#8221; admitted Mrs.
+Merrill, &#8220;but likely we couldn&#8217;t do it. I&#8217;d
+been thinking how pleasant it would be to
+take another trip this summer. You know
+how you girls enjoyed going to Florida.
+And you remember Uncle Hal graduates
+from Harvard this June. I had been wondering
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_205' name='page_205'></a>205</span>
+if we could go east in time to be there
+when the festivities are going on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, mother!&#8221; cried Mary Jane, &#8220;what
+fun! I do want to ride on a train, a big
+train with a sleeper and a diner! But then
+I want to dig, too,&#8221; she added, insistently.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then we&#8217;ll take one thing at a time,&#8221;
+suggested Mr. Merrill. &#8220;We&#8217;ll look into
+the question of a summer home&mdash;we know
+we&#8217;d all like that. And you folks don&#8217;t
+know that a very popular uncle would <i>want</i>
+a grown up sister and two small nieces hanging
+around at commencement time,&#8221; he
+added teasingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do you find a summer home?&#8221; asked
+Alice thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what we&#8217;ll have to discover,&#8221;
+laughed Mr. Merrill. &#8220;And we&#8217;ll begin
+this very Saturday afternoon if the weather
+is fine. We&#8217;ll take a suburban train and
+ride till we see a place that looks homey and
+there we&#8217;ll get off and hunt.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The next Saturday was warm and sunny,
+the kind of a day for bringing flowers into
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_206' name='page_206'></a>206</span>
+bloom and for making little girls want to
+play out of doors. Mrs. Merrill and the
+girls met Mr. Merrill at his office so as not
+to lose a minute&#8217;s time, and they hurried
+right over to the station, and got aboard the
+first suburban train they could find.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I think this is lots of fun,&#8221; said Mary
+Jane as they found their seats, &#8220;we don&#8217;t
+know where we&#8217;re going&mdash;we&#8217;re just going!&#8221;
+And the train was off.</p>
+<p>For some time the girls were really discouraged.
+They passed factories, and tenements,
+and more factories till Mary Jane was
+sure they were never coming to country&mdash;real
+country. But suddenly, when she was
+about to give up, the factories were gone and
+from the window the girls could see wide
+fields and strips of woods and an occasional
+brook. Two or three little stations were
+passed and then the train ran through a
+beautiful stretch of woods&mdash;rolling woods
+all leafy and budding and flower decked.
+The ground was fairly covered with early
+blossoms and trees of wild crab were just
+bursting into pink bloom.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_207' name='page_207'></a>207</span></p>
+<p>Mary Jane grabbed her coat and started
+down the aisle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Make &#8217;em stop the train, Dadah,&#8221; she
+said, &#8220;this is where we want to live!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Fortunately at that minute the train really
+did stop at a small station and the Merrills
+got off and looked around. It didn&#8217;t take
+long to explore into the woods far enough to
+find that they had come to the very place
+they were looking for&mdash;a spot not too far
+from the city for Mr. Merrill&#8217;s daily trip and
+yet wild enough to give the girls some real
+woods. The girls picked flowers as they explored
+and had such a happy time that it was
+hard work to persuade them to go back to the
+city when the twilight came. But they had
+found the very place!</p>
+<p>Three weeks later Mr. Merrill bought a
+lot in the heart of the woods, and the summer
+home was no longer a mere dream&mdash;it
+was to be really truly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now,&#8221; announced Alice, &#8220;we&#8217;ll draw
+the kind of a house we want. I love to draw
+plans of a house!&#8221; She cleared off the dining
+table, sharpened pencils, brought two
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_208' name='page_208'></a>208</span>
+tablets and insisted that everybody come out
+and help.</p>
+<p>And just then the door bell rang.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Telegram for Merrill!&#8221; shouted a voice
+through the tube and Mary Jane pressed the
+buzzer in a hurry&mdash;a telegram usually meant
+something exciting.</p>
+<p>It was addressed to Mrs. Merrill and said,
+&#8220;Have all tickets and hotel reservations.
+You and the girls must come.&#8221; And it was
+signed by Mrs. Merrill&#8217;s brother.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If that isn&#8217;t just like a college boy!&#8221;
+laughed Mrs. Merrill. &#8220;For weeks he
+doesn&#8217;t answer a letter and then he telegraphs!
+Girls,&#8221; she added, &#8220;let&#8217;s go!
+Wouldn&#8217;t you like to go to Boston and see
+the college and the ocean and the White
+Mountains&mdash;and&mdash;everything?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, mother, <i>really</i>?&#8221; exclaimed Mary
+Jane. (She felt as though she must be
+dreaming, things were happening so fast!)</p>
+<p>&#8220;But what about the summer home?&#8221;
+asked Alice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t you worry about the summer
+home,&#8221; Mr. Merrill assured her, &#8220;we&#8217;ll have
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209' name='page_209'></a>209</span>
+that summer home just the same. You girls
+take your trip east. You won&#8217;t be gone
+more than a couple of weeks&mdash;and what are
+two weeks out of a whole summer? And
+before you go, we&#8217;ll get the shack all planned
+and when you come back we&#8217;ll move out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Goody! Goody! Goody!&#8221; cried Mary
+Jane happily, &#8220;then I can see Uncle Hal
+and ride on the train and dig a garden and
+<i>everything</i>!&#8221;</p>
+<p>And if you want to hear all about Mary
+Jane&#8217;s beautiful trip to Boston and the
+White Mountains, the fun she had sight-seeing
+and the jolly party on &#8220;Class Day,&#8221;
+you must read&mdash;</p>
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>&#8220;<span style='font-variant: small-caps'>Mary Jane in New England</span>&#8221;</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>THE MARY JANE SERIES</p>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BY CLARA INGRAM JUDSON</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated.</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>With picture inlay and wrapper.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/adv001.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 89px; height: 131px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Mary Jane is the typical American little
+girl who bubbles over with fun and the
+good things in life. We meet her here on
+a visit to her grandfather&#8217;s farm where she
+becomes acquainted with farm life and farm
+animals and thoroughly enjoys the experience.
+We next see her going to
+kindergarten and then on a visit to Florida, and then&mdash;but
+read the stories for yourselves.</p>
+<p>Exquisitely and charmingly written are these books which
+every little girl from five to nine years old will want from the
+first book to the last.</p>
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>1 MARY JANE&mdash;HER BOOK</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>2 MARY JANE&mdash;HER VISIT</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>3 MARY JANE&#8217;S KINDERGARTEN</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>4 MARY JANE DOWN SOUTH</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>5 MARY JANE&#8217;S CITY HOME</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>6 MARY JANE IN NEW ENGLAND</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>7 MARY JANE&#8217;S COUNTY HOME</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:; font-style:italic;'>PUBLISHERS</p>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>NEWARK, N. J.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK, N. Y.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>CHICKEN LITTLE JANE SERIES</p>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'><i>By</i> LILY MUNSELL RITCHIE</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/adv002.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 121px; height: 180px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Chicken Little Jane is a
+Western prairie girl who
+lives a happy, outdoor life
+in a country where there
+is plenty of room to turn
+around. She is a wide-awake,
+resourceful girl
+who will instantly win her
+way into the hearts of
+other girls. And what
+good times she has!&mdash;with
+her pets, her friends, and
+her many interests.
+&#8220;Chicken Little&#8221; is the affectionate
+nickname given to her when she is
+very, very good, but when she misbehaves it is
+&#8220;Jane&#8221;&mdash;just Jane!</p>
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>Adventures of Chicken Little Jane</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>Chicken Little Jane on the &#8220;Big John&#8221;</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>Chicken Little Jane Comes to Town</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'><i>With numerous illustrations in pen and ink</i></p>
+<p style=' font-size:; margin-top:; margin-bottom:1em;'>By CHARLES D. HUBBARD</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p>NEWARK         NEW YORK</p>
+<p> N. J.          N. Y.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>Dorothy Whitehill Series</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'><i>For Girls</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/adv003.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 136px; height: 181px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Here is a sparkling new
+series of stories for girls&mdash;just
+what they will like,
+and ask for more of the
+same kind. It is all about
+twin sisters, who for the
+first few years in their
+lives grow up in ignorance
+of each other&#8217;s existence.
+Then they are at
+last brought together and
+things begin to happen.
+Janet is an independent
+go-ahead sort of girl;
+while her sister Phyllis is&mdash;but meet the twins
+for yourself and be entertained.</p>
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>5 Titles, Cloth, large 12mo.,</p>
+<p>Covers in color.</p>
+</div>
+
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>1. JANET, A TWIN</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>2. PHYLLIS, A TWIN</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>3. THE TWINS IN THE WEST</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>4. THE TWINS IN THE SOUTH</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>5. THE TWINS&#8217; SUMMER VACATION</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>6. THE TWINS AND TOMMY JR.</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p style=' font-style:italic;'>PUBLISHERS</p>
+<p>NEWARK, N. J. NEW YORK, N. Y.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>THE POLLY PENDLETON SERIES</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BY DOROTHY WHITEHILL</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/adv004.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 89px; height: 122px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Polly Pendleton is a resourceful, wide-awake
+American girl who goes to a boarding
+school on the Hudson River some miles
+above New York. By her pluck and resourcefulness,
+she soon makes a place for
+herself and this she holds right through the
+course. The account of boarding school
+life is faithful and pleasing and will attract
+every girl in her teens.</p>
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>1 POLLY&#8217;S FIRST YEAR AT BOARDING SCHOOL</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>2 POLLY&#8217;S SUMMER VACATION</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>3 POLLY&#8217;S SENIOR YEAR AT BOARDING SCHOOL</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>4 POLLY SEES THE WORLD AT WAR</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>5 POLLY AND LOIS</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>6 POLLY AND BOB</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p><i>Cloth, Large 12mo., Illustrated.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='minor' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p>PUBLISHERS</p>
+<p>Newark, N. J. New York, N. Y.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>The Sunny Boy Series</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>By RAMY ALLISON WHITE</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/adv005.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 136px; height: 180px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Children, meet Sunny
+Boy, a little fellow with
+big eyes and an inquiring
+disposition, who finds the
+world a large and wonderful
+thing indeed. And
+somehow there is lots going
+on, when Sunny Boy
+is around. Perhaps he
+helps push! In the first
+book of this new series he
+has the finest time ever,
+with his Grandpa out in
+the country. He learns a
+lot and he helps a lot, in his small way. Then
+he has a glorious visit to the seashore, but this is
+in the next story. And there are still more adventures
+in the third book and fourth book. You
+will like Sunny Boy.</p>
+<div class='ce'>
+<p>4 Titles, Cloth, illustrated, 12mo.,</p>
+<p>with colored covers.</p>
+</div>
+
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>1. SUNNY BOY IN THE COUNTRY</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>2. SUNNY BOY AT THE SEASHORE</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>3. SUNNY BOY IN THE BIG CITY</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>4. SUNNY BOY IN SCHOOL AND OUT</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>5. SUNNY BOY AND HIS PLAYMATES</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p style=' font-style:italic;'>PUBLISHERS</p>
+<p>NEWARK, N. J. NEW YORK, N. Y.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>GOOD STORIES FOR CHILDREN</p>
+<p>(From four to nine years old)</p>
+<p style=' font-size:1.4em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>THE KNEETIME ANIMAL STORIES</p>
+<p>By RICHARD BARNUM</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/adv006.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 91px; height: 120px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>In all nursery literature animals have
+played a conspicuous part; and the reason
+is obvious, for nothing entertains a child
+more than the antics of an animal. These
+stories abound in amusing incidents such
+as children adore, and the characters are
+so full of life, so appealing to a child&#8217;s
+imagination, that none will be satisfied until
+they have met all of their favorites&mdash;Squinty,
+Slicko, Mappo, and the rest.</p>
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>1 Squinty, the Comical Pig.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>2 Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>3 Mappo, the Merry Monkey.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>4 Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>5 Don, a Runaway Dog.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>6 Dido, the Dancing Bear.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>7 Blackie, a Lost Cat.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>8 Flop Ear, the Funny Rabbit.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>9 Tinkle, the Trick Pony.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>10 Lightfoot, the Leaping Goat.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>11 Chunky, the Happy Hippo.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>12 Sharp Eyes, the Silver Fox.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>13 Nero, the Circus Lion.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>14 Tamba, the Tame Tiger.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>15 Toto, the Rustling Beaver.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>16 Shaggo, the Mighty Buffalo.</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>17 Winky, the Wily Woodchuck.</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'><i>Cloth, Large 12mo., Illustrated.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p>Publishers</p>
+<p>Newark, N. J.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York, N. Y.</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class='silver' />
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>The Yank Brown Series</p>
+<p><i>By</i> DAVID STONE</p>
+<p><i>Cloth, large</i> 12 <i>mo. Illustrated.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class='figleft'>
+<img src='images/adv007.jpg' alt='' title='' style='width: 128px; height: 180px;' /><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>When Yank Brown comes
+to Belmont College as a
+callow Freshman, there is
+a whole lot that he doesn&#8217;t
+know about college life,
+such as class rushes, rivalries,
+fraternities, and what
+a lowly Freshman must
+not do. But he does know
+something about how to
+play football, and he is a
+big, likeable chap who
+speedily makes friends.</p>
+<p>In the first story of this
+series we watch Yank buck the line as a Halfback.
+In the second story he goes in for basketball,
+among many other activities of a busy college
+year. Then there are other stories to follow&mdash;each
+brimful of action and interest. This
+is one of the best college series we have seen in
+a long while.</p>
+<table summary='poetry' style='margin:0 auto'><tr><td>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>YANK BROWN, HALFBACK</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>YANK BROWN, FORWARD</p>
+<p  style='margin: 0 0 0 0.0em;'>YANK BROWN, CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNER</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+
+<div class='ce'>
+<p style=' font-size:1.2em;'>BARSE &amp; HOPKINS</p>
+<p>NEWARK&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK</p>
+<p>N. J.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N. Y.</p>
+<div style='margin-top:1em'></div>
+<p style=' font-size:0.8em; margin-top:; margin-bottom:;'>(<i>Other volumes in preparation.</i>)</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- generated by ppgen.rb version: 2.25 -->
+<!-- timestamp: Wed Sep 03 07:23:41 -0400 2008 -->
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Mary Jane's City Home, by Clara Ingram Judson
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@@ -0,0 +1,4260 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mary Jane's City Home, by Clara Ingram Judson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Mary Jane's City Home
+
+Author: Clara Ingram Judson
+
+Illustrator: Thelma Gooch
+
+Release Date: September 3, 2008 [EBook #26517]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARY JANE'S CITY HOME ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: And she pointed out the little seal who was a bit too slow.
+Frontispiece]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+MARY JANE'S CITY HOME
+
+BY
+CLARA INGRAM JUDSON
+
+Author of
+"Flower Fairies," "Good-Night Stories,"
+"Billy Robin and His Neighbors," "Bed Time Tales,"
+"The Junior Cook Book," and Other Works
+
+ILLUSTRATED BY
+THELMA GOOCH
+
+NEW YORK
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Copyright, 1920,
+by
+Barse & Hopkins
+
+PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+TO
+MY MOTHER and FATHER
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+CONTENTS
+
+                               PAGE
+Finding the New Home             11
+The Folks Around The Corner      22
+Visiting with Betty              35
+Sand Castles                     49
+The Beach Supper                 64
+Mary Jane Goes Shopping          76
+The Bus Ride                     88
+The Birthday Luncheon           100
+Lost--One Doll Cart             115
+A Trip to the Zoo               128
+A Day in the Parks              143
+Visitors--and a Boat Ride       156
+School Begins                   171
+Christmas in Chicago            184
+A Summer Home--and a Telegram   201
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+                                                              PAGE
+
+And she pointed out the little seal who was a bit
+too slow.                                             Frontispiece
+
+And then, sliding in the wet sand, she sat right
+down in the lake and sent a wave of ripples right
+over her castle                                                 60
+
+"But it's all down my dress," said Mary Jane, trying
+her very best not to cry                                       107
+
+This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old
+person, she was allowed to put the gold star on the
+top of the tree                                                188
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+
+
+MARY JANE'S CITY HOME
+
+FINDING THE NEW HOME
+
+
+The late afternoon sunshine sent its slanting, golden rays through the car
+windows on to the map that Mary Jane and her sister Alice had spread out
+on the table between the seats of the Pullman in which they were riding.
+
+"And all that wiggly line is water?" Mary Jane was asking.
+
+"Every bit water," replied their father, who bent over their heads to
+explain what they were looking at; "a lot of water, you see. You remember
+I told you that Chicago is right on the edge of Lake Michigan. And Lake
+Michigan, so far as looks are concerned, might just as well be the ocean
+you saw down in Florida--it's so big you can't see the other side."
+
+"And does it have big waves?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"Just you wait and see," promised Mr. Merrill. "Big waves! I should say it
+has!"
+
+"And all the green part of the map is parks," said Alice, quoting what her
+father had told them when he first showed them the map.
+
+"Then there must be a lot of parks," suggested Mary Jane with interest. "I
+think I'd like to live by a park," she added thoughtfully.
+
+"I think I should too," agreed Mr. Merrill, "and it's near a park we will
+make the first hunt for a home."
+
+"Oh, look!" cried Mary Jane suddenly as she glanced up from the spread-out
+map; "what's that, Dadah?"
+
+"That's the beginning of Chicago," said Mr. Merrill. "Let's fold up the
+map now and see what we can of the city. This is South Chicago; and those
+great stacks and flaming chimneys are steel mills and foundries and
+factories--watch now! There are more!"
+
+The train on which the Merrill family were traveling went dashing past
+factory after factory--past an occasional open space where they could see
+in the distance the blue gleam of Lake Michigan and past great wide
+stretches where tracks and more tracks on which freight cars and engines
+sped up and down showed them something of the whirling industry that has
+made South Chicago famous. No wonder it was a strange sight to the two
+girls--they had never before seen anything that made them even guess the
+big business that they now saw spread out before them.
+
+They had spent all their lives thus far--Alice was twelve and Mary Jane
+going on six--in a small city of the Middle West and though they had had a
+fine summer in the country visiting grandma and grandpa and had only the
+winter before taken a beautiful trip through Florida, they had never been
+to a great city. And now they were not going to visit or to take a trip.
+They were going to live there. The great big city of Chicago was to be
+their home.
+
+The pretty little house they had loved so well was sold. The furniture and
+books and dolls and clothes were all packed and loaded on a freight car to
+follow them to the city and all the dear friends had been given a
+farewell. Mary Jane had loved the excitement and muss of packing; the
+great boxes and the masses of crinkly excelsior and the workmen around who
+always had time for a pleasant joke with an interested little girl. But
+when it came time to say good-by to Doris and to her much loved
+kindergarten and to all the boys and girls in school and "on her block,"
+going away wasn't so funny. In fact, Mary Jane felt a queer and
+troublesome lump in her throat most of the morning when the good-bys were
+said.
+
+But the ride on the train (and how Mary Jane did love to ride on the
+train); and the nice luncheon on the diner (and how Mary Jane did _adore_
+eating on a diner--hashed brown potatoes, a whole order by herself and ice
+cream and everything!); and then father's nice talk about all the fun they
+were going to have, made the lump vanish and in its place there developed
+an eager desire to see the new city and to begin all the promised fun. It
+was then that Mr. Merrill showed them the big map of the city and pointed
+out the part of the city where they would likely live.
+
+As the girls watched, the great factories and foundries slipped away into
+the distance, and in their place the girls could see houses and occasional
+stores and here and there a station, past which their train dashed as
+though it wasn't looking for stations to-day, thank you.
+
+"Don't we stop anywhere?" asked Mary Jane after she had counted three of
+these little stations.
+
+"Those are suburban stations," explained Mr. Merrill, "and a big through
+train like ours hasn't time to stop at every one. Pretty soon another
+train will come along and stop at each one of those we are now passing so
+don't you worry about folks getting left. _This_ train we are on has got
+to get us into Chicago in time for dinner."
+
+And just at that minute, when the big three story apartment buildings that
+looked so very queer and strange to Mary Jane, began to fill every block,
+the porter came to brush her off and to help her on with her coat.
+
+"I'm going to live here in Chicago," she said to him as he held the coat
+for her, "and it's a big place with lots of lake and parks and--houses, I
+guess, and most everything."
+
+"'Deed it is big, missy," replied the porter, "and I hope you's going to
+like it a lot, I do."
+
+"I'm a-going to," answered Mary Jane confidently, as she picked up
+Georgiannamore and Georgiannamore's suit case which at the last moment
+couldn't possibly be packed in the trunk, and followed her father and
+mother down the aisle, "'cause mother and Dadah and Alice are going to
+live here too and we always have fun."
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Merrill had decided to get off at one of the larger suburban
+stations and spend a few days in a near-by hotel; they thought the
+comparative quiet of a residence hotel would be better for their girls
+than the flurry and hurry of a big down town hotel. But to Mary Jane,
+accustomed to the sights and sounds of a small city where street cars went
+dignifiedly past every fifteen minutes and where traffic "cops" would have
+very few duties, the confusion she found herself in was quite enough to be
+very interesting.
+
+They stepped off the train, walked down some stairs and found themselves
+on the sidewalk of a very busy street. Overhead the noise of their own
+train rumbling cityward made a terrific din; and as though that were not
+enough, still higher up the great elevated car line made a rumble and
+roar. Mary Jane craned her neck as they walked from under the trains and
+there high in the air, she saw street cars running along as though street
+cars always had and always would, run on tracks high up in the air!
+
+"Can we ride on it, Dadah?" she shouted to her father, "are we going to
+ride on that train up on stilts?"
+
+Mr. Merrill shook his head laughingly and hurried them into a waiting
+taxi.
+
+"We're not going to ride there to-day," he explained when the door of the
+car shut out some of the noise, "but some day soon we'll take a long ride
+on the elevated and then you can see all the back yards and back porches
+and parks and streets and everything about the city, just as plain as
+plain can be."
+
+While he was talking, the Merrills drove through streets lined on both
+sides with three-story apartment buildings. But before Mary Jane had time
+to ask a question or even think what she would like to say, they whisked
+around a corner and out into the beautiful wide driveway on the
+Midway--the long, green parkway that stretched, or so it seemed to Mary
+Jane, for miles in both directions. The taxi pulled up in front of a
+comfortable looking hotel right on the side of the park and Mary Jane
+wasn't a bit sorry to get out and take a breath of fresh air and look at
+the lovely view before her.
+
+"Now just as soon as you are washed up," said Mrs. Merrill, briskly, as
+they went into the hotel, "you and Alice may come out onto this nice porch
+and watch the children play on the Midway and get a little run before
+dinner."
+
+You may be sure that with that promise before her, Mary Jane didn't take
+very long to primp. She had spied a group of children about her age, who
+seemed to be having a beautiful time playing ball out there on the grass
+and she couldn't help noticing that they played just as she and Doris did
+and she couldn't help wishing that she too, even though she was a new
+little girl just come to town, could play with them. So she stood very
+still while Mrs. Merrill tied the fresh hair bow and slipped on a clean
+frock and then, holding tight to big sister Alice's friendly hand she went
+down the one flight of stairs--she was in far too big a hurry to wait for
+the elevator--and out onto the long roomy porch.
+
+Just across the narrow street in front of the hotel and on the nearest bit
+of parkway, three little girls about Mary Jane's age were still playing
+ball. One was dainty and small and had yellow curls; one was rather tall
+and had long straight dark hair and the third had dark, straight hair
+bobbed short, and snapping black eyes.
+
+"Wouldn't it be funny," said Mary Jane as she looked at them wistfully,
+"if I'd get to know those girls and they'd be friends. If I _did_," she
+added, "I think she'd be my mostest friend," and Mary Jane pointed to the
+little girl with the dark, bobbed hair.
+
+While they watched and were trying to get up courage to go over and play
+too, a pretty girl about Alice's age came along the street. Her hair was
+copper colored and curly and very, very pretty. And her smile when she saw
+the little girls who were playing, made her seem so friendly and "homey."
+
+"I've been hunting you, Betty," she said to the little girl Mary Jane
+liked best. "It's time to come home for dinner."
+
+So the four girls, three little folks and one bigger one, went around the
+corner toward home, and two strangers, standing on the porch, watched them
+till they were quite out of sight.
+
+"It would be funny," said Alice, "if we'd ever get to know them. I'm sure
+I'd like to."
+
+"Wouldn't it though!" exclaimed Mary Jane. "I hope we do!"
+
+And all the time they were eating their first dinner in Chicago, and
+telling mother and father about the children they had seen and making
+plans about what to do to-morrow, they were thinking about those two girls
+and wishing to know them better.
+
+Little did they guess what would really truly happen before the week was
+over!
+
+
+
+
+THE FOLKS AROUND THE CORNER
+
+
+Three whole days of flat hunting! And of all the fun she had ever had in
+her more than five years of life, Mary Jane thought flat hunting in
+Chicago was the most fun of all! She loved the mystery of each new
+apartment; the guessing which room might be hers and which mother's; the
+hunting up the door bell and hearing its sound (for as you very well know
+each door bell has a sound of its own); the poking into closets and
+pantries and porches. It was the most delightful sort of exploring she had
+ever come across and she couldn't at all understand why mother and father
+got tired and somewhat discouraged. For _her_ part Mary Jane was tempted
+to wish that they would never find a flat, well hardly that; but that
+finding the right one would take a long, oh, a very long time!
+
+But by the afternoon of the third day, her legs began to get a little
+tired too, and her eyes looked more often to the green of the Midway they
+occasionally saw and she thought that flats, even empty flats, really
+should have chairs for folks to sit on. So, as a matter of fact, she
+wasn't half as sorry as she had thought she would be, when, on the
+afternoon of the third day of hunting the Merrill family came across a
+charming little apartment.
+
+It was on the second floor of a very attractive red brick building; it had
+five rooms, quite too small, father thought, but then one can't have
+everything, they had found, and every room was light and sunny and
+cheerful. But the part about it that Mary Jane and Alice liked the best
+was the back porch. To be sure there was a front porch, a pretty, little
+porch with a stone railing and a view way down the street toward the park
+and lake. But off the dining room the girls discovered a small balcony
+that overlooked the back yard next door, a back yard that had a garden
+laid out and a chicken house and everything so homey and comfortable
+looking that the girls immediately wanted to sit out and watch.
+
+"I think if we'd stay here maybe some children would come out to play,"
+suggested Mary Jane in a whisper.
+
+"I think they would, too," agreed Alice. "And I think if we lived here
+maybe we could get acquainted and play with them."
+
+"Let's live here!" exclaimed Mary Jane and she ran back into the house
+just at the very minute Mr. and Mrs. Merrill decided to rent the
+apartment.
+
+"So you think you'll like it, do you?" said Mrs. Merrill, smiling; "the
+rooms are pretty small."
+
+"I know we'll love it," said Alice eagerly, "and you should see the back
+porch."
+
+But Mr. Merrill laughed when they showed him the porch.
+
+"Do you call this a porch," he exclaimed, "why it's not half big enough
+for a porch! I'd call it a balcony."
+
+"Yes," agreed Mrs. Merrill, "and then when you watch folks in the yard
+down there,--for you _are_ planning to watch and get acquainted, aren't
+you?--then you can pretend that this is your balcony seat and that the
+folks down there are in a play for you--wouldn't that be fun?"
+
+The girls thought it would, but there was so much to plan and think about
+that they didn't stay on their little balcony any longer just then, which
+was something of a pity, for right after they went indoors, somebody came
+out into the yard-- But then, there's no use telling about _her_ for Mary
+Jane didn't see her.
+
+So Mary Jane and Alice went with their father and mother into the room
+that was to be theirs and they planned just where each bed should be and
+where was the best place for the desk and dressing table and who should
+have which side of the closet. And by that time, it was nearly six
+o'clock--time to go back to the hotel for dinner.
+
+Mr. Merrill stopped at the desk for mail as they went up to their room and
+there he found a message telling him that their furniture had arrived in
+Chicago and that it must be taken out of the freight house the next
+morning.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill with a gasp of dismay, "I think it's a
+good thing we found that flat! What ever would we have done if we hadn't!
+Well, girls, I think we'd better eat a good dinner and then go to bed
+early for we'll have to get down there and clean up the flat while father
+tends to getting our things delivered."
+
+So bright and early the next morning everybody started to work. Mr.
+Merrill went down town to meet the moving men he had engaged by 'phone and
+Mrs. Merrill and the two girls put aprons and cleaning rags and soap, all
+of which they had brought in their small trunk, into a little grip and
+went down to the new home.
+
+Mary Jane had lots of fun that morning. First she went down to the
+basement and borrowed a broom from the janitor. Then she went back for
+clean papers which she folded neatly and spread on the pantry shelves
+which Mrs. Merrill with the good help of the janitor's wife had cleaned
+and ready. Then she put papers on the shelf of the closet she and Alice
+were to share and papers in the drawers near the floor of that same
+closet. By that time--it takes pretty long to fold papers neatly and get
+every bit of the shelf covered, you know--the door bell rang--a great,
+long, hard ring.
+
+"Oh, dear! Can you go, Mary Jane?" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill, "Alice and I
+both have wet hands!" You see, Alice had been washing mirrors that were on
+the closet doors while her mother and the janitor's wife did windows and
+wood work.
+
+"Yes, I'm dry," said Mary Jane, "and my papers are done and I'd like to
+go."
+
+To tell the honest truth, Mary Jane had just that very minute been wishing
+the door bell would ring. For the janitor's wife had showed her how to
+press the buzzer that would release the lock of the front door and let a
+person come up the stairs. And of course Mary Jane wanted to try it. So
+she hurried over to the house 'phone, took down the receiver and said,
+"Who is it?" just as any grown-up person would.
+
+"Here's your things!" said a gruff voice, "we'll bring 'em up the back!"
+
+Mary Jane didn't stop to press any buzzer. She dashed over to the window
+nearest the alley and there, sure enough, was a great big moving van and
+it was piled up full of boxes and barrels and crates--all the things that
+Mary Jane had watched the packing of only such a few days before. Talk
+about fun! Moving was surely the best sport ever!
+
+Mary Jane stayed at the window watching till the men brought the first
+load up. Then they announced that they were going for lunch and Mrs.
+Merrill said she and the girls had better eat while the men were away. So
+hastily putting on wraps, they went over to a small tea room only a few
+doors away, where they had a tasty little luncheon so quickly served that
+they easily got back to their flat before the moving men arrived again.
+
+How that afternoon went, Mary Jane never quite remembered. It was one long
+succession of excitement and fun. The unpacking of boxes and crates, the
+piling up of rubbish, the finding of cherished belongings and putting them
+where they belonged in the new home, and the gradual change of the living
+room from a mess of boxes to a place that might some day really look like
+home, all seemed thrillingly interesting to a little girl who had never
+moved before.
+
+But by half past four or thereabouts, even Mary Jane began to get a little
+tired.
+
+"I'll tell you something to do," suggested Mrs. Merrill, when a pause in
+her own work gave her a chance to notice that Mary Jane was getting
+flushed and tired. "Here is a box of doll things I have just come across.
+Suppose you take them out into your own little balcony and sort them over.
+Put in this box (and she handed her a little box) all the things you must
+surely have upstairs; and leave in the big box all the things you will be
+willing to put in the store room. Now take your time, dear, and sit down
+while you work."
+
+Mary Jane was very glad for that advice. For even though moving men are
+wonderful to watch, and even though rubbish and boxes and barrels are all
+very fascinating, a person _does_ get tired and sitting down isn't at all
+a bad idea.
+
+One of the men who was unpacking gave her her own little chair that he had
+just uncrated and so she sat down in state, in her own chair, on her own
+balcony and opened the box of doll things. But that's every bit that got
+done to those doll things that day, every bit.
+
+For at that very minute, who should come out of the house around the
+corner, the house with the back yard and garden and chickens and
+everything, but--yes, you must have guessed it--the same two girls that
+Alice and Mary Jane had seen on the Midway the day they arrived in
+Chicago. Think of that! Right under Mary Jane's own balcony and, moreover,
+it was plain to see that they lived there.
+
+"Now I guess we'll get to know them," whispered Mary Jane to herself
+happily. But of course, she didn't say a thing out loud. She only sat very
+still and watched.
+
+And as she watched, two boys came out on the back porch of the house
+around the corner and one of the boys called, "Say, Fran, did you feed the
+chickens?"
+
+The girl who was about Alice's age answered back, "No I didn't, Ed, I
+thought it was Betty's turn to-day."
+
+"Now I know a lot," Mary Jane whispered to herself. "She's Frances, I'm
+sure, and he's Ed; and Betty must be the little girl that's 'bout as big
+as me."
+
+Just then, when Mary Jane was wishing and wishing and wishing that she
+would come, Alice came to the door of the balcony and looked out.
+
+"Sh-h-h!" whispered Mary Jane, tensely, "they're here, both of 'em, and
+there's more of 'em, too!"
+
+Alice seemed to understand exactly what Mary Jane meant, even though her
+sentence was decidedly mixed up, and she stepped out onto the balcony.
+
+Frances heard the door shut and looked up. For a long minute the two girls
+looked at each other, then Frances, the girl with the auburn hair and the
+friendly smile, nodded shyly.
+
+Little Betty didn't take long deciding what she would do. She called
+eagerly, "Moving in?"
+
+"Yes, we are," laughed Alice, waving her hand toward the piles of boxes
+and rubbish stacked up on the back stairs of the building.
+
+Ed, who had started back into the house, looked around and, seeing his
+sisters had made a small start toward conversation, called a question on
+his own responsibility.
+
+"Going to use 'em all?" he asked, pointing to the boxes.
+
+"Dear me, I guess not," said Alice. "I don't see how we could!"
+
+"Then will you give me a box?" he asked, running back in the yard till he
+stood right under the balcony. "We're going to get some rabbits, John and
+I are, and we want a box for their home."
+
+"Come on over and see which one you want," suggested Alice, "and I'll ask
+father."
+
+Ed and his brother John lost no time climbing over the fence and
+inspecting the boxes. By the time Alice brought Mr. Merrill, he had picked
+out just the one he wanted and was very grateful when it was given him for
+his own.
+
+"Don't you want to come over and see 'em make the rabbit house?" suggested
+Frances shyly. "Oh, maybe you're busy."
+
+"I'm sure we can come," replied Alice, "because mother just told me she
+wished we'd get some fresh air." So Alice and Mary Jane followed the
+others to the back yard and helped hold nails and boards and make the
+rabbit house. When it was nearly finished the children's mother, who
+proved to be very charming Mrs. Holden, came out with a plate of cookies
+and a welcome for the two little strangers.
+
+"Thank you for the cookies," said Mary Jane politely, "but we're not
+strange--that is, not any more, we aren't, we know each other--all of us
+do!"
+
+And so it really seemed to all the children. They were friends from the
+first day and making the rabbit house was just the beginning of many nice
+times in that friendly back yard.
+
+
+
+
+VISITING WITH BETTY
+
+
+Three days of hard work for everybody and then the little flat into which
+the Merrills had moved began to look like a real home. The unpacking was
+all done and the rubbish cleared away; the furniture was polished and set
+in place; the closets were in order and every cupboard and shelf held just
+the right things for comfort. It wasn't such an easy matter to stow away
+all the things the Merrills had used in their pretty house--the five room
+apartment was much smaller than the house of course--but with everybody's
+help the job was done.
+
+"Now then," said Mrs. Merrill, happily, in the late afternoon of the third
+day, "if you'll run the rods in these curtains, Mary Jane, I'll hang them
+up where they belong and then we'll all three go to market and then--guess
+what? We'll have dinner in our own new home!"
+
+Mary Jane thought that would be fun, for, much as she loved eating in the
+hotel where they had been living while getting the new home fixed, she
+liked better to eat her mother's cooking. So it was a very happy little
+girl who slipped the rods into the living room curtains and then put on
+her hat and hunted up the market basket from the pantry.
+
+Now many times before this, Mary Jane had been marketing with her mother.
+But never had she been to such a market! Before, marketing meant going to
+the grocery store about three blocks from their home; it meant talking to
+the very interested and friendly grocer who had known Mary Jane ever since
+she first appeared at the grocery in her big, well-covered cab--she was
+then about two months old; it meant telling Mr. Shover, the grocer, just
+what they wanted and picking out the sorts of things they liked best. But
+marketing in Chicago was very different. In the first place there wasn't a
+person around they had ever seen before; and then everything was so big
+and there was so much food. Mary Jane thought there couldn't possibly be
+enough folks in Chicago to eat all those good things! But when she and her
+mother actually got into the store and began to buy, Mary Jane forgot all
+about the strangeness and remembered only the fun. For they didn't get
+somebody to wait on them as they used to at Mr. Shover's--not at all! They
+waited on themselves! They went through a little turnstile and then
+wandered around among the good things all by themselves and they took down
+from the well-stocked shelves anything they wanted. It certainly was
+queer.
+
+"Can we just take _anything_?" exclaimed Mary Jane in amazement as her
+mother explained what they were to do.
+
+"Well," laughed Mrs. Merrill, "you must remember we have to pay for things
+just the same as we used to at Mr. Shover's. But we can take anything we
+want--if we pay for it."
+
+"Then I'll pick you out some good things to eat, mother!" cried Mary Jane
+happily, "don't you worry about thinking what we're going to have!"
+
+Now Mary Jane really did know how to read, at least a little, but she
+didn't stop to read on this important occasion. She looked at the pictures
+on the cans of goodies and she picked out a can of all her favorites and
+set them in the basket Mrs. Merrill carried on her arm. But that didn't
+work, for Mrs. Merrill had a long list and the basket wouldn't hold only
+so much. So they decided to let Mrs. Merrill pick out three things from
+her list and then Mary Jane could buy one favorite; then three more things
+from the list and then another favorite. That proved to be great fun and
+it certainly did fill the basket in a hurry! Mary Jane was just trying to
+decide between a box of marshmallows and a pan of nice, gooey, sugary
+sweet rolls when Mrs. Merrill said, "whichever you decide, Mary Jane,
+you'll have to carry the bundle yourself, because this basket won't hold
+another parcel--not even a little one."
+
+Mary Jane decided on the rolls and she took them over to the counter to
+have them wrapped up and there she almost bumped into--Betty Holden, no
+less! Betty and her mother were shopping too, and their basket was almost
+as full as Mrs. Merrill's.
+
+"We market after school," said Mrs. Holden, "and then Ed brings his wagon
+to meet us and hauls the stuff home. We'll get him to give you a lift
+too."
+
+"And then can Mary Jane come over to our house to play?" asked Betty.
+
+"For a little while," agreed Mrs. Merrill, smilingly, "but she won't want
+to stay very long to-day because we're going to have our first dinner in
+our new home and she's promised to help me lots--and I need it."
+
+Just then they spied Ed's face at the door so they hurried through the
+second turnstile, paid for their groceries and left the store. Ed's wagon
+proved to be very big and he was glad to give them plenty of room for the
+Merrill basket.
+
+"Are you going to start in school to-morrow?" asked Betty as they walked
+off toward home.
+
+"I'm going over to see about that to-morrow morning," said Mrs. Merrill.
+"We've been so busy unpacking and settling that we haven't even thought
+about it till now. Do you like your school, Betty?"
+
+"Yes, I do, lots!" exclaimed Betty heartily. "I'm just through
+kindergarten this spring, I am, and next fall I'm first year."
+
+"Then I think you must be just about where Mary Jane will be," said Mrs.
+Merrill.
+
+The two little girls ran skipping ahead, talking about what they would do
+and where they would sit and all the things that girls plan for school.
+
+But when Mrs. Merrill took Alice and Mary Jane over the next morning, it
+didn't work out as planned. Alice was entered and found herself in the
+very same room and only two seats away from Frances, which seemed perfect.
+But there wasn't room for Mary Jane! The kindergarten was crowded, very,
+very crowded, and new little folks weren't allowed to come in. Miss
+Gilbert, the teacher, talked with Mary Jane a while and Mary Jane told her
+all the work she had done and all the things she had learned about.
+
+"I really think, Mrs. Merrill," said the teacher finally, "that your
+little girl is ready for the first grade. She seems very well prepared.
+But they don't take new first graders so late in the year. Why don't you
+keep her out of school the rest of this term and then next year, enter her
+in the first grade?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill thought that was a fine plan. There would be so many new
+sights to see and things to learn in the city that Mary Jane would find
+plenty to do.
+
+But Mary Jane was keenly disappointed. "I wanted to stay in Betty's room,"
+she explained to the teacher. "She asked me to sit by her this morning,
+she did, and I promised yes I would."
+
+"Then I'll tell you what you may do," suggested the teacher kindly. "Two
+of our folks are absent this morning so we have enough chairs to go
+around. Wouldn't you like to stay with Betty and visit? And then just a
+little before time for school to be out, Betty can take you up to your
+sister's room and she can bring you home."
+
+Mrs. Merrill agreed that that was a fine plan, so Mary Jane went to the
+cloak room to hang up her hat and her mother hurried back home.
+
+At first Mary Jane felt very strange in the new school room. There were so
+many children there and the songs were new and the games were new and
+everything seemed different. She almost--not really, but _almost_--wished
+she had gone home with her mother. And then, after singing three songs
+Mary Jane didn't know, the children made a big circle and let Mary Jane
+stand in the middle and they sang the song Mary Jane knew so very well,
+
+"I went to visit a friend to-day, She only lives across the way, She said
+she couldn't come out to play Because it was her ----"
+
+Quick as a flash Mary Jane dropped onto her knees and began to act out
+packing things into a box.
+
+For a minute the children hesitated. That was a strange thing to be
+acting; Mary Jane was not washing or ironing or churning or sweeping or
+any of the things the children usually acted and they were all puzzled.
+Then suddenly Betty remembered the back stairway and all the piles of
+boxes and excelsior on Mary Jane's back stairway and she called out the
+end of the song--"because it was her moving day!" And everybody finished
+the verse with a flourish.
+
+After that Mary Jane felt more at home and the morning went oh, so very
+quickly, till recess time, when they all went out into the big yard to
+play in the sunshine.
+
+Betty and her particular friends were gathering together for a circle game
+in the corner of the yard when Mary Jane heard a soft, helpless little
+sound close at hand. Without stopping to say anything to any one, she ran
+over to the fence and there, caught in between the tall iron bars, was the
+tiniest, blackest little dog she had ever seen. He evidently had seen the
+children coming out to play, had wanted to play with them and had supposed
+he could slip right through between the bars of the fence.
+
+Mary Jane tried to pull him out but he was stuck fast. So she called
+Betty.
+
+"Here!" shouted one of the boys, "I'll pull him out!"
+
+"No you don't," cried Betty imperatively, "you let him alone! We'll do
+it!" And her snapping black eyes flashed so positively that the boy
+obeyed. But Betty couldn't pull the dog through either, the bars were too
+close, she couldn't move him either way.
+
+"I'll tell you what let's do," she said. "Mary Jane, you stay here and
+guard him so nobody tries to pull him out and I'll go and get Tom and
+he'll know what to do." Tom was the janitor.
+
+Mary Jane stood close by the dog and patted his head and talked kindly to
+him so he would know somebody was trying to help him. And all the girls
+and boys who had started to play together gathered around and watched Mary
+Jane while Betty ran back to the school building and down into the
+basement to fetch the janitor.
+
+Fortunately, Tom was in his office and came quickly in response to Betty's
+call. He saw at once what the trouble was and discovered a way to remedy
+it. It seems that the big iron bars that made the fence were heavier at
+the bottom than nearer the top, so the space between the bars got wider
+higher up. Tom took firm hold of the wiggling little creature and gently
+but very firmly pushed him straight up between the bars. That didn't hurt
+like trying to pull him out, so the dog stopped barking and whining. And
+in a second Tom had him out--half way up the fence there was plenty of
+room to lift him right through.
+
+Poor little doggie! He was so glad to be out and so frightened by his
+experience that when Tom laid him down on the grass he looked quite
+forlorn. Mary Jane sat down beside him and gathered him up into her arms.
+
+"Don't you be afraid, doggie," she said softly, "we'll take care of you,
+don't you be afraid a bit!"
+
+"What you going to do with him?" asked one of the girls.
+
+But Mary Jane didn't have to answer that question. Before she could speak,
+a small boy came running along the street, crying as hard as he could cry
+and shouting between sobs, "I've lost my dog! I've lost my dog! Somebody's
+stole my dog!"
+
+"No they haven't," called Betty, "maybe this is yours!"
+
+The little boy rubbed his eyes, looked through the fence--and a look of
+happiness spread over his small face.
+
+"It's him! It's him! It's him!" he shouted happily, "then he isn't
+stole!"
+
+It took only a minute to run around the gate, dash across the school yard
+and grab the tiny little dog into his arms. And the children could tell by
+the way the little creature snuggled down that the love wasn't all on one
+side--evidently the little boy was a good master.
+
+Right at that minute, before there was a chance to start a game or any
+play, a great bell in the school doorway began to ring. Mary Jane was used
+to a small school of course--a school so small that the teacher came to
+the window and simply called when recess was over. So she stared in
+amazement when the great bell rang out so noisily.
+
+"Come on!" shouted Betty, "recess is over!"
+
+"Soon as I tell this doggie good-by!" replied Mary Jane.
+
+Betty didn't hear and, supposing Mary Jane was right behind her, she went
+on into her place in line. And Mary Jane, remembering how leisurely folks
+went up after recess at her old school, didn't pay any attention to the
+rapidly forming lines. She turned around and patted the tiny dog and
+nodded and smiled and whispered her good-by.
+
+When she did turn to go in with Betty, she was amazed to see all the
+children had disappeared into the building. She scampered over to the door
+as fast as ever she could. And up the stairs--but not a soul did she see!
+Only the click of a closing door could be heard--a click that made Mary
+Jane feel really shut out and lonely.
+
+"Now let's see," said Mary Jane to herself, "Betty's room was right around
+a corner--" But there wasn't any room around that first corner--only a
+long hall. A lump came into Mary Jane's throat. The building was so big,
+so very, very big. And she felt so little, so very, very little. She
+swallowed twice, determined not to cry and then she said out loud in a
+queer frightened little voice, "I guess I'm lost. I'm lost in school!"
+
+
+
+
+SAND CASTLES
+
+
+"I Guess I'm lost! I'm lost in school!"
+
+Mary Jane's frightened little whisper sounded like a shout and the doors
+and walls and hallways seemed to echo back, "Lost! Little girl lost!" in a
+most desolate fashion. Mary Jane was so frightened that she stood
+perfectly still--just as still as though her shoes were fastened to the
+floor. And she looked straight ahead as though she was trying to see
+through the wall at which she was staring. To tell the truth, Mary Jane
+wasn't trying to see through the wall. She didn't even know a wall was in
+front of her. She couldn't see a single thing, not even a big wall,
+because a mist of tears was in her eyes and a great lump was growing in
+her throat.
+
+Now Mary Jane wasn't a baby. And she never cried--or any way, she _hardly_
+ever cried because she was going on six and girls who are going on six
+don't cry. But to be lost in a strange school and in a strange city
+and--everything; well, it's not much wonder that Mary Jane felt pretty
+queer.
+
+But before the tears had time to fall, there was a heavy footstep behind
+her and Mary Jane whirled around to see--the kindly face of Tom the
+janitor smiling at her.
+
+"Aren't you pretty late getting to your room?" he asked.
+
+Mary Jane couldn't answer. She was so relieved to have someone around that
+for a minute she just couldn't get the lump out of her throat enough to
+talk.
+
+Tom must have been used to little girls--maybe he had one of his
+own--because he didn't pay any attention to Mary Jane's silence. He took
+hold of her hand and said pleasantly, "Now don't you worry a minute. You
+just show me which your room is and I'll go with you."
+
+"I'm looking for it too," said Mary Jane, finding her voice again, "but I
+don't know where it is."
+
+"Don't know where your room is?" asked Tom in surprise.
+
+"No," replied Mary Jane with a decided shake of her head, "I don't." And
+then, for talking was now getting comfortable and easy, she added, "you
+see, it isn't really my room. It's Betty's. And I'm just a-visiting her.
+I'm just moved to Chicago and they haven't any chair for me only just to
+visit in when somebody's absent."
+
+"That sounds like the kindergarten," said Tom.
+
+"It is," agreed Mary Jane with a laugh of relief, "I'm kindergarten, I
+am."
+
+"Then here we go, right down this way," said Tom, and off they started in
+just the opposite direction.
+
+Before they got clear up to the kindergarten, though, they met Miss
+Gilbert, who was coming in search of the little visitor. "Betty missed
+her," she explained, "but I thought you'd find her, Tom." With a thank you
+to her janitor friend, Mary Jane took tight hold of the teacher's hand and
+they went into the kindergarten room together.
+
+After that, the morning went very quickly and happily and Mary Jane could
+hardly believe her ears when the big whistles began to blow for twelve
+o'clock and Miss Gilbert told them to put away their scissors and cut-out
+papers and get ready to go home. Mary Jane had cut out two beautiful
+tulips and she was very happy when she was told they might be taken home
+as a souvenir of her visit.
+
+On the way home they met Frances and Alice and Ed so they had plenty of
+company.
+
+"What you doing Saturday?" asked Ed as they neared their own corner.
+
+"I don't know," replied Alice, "is there anything nice to do--special?"
+
+"Well," answered Frances, "we were afraid you might all be busy--but--well
+you see, we were going to have a beach party and we thought maybe you
+folks would like to go along. All of you."
+
+Now Alice and Mary hadn't the slightest idea what a beach party was, only
+of course they knew it must be something about the lake. But there wasn't
+time for questions and talk just then for Frances discovered that they had
+walked so slowly that they must rush on home to lunch.
+
+"We'll get mother to tell you," she promised, "and do say you'll come
+'cause it's a fire and cooking and marshmallows and piles of fun."
+
+"And we've plenty of wires," added Betty, "and they're plenty long so you
+won't burn your fingers."
+
+It sounded amazingly puzzling to Alice and Mary Jane, who couldn't in the
+least understand what a fire and wires and all that had to do with a
+beach. But they were to find out before so very long. For that same
+afternoon, while Alice was still in school, Mrs. Holden and Betty came
+over to call on Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane and then the beach party was
+all explained.
+
+"We go over to the lake very often," said Mrs. Holden. "And on the sandy
+beach, close by the water, the children build a big fire. Then, when the
+coals are good, we toast sandwiches and roast 'weenies' and toast
+marshmallows. The children are so anxious to show your girls just how it
+is done," she added, "and as the weather promises to be warm and sunny I
+think we should have an extra fine time."
+
+So it was settled. And a person would have thought from the excitement and
+fun of preparation that the party was to be that same day instead of
+twenty-four hours away. For as soon as Alice and the older Holden children
+came home from school, they all set to work planning the menu and getting
+out baskets and cleaning the wires on which, so the Merrill girls learned,
+marshmallows were held over the coals to be toasted.
+
+But when everything that could be done the day before, was finished, there
+was still some time for play, so the children went down into the Holden
+yard and the boys, Ed and John, showed the girls how to run a track
+meet--how to jump and vault and race in proper track style. Alice and Mary
+Jane thought the boys wonderfully skilled and the boys, thrilled by such
+warm admiration, broke all their previous records and had a beautiful
+time.
+
+At four o'clock the next afternoon the two families set out for the beach
+party. And it surely was quite a procession that made its way the four or
+five blocks to the park. First there was John with the wagon which held
+all the heavy things--baskets of food and such. Next came Ed, who started
+out walking behind the wagon to see that nothing dropped off. He and John
+were to take turns pulling the load. Then the others carried bundles of
+kindling and the wires for marshmallows and toasting racks for meat. They
+had such a jolly time getting off that everybody felt sure the party was
+to be a success.
+
+Mary Jane had been so busy helping get settled and all that, that she
+hadn't had time for a real visit on the beach. To be sure she had had
+glimpses of the big blue they could see down their own street, but to
+really come over and see the lake and play in the sand--this was her first
+trip. So she skipped along very happily and thought she could hardly wait
+till they got there.
+
+Fortunately they hadn't far to go. Three blocks down and two blocks over
+and there was the park--such a beautiful park with tiny lakes and bridges
+and great trees whose buds were swelling in the warm afternoon spring
+sunshine. Mary Jane thought she must be in fairyland come to life, it was
+all so beautiful. They crossed an arched bridge; saw a lovely view off
+toward the south where other bridges and lagoons and trees made such a
+pretty picture they were tempted to stay and look longer; walked around a
+big circle where, so John told them, the band gave concerts in the summer
+time; circled a tiny little inlet lake and came out, quite suddenly, right
+close to the big lake--Lake Michigan. It almost took Mary Jane's breath
+way, coming suddenly that way, upon the sight of so much water. It was all
+so blue and clear, she thought, for the minute, that surely it must be the
+very same ocean she had seen in Florida only a few weeks before.
+
+But the boys didn't give much time for sight-seeing of lakes--they had
+seen the good old lake many a time and they were thinking more about
+supper than any view, however pretty.
+
+So they hurried their wagon across the boulevard driveway, and of course
+all the folks had to follow close behind, and down the beach walk a couple
+of hundred yards and there they settled themselves on a stretch of clean
+white sand.
+
+"Now," said big brother Linn, whom the girls hadn't seen much of as yet,
+but who seemed to be master of ceremonies, "you boys gather those big logs
+down there, you girls fix the kindling and I'll set these stones up so we
+get a good draft when we light our fire."
+
+Everybody set to work. The logs proved to be so big and heavy that Ed and
+John were very glad to have the help of their father and Mr. Merrill to
+roll them into place. The four girls sorted out the kindling in their
+basket and added to it by picking up drift wood on the beach. Frances
+explained that they always brought some along to be sure they had some
+real dry wood for a start.
+
+With such good help and so much of it, of course it wasn't long till a
+fine blaze was going and the beach party was actually begun.
+
+"Go ahead and play now," said Linn, when he saw the fire was started and
+that there was a big pile of reserve wood close by. "You know we can't
+cook till we get some coals."
+
+"But I'm starved," hinted Ed, with a hungry look toward the baskets his
+mother and Mrs. Merrill were guarding.
+
+"Then you'll have to stay starved, young man," said his mother, laughing,
+"because not a basket is to be opened till the coals are ready for
+cooking."
+
+"Then let's make a sand castle," suggested Betty and she ran down to a
+smooth place on the beach, away from possible smoke, and began molding the
+white sand.
+
+That pleased Mary Jane. She hadn't forgotten the fun she had playing on
+the beach in Florida, and while this beach was different--it didn't have
+any of the pretty shells or funny little crawdads she had found on the
+Florida beach--still it had lovely white sand and dainty little waves and
+was quite the nicest place for play that Mary Jane had seen.
+
+"I'll tell you what let's do," suggested Alice, as she saw that all the
+children were going to play in the sand, "let's each build a castle and
+make it any way we like best and then when they're all finished, have an
+exhibition and everybody look and see which is the best."
+
+"All right, let's," agreed the children and they set to work.
+
+Mary Jane chose for her castle a place down close by the water. She loved
+the nearness of the waves and the thrill of knowing that maybe, if she
+didn't watch out, a wave would come up really close and get her wet. Betty
+picked out a spot nearer the fire on the side away from the smoke and
+Alice chose a place where a few pretty pebbles would give her material
+with which to pave a "moat" she intended to make.
+
+And then everybody set to work. So busy were they that Linn had to tend
+the fire all by himself and Ed forgot he was hungry.
+
+Before very long that beach looked like a picture book. Towers and ditches
+and castles and bridges were where flat sand had been a few minutes
+before. The Holden children had made many a sand house and they knew just
+how to pack the damp sand so it would stay in place and just how to put a
+small board here and there to hold a second story or a tower straight and
+tall.
+
+But with all their experience, Alice's castle was as pretty as theirs, or
+at any rate she thought it was, and Mary Jane's was quite wonderful. She
+smoothed off the "garden" in front of her palace, stuck in a few sticks
+for flowers, made a pebbly path down to the tiny lake she had scooped out
+at one side and then shouted, "Mine's done! Look at mine!" and stepped
+aside so all could see her handiwork.
+
+[Illustration: And then, sliding in the wet sand, she sat right down in
+the lake and sent a wave of ripples right over her castle _Page 61_]
+
+But Mary Jane wasn't used to working so close to the water and she forgot
+entirely where she was! Instead of stepping to one side, as she should
+have done, she stepped backwards--straight into the big lake! And then,
+sliding in the wet sand, she sat right down in the lake and sent a big
+wave of ripples--right over her castle and garden and lake and everything
+and washed it all away, every bit!
+
+
+
+
+THE BEACH SUPPER
+
+
+A minute before Mary Jane slid into the lake, the beach was a scene of
+busy building and fun. Linn tended the fire, the grown folks gathered wood
+and visited and guarded baskets and the children all were intent on their
+sand castles. But with Mary Jane's tumble everything changed.
+
+Sand flew helter skelter as the children jumped hastily and ran to Mary
+Jane's assistance; castles were trampled on as though they didn't exist
+and fire wood and baskets were all forgotten.
+
+"Don't be afraid, you're all right!" called Mrs. Merrill as she ran toward
+her little girl.
+
+"Coming! Coming! Here!" shouted Mr. Merrill reassuringly as he dashed over
+to his little daughter, picked her up by the shoulders and set her, safe
+and sound, on dry sand just in time to miss a fair sized wave.
+
+"I guess I'm wet!" said Mary Jane.
+
+"I guess you are," laughed Mr. Merrill, "but I guess things will dry and
+you're not so very awfully too wet--not enough to spoil the party, is she,
+mother?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill looked thoughtful and all the children waited anxiously for
+her answer. Would Mary Jane have to go clear off home and miss the party
+and everything! But it wasn't to be as bad as all that. Mrs. Merrill
+remembered the warm day, the glowing sun that was still bright and warm
+and she also remembered the hot fire Linn had underway and the warm sand
+all around the fire.
+
+"Of course she isn't wet enough to spoil the party," said Mrs. Merrill,
+much to every one's relief. "Only she'll have to stay close by the fire
+till she gets warm and dry. Suppose we appoint her head cook and make her
+stay right there where it's hot?"
+
+"She'll get dry then!" exclaimed Ed, so fervently that they all knew he
+had had many a hot face from working by the fire at previous picnics.
+
+"But how about your castles?" asked Mr. Holden, "weren't we to have an
+exhibit?"
+
+But the castles! Dear me! In the excitement of Mary Jane's tumble, no one
+had given a thought to the castles. They were stepped on, and trampled
+down and all matted down into the sand.
+
+"That's just too bad!" said Mrs. Merrill.
+
+"Pooh!" exclaimed John, dismissing the whole question of castles with one
+wave of the hand, "who cares about castles! _We're_ going to have supper."
+And every one set to work.
+
+Mary Jane was supposed to be head cook, but as she had never before been
+to a beach party, she really didn't know what to do. So she simply stayed
+close by the hot fire while the boys brought three benches and made them
+in a triangle around the fire--a little way back of course. Then Mrs.
+Holden and Mrs. Merrill unpacked the baskets and fixed a place on the
+bench for each person. To be sure nobody was expected to sit on the
+bench--that would be quite too proper for a beach party meal. But the
+mothers put a paper plate and a cup for each person on the benches and
+then they put on the plate as many sandwiches and pickles and cookies and
+everything as each person was entitled to.
+
+While they were doing this, Linn raked down the hot coals, set in place a
+light wire rack he had made and spread a couple of dozen weenies out to
+roast.
+
+"Now then, Mary Jane," he said to the head cook, "you take this long fork.
+And as soon as a weenie begins to sputter and brown, turn it over so it
+browns on the other side too."
+
+That was a very important job, Mary Jane could easily see, and she
+determined that every weenie _she_ cooked would be done just to a turn.
+She bent over the fire till her back got a crook in it; then she sat down
+on the hot sand close to the coals and by the time the weenies were done
+ready to eat she was so dry and hot that she felt sure she had never
+slipped into the lake--never!
+
+And all the time Mary Jane was cook, Linn and Mr. Merrill stayed close to
+see that the coals kept evenly hot and that no bit of flame started up to
+burn the head cook.
+
+At last the weenies were ready. Each one was beautifully brown and was
+sizzling and sputtering and sending a most tempting odor to hungry folks.
+
+"Form a line, folks," said Mrs. Holden, "ladies first!"
+
+With much laughter, each person got their own roll, which had been split
+and buttered, and filed passed Mary Jane. And Mary Jane, instructed by
+Linn just how to do her job, picked up one weenie after another on the
+long fork and dropped each one in an open roll held out before her. It was
+a scary job, for the sand was close below and Mary Jane knew that weenies
+dropped into the sand wouldn't taste very good. But she took her time--too
+much time, John thought.
+
+"Don't be 'fraid of any old sand," he assured her when she put his weenie
+in his roll so very carefully, "I eat 'em any way--sand or not."
+
+Betty eyed Mary Jane a bit enviously. This being chief cook and having a
+chance to fill the rolls of each person must surely be fun.
+
+"Next time we have a beach party," she announced between bites, "_I'm_
+going to fall into the lake too!"
+
+"I'll save you the trouble," replied Mr. Holden understandingly, "I'll let
+you be chief cook without getting wet."
+
+Betty needn't have worried about Mary Jane's being willing to give up her
+job. For there was one disadvantage in that position Miss Betty hadn't
+thought of and Mary Jane had just discovered--the head cook had no time to
+eat. And Mary Jane was getting fearfully hungry. She was more than willing
+to give up the big fork, let Betty fill her roll for her and stand up with
+the others to eat the good hot morsel.
+
+Did anything ever taste as good as those hot weenie sandwiches, eaten
+there on the edge of Lake Michigan, with the fine lake air blowing in
+their faces and the sunshine warming them and making them forget the chill
+of the long winter? The Merrills thought they had never had so much fun
+and tasted such good things. Every weenie (and there had seemed to be far
+too many) was eaten up; every roll disappeared and cookies and pickles and
+sandwiches just vanished as though a warm breeze had melted them away.
+
+Supper over, the sun going down reminded the children that they must get
+the fire ready for dark. They scampered up and down the broad beach,
+gathering together all the pieces of drift wood they could find. Later in
+the year wood along that beach would be hard to find. But in the early
+spring, before the driftings of the winter's storms had been burned up by
+picnickers like themselves, there was plenty to be had.
+
+Linn and Ed put away the cooking rack in the case they had made for it,
+the two mothers packed up debris and burned it so the beach would be left
+clean and tidy, and all the others gathered wood. Such a lot as they did
+find! Linn piled it on high and by the time the sun went to sleep in the
+west, the fire was so bright that nobody noticed the growing darkness.
+They all sat around on the warm sand and sang--college songs that the
+children had learned from the fathers, school songs and popular songs that
+they all knew. It was fun to sit there close by the big lake, to watch the
+sparks fly upward, to hear the waves swish against the sand and to sing
+and sing as loud as they liked.
+
+But when the darkness settled down enough so that mysterious shadows
+lurked over every shoulder and the stars helped the fire make a light, Ed
+announced, "Now let's play Indian."
+
+So they did. Playing Indian, the Merrill girls found, meant a queer
+follow-the-leader game. Ed led off first and everybody had to follow. He
+ran round and round the fire, prancing and yelling like a wild man. And
+the point of the game was for everybody to do exactly as he did. They ran
+and jumped and yelled till everybody was breathless with exercise and
+laughter and was glad to sit down again and do nothing.
+
+By this time the fire had again died down to a bed of coals.
+
+"_Now_ it's time for the marshmallows, isn't it?" asked Betty. She was
+right, it was.
+
+The boxes of marshmallows were opened, wires pulled out of the baskets and
+all the children sat around the fire a-toasting. 'Twas just as Betty had
+promised. The wires were plenty long enough so that no fingers needed to
+be burned or dresses scorched and the bed of coals was big enough to make
+room for all.
+
+Betty and Mary Jane thought they would keep count and see who could eat
+the most, but after six they lost count, and they ate and ate till they
+simply couldn't eat any more.
+
+"Let's play still pond," suggested Frances.
+
+She stood up near the fire and announced, "Twenty steps, two jumps, three
+hops and a roll. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
+ten--STILL POND."
+
+As she said the numbers off, the children began scampering to a place to
+safety. All but Mary Jane. She wasn't used to playing on the slippery,
+slidy sand. And though she started off just as big as anybody, she slipped
+and stumbled and hadn't more than got to her feet when the words, "Still
+pond!" were called. And after that she couldn't move but just to use the
+steps, jumps, hops and roll Frances had given them.
+
+To make matters even more exciting, Frances started off exactly in her
+direction.
+
+But Mary Jane hadn't played "Still Pond" in her own yard for nothing.
+Perhaps she hadn't learned to run on slippery sand as yet, but she did
+know how to play that game. Instead of trying to quietly take her twenty
+steps in an effort to get out of Frances' way, she took two quick steps,
+dropped down on the sand, gave one little roll, and--was safely hidden
+under one of the picnic benches they had used for supper!
+
+Frances passed so close Mary Jane could have touched her. Other folks were
+chased and found, but Mary Jane's hiding place was undiscovered. Of course
+when she rolled in under the bench, Mary Jane had expected to roll right
+out again when somebody else was caught. But when she found that they
+couldn't see her; that they went right around close at hand, talking about
+her and wondering where she was and all that, she thought it was such a
+good joke that she lay very still and watched.
+
+She heard them asking each other where she was seen last; she heard her
+father say she couldn't be so very far away; and she saw them all start
+off in search of herself. Then, just the minute their backs were turned
+but before they had had time to be really frightened, she slipped out from
+under her seat, stood up close by the dying fire and shouted, "Here I am,
+can't you see me?"
+
+They thought it a very good joke she had played and Mary Jane was sure she
+would always remember that the best hiding place is often the nearest
+one.
+
+"Time to go home," said Mr. Holden, looking at his watch, "the fire's most
+out and the party's over."
+
+"But there'll be another one, won't there?" begged Mary Jane.
+
+"Let's have it next week," said Betty.
+
+The boys loaded up the empty baskets on their wagon--not much of a load
+going home! Mr. Merrill raked out the fire so no harm would come to
+anything; Mr. Holden gathered the children together and started the line
+of march. It was a happy little crowd that wandered homeward and they all
+agreed with Mary Jane when she said, "Well, anyway, I think a beach
+party's the mostest fun I know. It's more fun than moving!"
+
+
+
+
+MARY JANE GOES SHOPPING
+
+
+The days after the beach party seemed to fly past on wings. First it was a
+Monday and then, before a person could do half the nice things planned,
+Saturday was coming 'round again and Alice was home all day from school
+and fun for the four Merrills could be planned. Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane
+took to doing all their "Saturday marketing" on Friday afternoon so they
+could have more time on Saturday for trips and sight-seeing and all the
+lovely things folks like to do when they've just moved to a big city.
+
+One Saturday morning, not so very long after the beach party, dawned--not
+bright and warm and sunny as Mary Jane had hoped it surely would--but
+rainy and cold and windy as some May mornings are sure to be in Chicago. A
+cold northeast wind raced across the city and folks had blue noses and
+shivery finger tips and not a single thing to be seen looked like spring.
+
+"Now just look at it!" exclaimed Mary Jane as she stared out of the
+living-room window, "and we were going to take a trip through the parks
+and I was going to wear my new hat and everything. And look!"
+
+"And we can't go to the parks again for another whole week!" bemoaned
+Alice, "'cause there's school!"
+
+"Just look!" exclaimed Mary Jane again as a hard gust of wind tossed the
+rain against the winds exactly as though Mr. Rain was saying to Mary Jane,
+"Thought you'd go out, did you? Well, look what I'm doing!"
+
+"You girls talk as though parks were the only things to see in Chicago,"
+said Mrs. Merrill as pleasantly and comfortably as though there was no
+such thing as a disappointment in the world.
+
+Alice and Mary Jane turned away from the window quickly. Something in
+their mother's tone of voice made them suspect that the day wasn't to be a
+disappointment after all.
+
+"It's funny to me," continued Mrs. Merrill in a matter of fact voice,
+"that you folks haven't asked to go to the big stores--wouldn't you like
+to?"
+
+"Like to!" exclaimed Alice.
+
+"Would we?" cried Mary Jane. "But we didn't think about it!"
+
+"Then we'll think about it now," replied Mrs. Merrill. "If you can hold an
+umbrella down tight over your head so as not to get your hat wet, I think
+we could manage to get to the train without getting soaked. And once down
+at the store, we could check our wet umbrellas and shop and sight-see
+through the stores all we wished to without a bit of hurry."
+
+"Oh, may we really go?" asked Alice.
+
+"Well," answered Mrs. Merrill, pretending to hesitate, "if you _really_
+care to--"
+
+That settled it and there was no more time wasted talking about weather
+_that_ morning. Dishes were washed and beds were made and dusting was done
+so quickly that the little flat must have been quite surprised and pleased
+with itself--it got put into rights so very quickly. Then Mary Jane got
+her hair fixed nicely and a pretty hair bow put on--the bow wouldn't show
+very much under the new hat, but even that little had to be just
+right--and then, while mother fixed her own and Alice's hair, she put on a
+pretty dress--not a party dress, of course, but a nice, pretty, dark
+dress. Then they all put on rubbers and raincoats and locked up the doors
+and took their umbrellas and started for the train.
+
+Going down town on the train was fun. In the city where Mary Jane lived
+before, one could walk down town. Or if one really wanted to ride, a
+street car hustled one to the stores in about five minutes. But in
+Chicago, so she discovered, she had to have a ticket and go through a
+gate, and up stairs and onto a platform and aboard a train and everything
+just as though one intended to go away, far off. The girls both liked to
+ride down town. To be sure they couldn't see much of the lake, even though
+they did ride right along beside it, because the rain made it all look dim
+and gray and foggy. But they knew the lake was there; they could see the
+spray the waves made and once in a while they could hear the noise of
+splashing water above the roar of the train. All too soon, for there was
+so much to see, the train pulled into their station and the conductor
+shouted, "Randolph Street! Everybody out! Far's we go!" And all the folks
+aboard got their umbrellas ready and went out into the rain.
+
+Fortunately it was only a very little way from the station to the big
+store where Mrs. Merrill took the girls, so they didn't have a chance to
+get tired or very wet. And as soon as they got indoors, Mrs. Merrill found
+a checking place and they left wet umbrellas and wet raincoats and wet
+rubbers and started out for fun.
+
+"I think that's awfully convenient--just to leave things that way," said
+Alice as she settled her collars and cuffs and made sure she was tidy,
+"and of course we'll get them back safely?" This checking system was new
+to her and she wanted to be assured it was all right.
+
+"To be sure we will," said Mrs. Merrill. "See? I have the checks for
+them."
+
+"Well, then," said Mary Jane, "let's begin."
+
+"Yes," said Alice, "let's. And let's see _everything_!"
+
+"All right," laughed Mrs. Merrill; "shall we take an elevator first?"
+
+"Oh, no," answered Alice, "'cause then we'd miss the first floor."
+
+So they "did" the first floor, seeing all the handkerchiefs and jewelry
+and bags and fans and pretty decorations and ribbons--Alice could hardly
+leave those lovely ribbons--and neckwear--Mary Jane saw five different
+neckties she needed--and so many things.
+
+"Do they have anything left for the second floor?" asked Mary Jane when
+they finally got around to where they had started.
+
+"You just see," said Mrs. Merrill.
+
+And sure enough there were plenty of things on the second floor, pretty
+dishes and lamps and so many things that, really, Mary Jane almost got
+tired looking at them all.
+
+By the time they got ready for the third floor, Mary Jane was wondering if
+there were any seats in that store. Not seats where you sit down to buy
+things, but really seats where you just sit down whether you buy anything
+or not. And sure enough there were just those seats. Nice, big comfy ones,
+that appeared to be made for Mary Janes who went a-shopping and wanted to
+sit down. The Merrills sat down on a big couch and Mary Jane leaned back
+ready to rest when--who should she see right in front of her but Frances
+Westland! The girl she met at grandmother's house nearly a year ago.
+
+In a jiffy Mary Jane forgot all about wanting to sit down. She slid down
+from the comfortable couch, dashed after Frances, who, not guessing that a
+friend was so near, was hurrying by, and brought her back to meet mother
+and Alice.
+
+Then they all sat down for a visit.
+
+"No, I'm not living here," said Frances in answer to Mrs. Merrill's
+question, "I've been spending the spring with my auntie and going to
+school here. But just as soon as school is out I'm going back home. Mother
+needs me."
+
+"I don't doubt it," replied Mrs. Merrill, who was much pleased with the
+little girl, "I'm sure your mother misses you greatly. But where are you
+living and can't we see you before you go and can't you take lunch with us
+to-day?"
+
+It seemed that Frances's auntie lived in the same part of the city the
+Merrills lived in and there was every reason to believe that the girls
+might see each other at least once or twice in the little time left of the
+school year.
+
+"But I don't believe I can eat lunch with you," added Frances, "'cause
+auntie and I have to hurry home." So with a promise to come to see them
+soon at the address Mrs. Merrill wrote out on her card for Frances, the
+friends said good-by.
+
+"I'll declare!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill, looking at her watch after Frances
+left them. "It's almost twelve o'clock already! And we were to meet father
+at one. If you girls want to see anything of the toys and dolls and
+playrooms, we'd better not be sitting around here any longer."
+
+Of course the girls did want to see the toys and dolls and everything.
+When they got to the fourth floor where all the children's things were
+kept, they were sorry they had spent even a minute any place else. For all
+the lovely dolls and marvelous toys and enticing games and beautiful
+pictures and fascinating puzzles made a person think that Santa Claus's
+shop and fairyland and magic were all mixed up together and set down in
+one place. The girls looked and looked and looked. They "oh-ed" and
+"ah-ed" and exclaimed till they couldn't think of anything more to
+say--and then they kept right on looking just the same.
+
+Mary Jane picked out the doll coat she wanted Georgiannamore to have and
+Alice selected a lovely desk. They agreed upon a set of dishes and upon
+charming furniture for their balcony--just the right size too.
+
+"And we'll pretend we'll buy it all, mother," said Mary Jane, who knew
+perfectly well she couldn't buy all the things she talked about getting,
+"and we'll pretend we'll have it all sent up, that'll be such fun."
+
+So they pretended and looked and looked and pretended till they had been
+over most all that part of the store.
+
+"Now then," said Mrs. Merrill, "if we're to meet Dadah for lunch--"
+
+"Oh, goody!" cried Alice, "are we to meet him here?"
+
+"Not here," said Mrs. Merrill, "but in this store in the lunch room and in
+ten minutes. So we'd better wash our hands and go to the lunch room
+floor."
+
+Mr. Merrill was waiting for them and had a table engaged close by a
+charming fountain ("Just think of a fountain in a house!" exclaimed Mary
+Jane when she spied it) and all the time Mary Jane sat there eating, she
+could look right over and watch the fishes and she could hear the splash
+of the water.
+
+But Mary Jane wasn't thinking of fishes or water just then. She was
+hungry. And the things her father read to her sounded so good--oh, dear,
+but they did sound good! She and Alice had a dreadfully hard time deciding
+just what did sound the best. But Alice finally decided on stuffed chicken
+legs (she hadn't an idea what they were but they sounded good) and potato
+salad and strawberry parfait. And Mary Jane chose chicken pie--a whole one
+all her own--and hashed brown potatoes and orange sherbet.
+
+While the lunch was being fixed, Mr. Merrill took Mary Jane over to the
+window so she could look down, down, way down, to the street below, where
+the folks appeared so little and upside down and where the automobiles
+looked like the ones they had just seen in the toy department.
+
+When the lunch came, it proved to be just as good as the menu promised it
+would be and the girls enjoyed every bite. Mary Jane was afraid for a
+minute that she had made a mistake. For Alice's parfait came in a tall
+glass, with a long spoon that made the girls think of the story of the fox
+and the goose and the banquet, and Mary Jane was sure nothing she had
+ordered could be as nice as parfait. But when the maid set the orange
+sherbet at her place, Mary Jane was quite satisfied, for the ice was set
+in a real orange, all cut out in dainty scallops and trimmed with green.
+
+"Yummy-um!" she whispered, happily. "I'm so glad you had this party,
+Dadah!"
+
+Dadah seemed to want everything to be all right, for he had added to their
+order some little cakes, done up in frilly papers and unlike anything the
+girls had ever seen. They almost hated to eat them, they were so pretty,
+but cakes one cannot eat are not good for much, Mr. Merrill reminded them,
+and so the cakes were eaten up.
+
+"Now then," said Mary Jane, as she dabbled her fingers in the finger bowl
+and ate up the candy she found at the side of the tiny tray, "what do we
+do next?"
+
+
+
+
+THE BUS RIDE
+
+
+"What do we do next?" asked Mr. Merrill, repeating Mary Jane's question.
+"I'm sure of this much--we must do something _very_ nice because it's such
+a nice day."
+
+"_Nice day_!" exclaimed Alice. "What in the world are you talking about,
+Dadah? This is the worst weather we've had since we came to Chicago--but
+we don't care 'cause we're having such a good time anyway."
+
+Mr. Merrill laughed and replied, "Suppose you look out of the window."
+
+So they left their cozy table, where nothing but empty dishes told the
+story of their delightful lunch party, and wandered over to the window
+where Mary Jane had looked down at the street not much over an hour
+before. But what a difference! With a sudden, unexpected shift of wind
+that only the Chicago weather man knows how to bring about, the stiff,
+cold northeaster that had brought the cold rain of the morning had been
+sent off and in its place a warm breeze from the south blew softly across
+the city, bringing with it sunshine and warmth and pleasantness for all.
+
+"Why--" exclaimed Mary Jane, much puzzled, "where's the rain?"
+
+"Did you want it back?" laughed Mrs. Merrill, and then she explained to
+the girls something about the effect the big lake might have on weather
+and told them that one of the queer things about Chicago was its sudden
+changes to good, or sometimes bad, weather.
+
+"So I was wondering," said Mr. Merrill, "if you folks wouldn't like an
+hour of fresh air and then, if you're not through shopping we can come
+back to the stores."
+
+The girls hadn't an idea what he might want to do, but they were pretty
+sure it would be fun. So they agreed that an hour out of doors was just
+what they most wanted and they went down to get wraps from the check room.
+They left the umbrellas till later, put on their wraps and left the
+store.
+
+"Now then," said Mr. Merrill, "see that big bus down there--we're going
+for a ride on the top."
+
+"What's a bus?" asked Mary Jane, who had never heard the word before. But
+before her father could answer they were pushed into the crowd at the
+crossing, hurried across and the next second Mr. Merrill had hailed a
+great, lumbering, top-heavy automobile and was helping the girls to step
+aboard.
+
+The "bus" proved to be a large-sized passenger automobile, with a deck on
+top for passengers who wished to ride in the open air. Mary Jane and Alice
+were thrilled with the fun of getting on it. It seemed exactly like going
+aboard a house-boat on wheels. They stepped into a little hallway and
+then--and this wasn't so easy because the bus immediately began to
+move--they climbed up a curving flight of stairs and walked down an
+aisle--an awfully wiggly aisle it was too!--to seats on the very front
+row.
+
+Then, before they had had a chance to look around or feel at home, the
+conductor, who stood at the back, shouted, "Low bridge!" and everybody
+ducked their heads while the great bus went under the elevated railroad.
+Mary Jane felt, truly, as though she must be a person in a story
+book--Arabian Nights or something marvelous--because surely the things
+that were happening to her weren't _really_ happening.
+
+But after the elevated was passed, the bus rolled out onto Michigan
+Boulevard and Mary Jane settled herself comfortably in her front seat with
+her mother, smiled across the aisle to Alice and her father and began to
+feel really at home in her high perch. By the time the bus had turned
+northward and crossed the river, she began to feel that riding on the top
+of a bus was the thing she'd been wanting to do all her life. It was such
+fun to sit up high and watch the lake, so blue and beautiful in the
+sunshine, the trees just getting a tinge of green at the tips, the pretty
+houses that lined the parkway, the people--it seemed as everybody in
+Chicago must be out in their 'tother best clothes--and most of all, it was
+fun to watch the automobiles dart in and out of the crowd, around the bus
+and beside it, till Mary Jane was sure their driver must be some wonderful
+being to be able to manage so that everybody stayed alive!
+
+"Here, Mary Jane," said Mr. Merrill, interrupting Mary Jane's
+sight-seeing, "don't you want to pay your fare--Alice is paying ours." He
+slipped two dimes into her hand just as the conductor stepped to the front
+of the bus. Mary Jane wasn't quite sure what she was to do with the dimes
+till she noticed that the conductor had in his hand a queer-looking thing
+like a clock, only it had a hole in the top just the right size for a
+dime. Into that hole Mary Jane dropped a dime. And--"ding_ding_!" went a
+musical little bell somewhere in the "clock." Then she dropped the other
+dime. And again the bell sounded, "ding_ding_!" just as though it tried to
+say "Thank _you_!" that way. Alice then dropped her two dimes and Mary
+Jane had the fun of hearing the bell again. She thought she wouldn't do a
+thing but watch the conductor and listen to his bell all the time he
+collected fares, but just as he stepped back to get the next folks' money
+the bus passed in front of the queer old stone building with great tower
+that Mr. Merrill said was the city water works building, and of course
+that meant the girls wanted to hear about when it was built and hear again
+the story Mr. Merrill had started to tell them several evenings before
+about how the great Chicago fire started and how it burned up to this very
+spot they were now passing. Somehow, being at that place and seeing the
+one building that stood through the fire made the history stories seem
+very plain and there were a lot of questions to be asked and answered.
+
+But buses don't wait for questions--the girls soon discovered that! Long
+before the fire story was told they had raced up Lake Shore Drive, passed
+its beautiful old homes, and were turning into Lincoln Park. Here it
+seemed to the girls that the city ended and fairyland began. The grass
+seemed greener, the lake bluer and the trees greener than any place they
+had seen; and hundreds of tulips peeping up through the ground here, there
+and everywhere, made spots of bright vivid color and beauty.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Mary Jane happily, "I hope the bus goes on and on forever!
+I'd like to keep on riding all the time!"
+
+But when, a minute or two later, they passed near the buildings of the
+Zoo, Mary Jane forgot all about wanting to ride forever and wanted to get
+out, right away quick and see all the animals she had heard lived there.
+
+"Not to-day," said Mr. Merrill, looking at his watch. "You remember we are
+to go back to the stores--we're just out for a bit of fresh air this time.
+Some other day when it's still warmer so we can get our dinner here, then
+we'll come and visit the Zoo. But to-day I want to get back to the stores
+before they close."
+
+"Of course," added Alice, "for our umbrellas."
+
+"Of course for something else too," laughed her father, and though both
+girls were very curious, not another word would he say.
+
+So they stayed on the bus and rode clear through the park, and up Sheridan
+Road a long way till the bus turned around at a corner and the conductor
+shouted, "Far's we go!"
+
+But the Merrills didn't get off. They wanted to keep those good front
+seats so they sat still and in about two minutes the bus started south and
+whirled them through the park and past all the same interesting sights on
+the way cityward. This time, Mary Jane felt very much at home in her
+high-up perch. She dropped in the dimes her father gave her, eyed the
+passing autos without a bit of fear and looked down on all the children
+she saw walking and playing quite as though she had lived in a city and
+ridden in busses all her young life.
+
+It was a very reluctant pair of young ladies that Mr. Merrill assisted to
+the sidewalk when the big stores and "time to get off" were reached.
+
+"But what was it besides umbrellas you wanted to get?" asked Mary Jane,
+suddenly remembering.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Merrill, "I haven't been through the toy department with
+anybody. And I have a calendar."
+
+The girls looked puzzled. What had the toy department to do with a
+calendar? They couldn't guess. Even Mrs. Merrill looked puzzled.
+
+"Of course if you don't intend to have birthdays since we've moved--" said
+Mr. Merrill teasingly. And then everybody knew! To be sure! It was almost
+time for Mary Jane's birthday--almost a year, it was, since the lovely
+birthday party when the little girl was five years old--and in the
+excitement of moving and getting settled and seeing new sights, even the
+little lady herself had forgotten how near the day was at hand.
+
+"It's mine!" exclaimed Mary Jane happily, "and I'll be six! Come on,
+quick, Dadah! and I'll show you perzactly what I want." When Mary Jane got
+excited she sometimes got words a little mixed, but her father knew well
+enough just what she meant. She grabbed hold of his hand, called to her
+mother and Alice to come on with them and away they went toward the
+elevator that quickly took them to the toy section.
+
+Going through that department the second time was even more fun than the
+first trip, because now father was along to see things and to explain
+mechanical toys. And also because there was the fun of picking out the
+thing she wanted to wish for, for her birthday. That last was a very
+serious matter, as every little girl knows.
+
+They looked at dolls--but not a doll was as lovely as Georgiannamore, at
+least that was Mary Jane's opinion--and then they looked at furniture and
+at dishes and toys and games and clothes for dolls and, well, at every
+single thing in that whole big department. After everything had been
+considered and looked at and thought about, and it was about time for the
+big warning bell to ring and tell folks that in ten minutes the store
+would close and everybody'd have to get out, then and not until then, Mary
+Jane decided that the thing she wanted most of all was a doll cart. A
+beautiful little ivory enameled doll cart made just exactly like the one
+that Junior's little brother had back at their old home. A cart with a top
+that moved back and forth just like a real baby cart and that had cushions
+and tires and everything that a really truly mother is particular to want
+for her baby.
+
+"Yes," said Mary Jane, as she looked around the store with a rather tired
+sigh, "I think that's the thing I want the most and I'm going to wish for
+it, Dadah."
+
+"Sounds easily settled," laughed her father, "but do you know what time it
+is?"
+
+Before she could answer, the warning bell rang and clerks began to cover
+up counters and to straighten up the store for its Sunday rest. So the
+Merrills four hurried down to get umbrellas and to go home.
+
+On the train going home Mary Jane was so tired looking at things that she
+didn't care a bit about looking any more. She watched the lake some, but
+mostly she simply settled back in her little corner behind the door and
+just sat. Thoughts of all the wonderful things she had seen that day raced
+through her mind--the lunch, the ride, the lake, the park--but most of
+all, that wonderful doll cart, and she couldn't help wondering (and of
+course hoping) if she really truly would, _possibly_, get that lovely gift
+for her birthday.
+
+
+
+
+THE BIRTHDAY LUNCHEON
+
+
+As soon as they got home that evening, and had dinner and rested up a bit,
+Mary Jane hunted up a calendar so she could find out about her birthday.
+And she discovered that two weeks from that same day was "her" day.
+
+"It's Saturday, so you can do something too!" she said to Alice. "Now,
+Mother, let's plan."
+
+So they talked over all the nice things a person _might_ do for a
+birthday, but long before they could decide which was the very nicest of
+all the plans, bedtime came. Then the next morning there were interesting
+things to do, and nobody thought about plans for a day that was two weeks
+away. That is, nobody but Mary Jane thought about it, and, if the truth
+must be told, she thought more about the doll cart she had wished for than
+she did about what she might do to celebrate.
+
+Monday noon, when Alice came home for her luncheon, she was much excited.
+
+"Who do you s'pose I saw at recess this morning?" she demanded. "Guess!"
+
+But Mrs. Merrill and Mary Jane couldn't guess--they didn't know anybody in
+Chicago to guess! Or at least they thought they didn't.
+
+"I saw--" began Alice slowly, for she wanted the fun of keeping them
+waiting to last as long as possible, "I saw--Frances Westland! And she
+goes to my school!"
+
+"Why in the world didn't we know that?" said Mrs. Merrill. "We should have
+guessed! Of course she goes to your school. I remember of thinking she
+wasn't very far from us."
+
+"Can't we have her come to see us?" asked Mary Jane eagerly.
+
+"I already asked her if she couldn't come," explained Alice, "because I
+knew you'd want me to, and she says she's sure she can. But she can't come
+next Saturday because she and her auntie are going to Milwaukee to spend
+the week-end. But she thought she could come the next Saturday."
+
+"And that's my birthday," Mary Jane reminded her.
+
+"I know it," agreed Alice, "but I didn't tell her. I just said I'd find
+out what we were doing that day and let her know this afternoon--was that
+all right, Mother?"
+
+"You did exactly right, dear," said Mrs. Merrill reassuringly. "Come right
+out to the dining-room now, because your soup is ready and you mustn't
+hurry yourself too much with your lunch. While we eat, we'll plan for the
+birthday."
+
+Of course there were many plans to be talked of, because in a big city
+there are so many kinds of things one may do. And it was awfully hard to
+decide which plan was the very most fun--you know how that is yourself.
+But after every plan that any of the three could think of had been
+discussed carefully, Mary Jane decided that there were two things she
+wanted the most to do. First, she wanted to stay home to celebrate and
+have a party and all that; and, second, she wanted to go down town and go
+to a big grown-up theater where there was music and lights and pretty
+things just like grown folks see up town. And for her part she admitted
+that she didn't see how a person possibly, even on a birthday, could do
+those two conflicting things.
+
+"Pooh!" laughed Mrs. Merrill, "that's easy! I was telling Dad the other
+night that inasmuch as this was the first birthday in the city and on
+Saturday and everything--so convenient for us all--we'd better do those
+very two things."
+
+"But how'll we do it, Mother?" asked Alice. "We can't stay home for a
+party while we're down town at the theater!"
+
+"To be sure, we can't," agreed Mrs. Merrill. "But we can stay home for a
+party _before_ we go down town for a show. And that's just what we're
+going to do. You hurry off to school now, dear, because it's ten of one.
+And next time you see Frances Westland, you invite her to come here for
+twelve o'clock luncheon a week from next Saturday. Be sure to tell her
+it's an all-afternoon party, so she can stay long enough to go down town
+with us."
+
+"And who else'll we have?" asked Mary Jane, when Alice had gone. "It
+wouldn't be a party with one person."
+
+"Of course not," said her mother. "There are going to be three folks.
+After school this very day you are going to invite Frances and Betty
+Holden--that'll make it almost a 'Frances' party, won't it? We'll ask them
+right away, even though a week from Saturday is a long time off, because
+Dadah will want to get the tickets and we will all want to make our
+plans."
+
+A week and five days seem a very long time, when you have to wait for
+them. But Mary Jane found that, after all, they went quicker than she had
+thought they could, because there was so much to do. First she had to
+decide what she wanted to have to eat at the luncheon. After much thought
+and consultation the menu was made out and tacked up on the kitchen
+cabinet for future reference. Mary Jane printed it out all by herself and
+the letters were big and plain and could be easily read by any
+cook--especially Mother. It said:
+
+                     CHICKEN BALLS
+                     HOT ROLLS
+                     FRUIT SALAD WITH WHIPPED CREAM
+                     ICE CREAM        CAKE
+                     HASHED BROWN POTATOES
+                     JELLY
+
+Chicken balls really meant chicken croquettes, but croquettes proved to be
+such a big and puzzling word that Mary Jane decided she would say balls
+and Mrs. Merrill agreed to take a verbal order for the croquette part of
+the luncheon.
+
+When the food was planned for, Mary Jane began to talk about the
+decorations. It was soon found that to be really pretty, the table
+trimmings would have to be made by the hostess herself, so Mary Jane set
+to work. From the advertising sections of magazines she cut letters about
+an inch high. Letters enough to spell everybody's first name and last
+initial. She had to have the last initial because two of her guests had
+the same first name. These she sorted very carefully and put in envelopes;
+one envelope for each person and just the right letters in that envelope
+for the person's name. Then, she planned, when the luncheon was all ready,
+she would put the letters in little piles in front of each person's place
+and let them puzzle out the names before they sat down.
+
+Mrs. Merrill promised to have a basket of flowers, spring flowers that
+Mary Jane loved so very much, in the center of the table. And Mary Jane
+planned to make a procession of girls and boys all around the basket.
+These she cut out of magazines too and she chose girls and boys who were
+doing all the things that she herself liked to do.
+
+With all these things, besides regular duties and fun, to keep her busy,
+Mary Jane didn't really have a chance to think her birthday was a long
+time coming. First thing _she_ knew it was Friday night and the birthday
+was the very next morning!
+
+On Saturday morning, she waked up knowing something nice was going to
+happen. Then, before her eyes were really open, she felt herself getting
+mother's birthday kisses and, before those were all delivered, Alice's
+birthday spats--six good big lively ones!
+
+"Never you mind, Alice," she promised, "just wait till it's _your_
+birthday and you'll get some of the hardest--"
+
+"Don't stop for promises," said Mr. Merrill, coming in to deliver his
+spats too, "what I want is breakfast and for the life of me, _I_ can't get
+into that dining-room."
+
+"_Oh!_" cried Mary Jane rapturously, "I'll be right out!"
+
+"Not till you get dressed, you know," Alice reminded her, "so do hurry!"
+For it was one of the rules of the Merrill household that birthdays and
+Christmases didn't really begin till folks were dressed. So Mary Jane
+scrabbled into her clothes and gave her face and hands about the most
+hurry-up washing they had ever had and then rushed out to the
+dining-room.
+
+And there, standing right by her chair, was the--yes, really--the very
+doll cart she had picked out! She was so happy that for a minute she
+couldn't speak, she just stared. The next minute she was down on her knees
+with her arms around the whole cart--or at least as much of the cart as
+two six-year-old arms could get around--and she was counting over all the
+wonderful virtues of her gift. It surely was a cart to make any little
+girl proud and when Mary Jane saw her own Georgiannamore, wearing a lovely
+new coat (Mrs. Merrill's gift), and a pair of really truly gloves (from
+Alice), and sitting up as big as life in the cart, she thought the
+happiest day of her life had come.
+
+After breakfast the morning raced by on wings. Of course Mary Jane had to
+show the cart and doll's clothes to Betty and they had to walk around the
+block to give the doll an airing. Then, just as they got back to Mary
+Jane's apartment, the postman came with a box from grandpa and grandma.
+Betty was invited up for the fun of opening it and she was glad to come
+both for the fun and for the big pieces of grandmother's candy that she
+got when the box was opened. Then there was the table to set and the
+puzzle letters to put around and everybody to dress in their best--that's
+a good deal for one morning. No wonder it seemed to be an unusually short
+one.
+
+At the very last minute, Mary Jane with her new white dress and pink
+ribbons all just as they should be, went in to the kitchen to see if she
+could help. And at that very minute a neighbor came in to get Mrs.
+Merrill's advice about an important matter.
+
+"Everything's ready now," said Mrs. Merrill, as she left the kitchen.
+"Only, I believe, Mary Jane, it would be a good idea for you to put that
+whipped cream into the ice box. We won't make the salad till they get here
+and I want to keep it stiff and cold."
+
+Now, Mary Jane had put things in the ice box many a time. Big things and
+little things and spilly things and all, and there was no reason in the
+world why she couldn't do it all right. No reason, except-- Just as she
+picked up the bowl of cream, the door bell rang a long, loud peal that she
+was sure must be her three guests coming all at once, so she hurried and
+the cream jiggled in the bowl, and slid over the edge--and all down the
+front of her best new dress!
+
+Fortunately Alice came into the kitchen just then, in time to see the
+accident, and to notice two big tears which popped into Mary Jane's eyes
+and threatened to spill down her cheeks.
+
+"Pooh!" she exclaimed comfortably, "don't you worry about a little thing
+like that, Mary Jane," and she made a grab for the bowl, rescued some of
+the cream and set it in the ice box. "I'll have you fixed up so soon that
+you won't know anything happened."
+
+"But it's all down my dress," said Mary Jane, trying her very best not to
+cry.
+
+[Illustration: "But it's all down my dress," said Mary Jane, trying her
+very best not to cry _Page 111_]
+
+"Oh, well," replied Alice, nothing daunted, "it's not going to stay there
+long." She took a clean cloth, dampened it with cold water and, with quick
+little dabs, scrubbed the cream all off the front of the birthday dress.
+Then she took a fresh cloth, and more cold water and, putting a big, clean
+towel under the front of the dress, scrubbed again till every trace of the
+cream was gone. Then she opened the oven door so the heat would help dry
+the wetness and with a fresh cloth rubbed and rubbed the wet place till it
+was entirely dry.
+
+"There now," she said, as she shook the dress into place, "I think the
+girls are here; let's go see." And immediately the accident that
+threatened to spoil Mary Jane's fun was forgotten.
+
+Sure enough, the girls had come and the party began at once.
+
+The letter puzzles for place cards proved to be lots of fun and filled in
+the time while Mrs. Merrill brought in the plates of good things to eat.
+Judging by the appetites Mary Jane's menu must have been a favorite with
+everybody, for the goodies disappeared by magic and Mrs. Merrill filled up
+plates and passed rolls and brought in salad and everything till she
+hardly had time to eat her own luncheon.
+
+The ice cream was a surprise even to Mary Jane. On the plate was, first, a
+big, round piece of cake; then, on top of that, was a slice of ice cream,
+white, and on top of _that_ a ball of pink ice cream with a pink candle,
+lighted, stuck in the top. They looked so pretty and bright that the girls
+hated to blow them out, but Mrs. Merrill said every one was to make a wish
+and then blow and if the candle went out on the first blow the wish would
+come true.
+
+Alice suddenly remembered that they were to take a train at one-thirty and
+that it was nearing one now, so the dessert was finished in a hurry, wraps
+were hastily put on and the whole party started for the train to meet Mr.
+Merrill and have the rest of the fun.
+
+
+
+
+LOST--ONE DOLL CART
+
+
+There was only one thing wrong about the birthday celebration and that was
+that the day was such a very busy, happy one that there was very little
+time for playing with the new doll cart. Of course Mary Jane and Betty
+took their dolls out for one airing in the morning soon after breakfast.
+But what is one little airing when one has a new cart? Nothing at all,
+Mary Jane thought. All through the luncheon and the ride down town and the
+play father took them to, which proved to be just the very most
+interesting kind of a play for little girls to see, Mary Jane kept
+thinking of her new cart and of the fun she would have on Monday when
+there was a whole day for Georgiannamore and the doll cart.
+
+So when Monday morning actually came Mary Jane lost no time getting up and
+doing her share of the morning work. Mary Jane was very particular about
+her morning work. She didn't want her mother to have to do the things a
+six-year-old girl was plenty big enough to do; and then, anyway, she knew
+it was lots more fun to work when two did the job than for one person to
+work alone. She picked up all the papers, and emptied the waste baskets,
+and cleaned the bathroom washstand and the kitchen sink--she liked those
+jobs the best because they were so scrubby and grown-up and
+interesting--and put out clean towels and dusted the living-room. Of
+course this was after the dishes were washed and put away; that was a job
+with which Alice helped too, before she started for school. So by the time
+Mary Jane was ready to play Mrs. Merrill was about through too, ready for
+sewing or baking or whatever she had to do that day.
+
+"I think I'd better help you take down your cart," suggested Mrs. Merrill,
+when the last job was finished. "It's not so easy for one person to take
+that cart down from the second floor. But it will be no trouble at all for
+you to take one end and me to take the other and carry it down together.
+Then you can put Georgiannamore in it before you start down and there'll
+be no danger of bouncing her out."
+
+"But how'll I get back up, Mother?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"Ring the bell three short taps and I'll come down to meet you," answered
+Mrs. Merrill. "Don't try to bring it up alone; it's far too heavy."
+
+Mary Jane dressed Georgiannamore in her very best dress, put on the new
+coat and gloves, tucked her carefully into the cart so she wouldn't catch
+cold by being out for a long walk, and then she and Mrs. Merrill carried
+the cart, oh, so very carefully, down stairs and out to the sidewalk.
+
+Fortunately, that May morning was bright and sunny; the breeze blew warm
+from the southland instead of cold and blustery from the lake, and it was
+the very best kind of a morning possible for being out of doors. Mary Jane
+walked around the block, starting toward the lake, then she went around
+the block the other way, and of course she went rather slowly because
+there was so much to see and to show Georgiannamore. Bright colored
+crocuses were blooming in all the yards where there were houses--and in
+that particular neighborhood there were many houses as well as
+apartments--tulips were bursting up through the ground and the lilac buds
+were swelling their plump green sides nearly to the bursting point.
+
+On the third time around, Mary Jane thought of school--to be sure, it
+couldn't be anywhere near time for school to be out, because the morning
+hadn't much more than begun, but then it would be fun to go around to the
+corner where the children crossed the street to go to school. There were
+so many automobiles whizzing around the streets that a little girl even as
+old as six couldn't be allowed to cross streets without a grown person or
+an older sister along.
+
+She went around the block to the corner where the children would come,
+after a while, and there, just as she turned to start back home, thinking
+she'd come here again nearer noon, she heard a commotion. Looking down the
+half block to the yard around the school house she heard a bell peal out
+and saw, yes, truly, crowds of children coming out of school! And just as
+she was about to look around to see if there was a fire or a parade or
+anything special to cause school to be dismissed early, she heard the
+whistles blow for noon--the morning was gone! That's how time flies when a
+person has a new doll cart!
+
+Mary Jane waited at the corner till Alice and Frances and Betty came along
+together and they all four walked home.
+
+"You shouldn't bother to carry your cart clear upstairs every time,"
+suggested Frances, "when our front porch is so handy. Just run the cart up
+on the porch, lock the brake and it will be safe as can be till you eat
+your lunch."
+
+Alice thought that was a good idea too, so the cart was left there, locked
+with the brake, and with the understanding that if Mrs. Merrill didn't
+approve, the girls would come down and get it at once.
+
+Lunch was ready and waiting, so the cart stayed on the porch while the
+girls ate and then Mary Jane walked back toward school as far as she was
+allowed to go.
+
+By the time Mary Jane got back in front of her own apartment, Mrs. Merrill
+was ready to go and do her marketing and errands and of course Mary Jane
+and Georgiannamore went along and had a beautiful time--especially when
+they looked in the windows and saw all the good things to eat. Mary Jane
+had thought that she knew every sort of good thing a person could possibly
+want to eat, but she soon found out that she didn't. For in one of the
+windows they passed she saw a tray of apples, covered with something slick
+and brown and carrying in their stem ends a small smooth stick like a
+butcher's skewer.
+
+"What are they, Mother?" she exclaimed. "Don't they look _good_! And may
+we buy some?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill went inside the store and Mary Jane, anxiously watching her
+mother through the window, waited outside with the doll and cart. She saw
+her mother speak to the salesman, look at the apples and then, oh, joy!
+saw him pick out four fine ones under Mrs. Merrill's direction and put
+them in a paper bag.
+
+"He says they are called Taffy Apples," explained Mrs. Merrill when she
+came out, "and that all the girls and boys like them very much. So I
+didn't bother to consult you," she added with a twinkle in her eye. "I
+bought some for you four girls to eat after school--just on a chance that
+you might like them."
+
+The bag was carefully tucked in under the folds of Georgiannamore's robe
+and the walking and shopping were resumed, but all the time, Mary Jane
+kept her eye on the hump made by the bag of apples and kept wishing that
+time for school to be out would hurry up and come. Some good fairy must
+have heard the wishes too, for the afternoon hurried by almost as fast as
+the morning and first thing Mary Jane knew they were all through the
+errands and were going down the street toward the school, ready to meet
+Alice.
+
+"Do you like 'Taffy Apples'?" Mary Jane asked Betty as soon as she came
+out of the school yard.
+
+"Like 'em--u-um!" replied Betty expressively.
+
+"Well," continued Mary Jane slowly, so the surprise wouldn't be over too
+soon, "I've got one in there," pointing to the cart.
+
+Betty eyed the hump Mary Jane pointed out and smiled knowingly.
+
+"It looks like more than one," she suggested hopefully.
+
+"It is more than one," answered Mary Jane delightedly; "it's four--all for
+us."
+
+"Can we eat 'em now?" demanded Betty.
+
+"Better wait till we get home," suggested Mrs. Merrill; "that won't be
+more than five minutes and then there won't be any danger of stumbling and
+running a stick into your throats."
+
+The two little girls didn't loiter much after that. They skipped along
+briskly and soon were ahead of Mrs. Merrill and Alice and Frances.
+
+"I'll tell you what," said Betty, as they turned into her own yard, "let's
+put the cart up on the porch while I get my doll and then when we get
+through eating our apples we'll be all ready to go walking."
+
+She picked up the front end and Mary Jane took the handle end and they set
+the cart up at the end of the porch and went into the house. Fortunately
+Mary Jane took Georgiannamore along with her into the house; if she
+hadn't--but then, that's getting ahead of the story.
+
+The little girls had no more than gone inside before Mrs. Merrill, Alice
+and Frances turned the corner and strolled along toward the Holden house.
+
+"Funny where those girls have gone," said Frances, looking at the empty
+porch.
+
+"They've hid our Taffy Apples somewhere, I just know they have!" said
+Alice. "Frances, we ought to be smart enough to find them so quickly they
+won't try teasing again."
+
+"I don't believe they've hidden the apples," said Frances thoughtfully,
+"because Betty would be so hungry she wouldn't bother with teasing till
+after she was through eating. Maybe they've gone into the house to get
+Betty's doll and cart."
+
+"But why would they bother to take Mary Jane's cart indoors if Betty was
+just going in for her doll?" asked Alice.
+
+Before Frances or Mrs. Merrill could suggest an answer, the two little
+girls themselves came out of the front door, turned to look at the porch
+and then stood there, as though fastened to the floor--they were that
+surprised.
+
+"Why--why--" said Mary Jane, "I left it right here!"
+
+"Well, nobody ever stole anything before," said Betty. "Maybe the boys
+just hid it!"
+
+"No, they didn't," replied Frances, "because they haven't come home from
+school yet. They stopped to see Jimmie's new chicken house and they won't
+be home for an hour."
+
+"What's the trouble?" asked Mrs. Holden, who, hearing voices, came to the
+front door to invite folks in for a visit.
+
+"Trouble enough, Mother," said Frances, worriedly. "Mary Jane left her
+brand new doll cart on our porch and it's gone!"
+
+"And we just went in to get my doll," explained Betty, getting very
+excited. "We just went in a little minute and then we were going to eat
+the taffy apples and now they're gone too--oh, dear!"
+
+At that minute, yes, things really do happen this way sometimes, who
+should go by the house but the big friendly policeman who always stood at
+the street corner nearest the school to guard the children from swiftly
+moving autos. Betty spied him and ran down the walk to speak to him.
+
+"So the cart's gone, is it?" he said as he and Betty came up toward the
+house. "Well, if you'll let me use your 'phone, I'll tell them down at the
+station just what kind of a cart it is and maybe we can get a trace of
+it--anyway, we can try."
+
+Mrs. Holden went indoors with him and the others stood around on the porch
+hardly knowing what to do. Losing her cart was a real calamity to poor
+Mary Jane--she very well knew that her father couldn't afford to get her
+another one and she had hard work, awfully hard work, to keep back the
+tears that came to her eyes and to swallow the lump that filled her
+throat. She didn't want to be a crybaby, but--and the lump got bigger and
+bigger--
+
+Mrs. Merrill noticed that Mary Jane was trying so very hard to be brave so
+she did her best to help.
+
+"Wasn't it lucky that officer came by just then!" she said cheerfully. "I
+can't for the life of me see why anybody would be mean enough to steal a
+little girl's doll cart and I keep thinking we'll find it somewhere. Come
+on, Mary Jane, let's sit down on this settee here till Mrs. Holden comes
+out. Then perhaps some of you girls will be good enough to go up to the
+candy shop with me and get some more taffy apples--I suppose those went
+with the cart!"
+
+Mary Jane stepped over toward her mother, who had already seated herself
+on the settee at the end of the porch. But before she sat down she just
+happened to look down toward the ground. The Holden porch had no railing
+around the side and as Mary Jane was always a little timid about falling
+she kept a close watch on the end of the porch every time she went near
+it. She glanced down at the ground and then--her face changed! The
+sorrowful look vanished and smiles spread like sunshine over her face.
+
+"Look!" she exclaimed, as she pointed to the ground. "Look there!"
+
+
+
+
+A TRIP TO THE ZOO
+
+
+It wasn't hard to guess what Mary Jane had found; nothing but her precious
+doll cart could have made her feel and look so happy. They all ran to the
+end of the porch, looked over the edge, and there, sure enough, was the
+birthday cart all tumbled down in a heap. Alice and Frances jumped down,
+set it up straight and then, with Mrs. Merrill's help from above, lifted
+it up to the porch just as the policeman and Mrs. Holden came out of the
+house.
+
+"Bless my soul!" exclaimed the officer. "Another cart?"
+
+"No, it's mine!" cried Mary Jane happily. She ran her hands over the hood,
+the body part and then the wheels to make sure nothing was broken.
+Everything seemed all right, even the bag of taffy apples was still tucked
+under the carriage robe that had come loose but had not fallen clear out.
+
+"Yours?" asked the officer. "But I thought yours was lost!"
+
+"It was," admitted Mary Jane, "but it isn't any more."
+
+Mrs. Merrill hastened to explain that the cart had just then been
+discovered on the ground at the end of the porch.
+
+"I know what was the trouble," said Frances, "she didn't fasten the
+brake--did you, Mary Jane?"
+
+Mary Jane and the policeman bent down to inspect the brake. No, it wasn't
+fastened.
+
+"It wouldn't take much of a breeze to blow that cart off the porch, young
+lady," said the officer, laughingly, "and so I suggest that if you ever
+want to leave your doll in the cart, you'd better be sure the brake is
+locked. You might have a smashed doll instead of a lost cart to report and
+then things wouldn't be so easy to straighten out!" And with a pleasant
+good-by he went on about his business.
+
+Left alone the two mothers looked at each other and laughed--such an easy
+ending to disappointment didn't often come! The four girls made a dive for
+the bag of apples and settled themselves on the broad front steps for a
+few minutes of real enjoyment. Mary Jane found that taffy apples were a
+lot of fun to eat. The hard, slick surface was delicious to "lick" and
+then, when a small part was licked thin, it was fun to bite right straight
+through to the apple.
+
+"If you think they're good now," said Frances, "you should taste them in
+the fall when the fresh apples are in--yummy-um!"
+
+"These are good enough for me," said Betty contentedly and she bit off a
+big chunk of apple.
+
+"Betty Holden!" exclaimed Frances with big sisterly chagrin, "you look
+like a monkey with that apple all over your face!"
+
+"Oh, fiddle!" replied Betty indifferently, "I like monkeys."
+
+"Did you ever see one?" asked Mary Jane, "a really truly live one?"
+
+Betty stared. "Why of course!" she answered, "haven't you?"
+
+Mary Jane shook her head.
+
+"Well then you ought to go up to the Zoo," she said positively, "let's all
+go." She jumped up and ran over to her mother. "Mother!" she announced,
+"Mary Jane's never seen a monkey--never! Can't we take her up to the Zoo
+and show 'em to her?"
+
+"Never seen a monkey!" exclaimed Mrs. Holden and she was as surprised as
+Betty had been, "are you sure?"
+
+"Yes, Betty's right," said Mrs. Merrill. "Mary Jane has seen a great many
+things for a little girl who has just had her sixth birthday. But she
+hasn't seen a monkey. Her father and I were saying only last night that we
+must take the girls up to the Zoo as soon as possible."
+
+"Let's all go next Saturday," suggested Mrs. Holden, "no, we can't go next
+Saturday because the girls and I have some shopping to do. Let's go a week
+from Saturday. By that time the restaurant in Lincoln Park will be open.
+The way we do," she explained to the Merrills, "is to take our lunch, a
+picnic lunch, with us. We start up about eleven, eat over by the lake and
+then have the whole afternoon for watching the animals; we eat dinner in
+that nice restaurant, before dark, and then come home in the early
+evening. Can you all go on that day?"
+
+Mrs. Merrill said she was sure they could, so plans were made right then
+and there.
+
+Mary Jane and Alice thought those two weeks, or nearly two weeks, never
+would pass. Of course there was the doll cart to play with and Mary Jane
+loved it exactly as much as ever. But she did want to see the monkeys, and
+the foxes (Betty told her she would love the foxes!) and all the creatures
+that Betty seemed to know so much about and which she had never even
+seen.
+
+But at last the morning came, warm and sunny and clear and the lunch boxes
+were packed, the apartment locked up and everybody started toward Lincoln
+Park feeling happy and ready for fun. The fathers couldn't come for lunch,
+but really when all the Holden girls and boys were added to the three
+Merrills, there was such a crowd that, for the time at least, fathers
+weren't so very much missed.
+
+When they reached the park Mary Jane realized, for the first time, how
+close it was getting to really truly summer. The sun shone with real
+summer warmth, the lake was blue and beautiful and flowers bloomed on
+every corner.
+
+"Oh, I'd just like to live in a park all the time," she exclaimed as she
+looked around her, "it seems just like home!"
+
+"Yes, it does," said Mrs. Merrill, with a wee bit of a sigh, "I'm afraid I
+know some folks who are going to miss their gardens and flower bed this
+summer."
+
+"How stupid of me not to have thought of that!" exclaimed Mrs. Holden.
+"You know it will be just two weeks now till we go up to the lake for all
+the summer. Why didn't I think to have you plant stuff in our back garden?
+Then you could have all the garden you liked right there handy--we always
+do hate to leave the ground idle."
+
+"Perhaps we might plant something even yet," suggested Mrs. Merrill, much
+delighted with the idea, "we'd love to try."
+
+But there was no time for further planning just then--John Holden demanded
+his lunch; Betty made a lively second and in a minute or two a clean
+grassy place was picked out, the individual lunch boxes were passed out
+and then, for a few minutes, everybody was quiet.
+
+"I'm going to feed the black bear," announced Betty, as she paused to pick
+out another sandwich, "I'm going to feed him peanuts--I saved up enough
+money for two bagsful."
+
+"But aren't you afraid of him?" asked Mary Jane breathlessly.
+
+"Afraid? Pooh!" grunted Betty.
+
+"Never you mind, Mary Jane," said Linn comfortingly, "she was afraid the
+first time she saw him and I remember all about it. But now she's learned
+that he can't get out the cage."
+
+"Now, Linn, I never--" began Betty.
+
+But John interrupted. "There!" he said, "I'm through. Come on, let's
+gather up the boxes and papers and stick 'em in the trash box on the way
+to get the peanuts." So the children all helped and in a jiffy the pretty,
+grassy spot where they had eaten lunch was as clean and tidy as when they
+came. And then away they scampered after the peanuts.
+
+Such an afternoon as it was! Mary Jane tried to remember each thing they
+did so she could tell her father when he met them after three o'clock. But
+she couldn't remember half what they had done. She knew they saw the
+little foxes--such pretty, dainty white and tan colored foxes that played
+together like little pet kittens and made her want to hold them in her lap
+and pet them. She knew they saw the bears--great big bears and middle
+sized bears and little bit o' bears just like in the story book, and she
+fed them peanuts which they caught very deftly in their soft cushioned
+paws. But all the rest, she really couldn't remember in the right
+order--there were kangaroos and buffaloes and a giraffe who stuck his long
+neck over the top of a great high fence and made Mary Jane think of
+nothing so much as a funny paper picture. And then of course the
+monkeys--dozens of them and queer birds with curious colored feathers and
+funny bills and feet. Really, she had seen in that one afternoon, more
+animals than she had guessed lived in the whole world, oh, many more!
+
+"But have you seen the seals?" asked Mr. Merrill who met them at the bird
+house.
+
+No, they hadn't.
+
+"It's almost four o'clock," said Mr. Merrill, looking at his watch, "and
+Mr. Holden said they ate at four and we should meet him there, so let's
+hurry."
+
+It was a good thing they did hurry for other folks seemed to know, too,
+that the seals were fed at four. From all directions, folks could be seen
+walking toward the big enclosed pond where the seals were kept. But, by
+hurrying, they got there in time to stand close to the iron fence where
+they could see the antics of those queerest of animals, the seals.
+
+One would suppose that even the seals knew it was nearly four o'clock,
+dinner time, for they were so excited and eager. They barked and swam and
+flung themselves around vigorously as though they could hardly stand
+waiting for anything. Then, just at four, a man came out of a near-by
+building. In his hand he carried a basket of fish--a great, well-filled
+basket. He came over to a little platform close by where the Merrill and
+Holden children were standing; so they could see everything.
+
+He picked up a big fish, tossed it over into the rocky island in the
+middle of the seals' pond and then! such a scrambling as there was till
+the middle-sized seal with a few ungainly flops, grabbed the fish and
+gulped it down in one bite.
+
+Then he threw another fish and another and another--one after the other so
+fast that Mary Jane felt sure the seals must get all mixed up about
+catching them. But they didn't. Those seals must have been smarter than
+folks had thought for they seemed to know, every time, just about where
+the fish was to hit on the rocks and to know, too, just how to get to that
+particular spot the quickest. Mary Jane thought it very wonderful.
+
+But one thing worried her. There was one small seal, who for some reason
+or other, seemed to be always just a second too late to get a fish. Mary
+Jane was sure he had had but one and all the others had had, oh, a lot.
+And she couldn't help wishing all the others wouldn't be quite so grabby.
+
+When the man who was feeding the seals got almost to the bottom of his big
+basket, he stopped and looked at the crowd of children assembled for the
+feeding. And as he looked, he spied Mary Jane's sober little face.
+
+"Don't you like to watch them?" he asked her in surprise.
+
+"Yes, I like to only they're so grabby," she replied promptly, "and he
+hasn't had but one." She pointed out the little seal who was a bit too
+slow.
+
+"We'll fix that," said the keeper, kindly, "you just watch."
+
+He tossed a great big fish close to the crowd of waiting seals, then,
+quick as a flash and before they had had time to get that one, he tossed
+another, straight at the little seal who was on the edge of the crowd.
+
+"He got it! He got it!" cried Mary Jane happily, "he got it before they
+had a chance!"
+
+"And he's going to get another," said the keeper as he threw another and
+still another, straight at the hungry little seal. "There!" he added as he
+looked at the now empty basket, "that ought to do him till to-morrow."
+Mary Jane thought he looked so comfortable now that surely he had had as
+much as he needed for the day.
+
+"Better hurry if we're to see the lions eat," said Mr. Holden, who during
+the seals' dining hour had come up behind his little party.
+
+"Lions!" exclaimed Mary Jane.
+
+"Yes, hurry up!" called Betty and she and her brother who were quite
+familiar with the park because of many previous visits, ran on toward a
+big brick house near by.
+
+Mary Jane wasn't afraid, but all the same she thought it would be more fun
+to hold her father's hand and even though they were a bit behind, they got
+into the lions' house in time.
+
+Here the dinner was of meat, great big chunks of raw, red meat that the
+keepers tossed into the cages. And it was so funny to watch! Just before
+the keeper appeared, the lions and tigers and jackals and leopards were
+pacing up and down their cages with such weird roars and grunts and growls
+that Mary Jane held tightly to her father's hand and didn't go very close
+to the iron bars. But when the keepers appeared with the meat there was a
+wild scramble, and then silence except for the crunching and smacking of
+eating. It certainly was different, oh, very, very different from anything
+Mary Jane had ever seen before!
+
+"Let's not wait here any more," suggested Alice, "let's show Dadah the
+monkeys."
+
+"Yes, and the foxes--the white ones," said Mary Jane, "they're my
+favorites of all."
+
+But before they had had time to show Mr. Merrill every single creature
+they had seen, the Holden boys announced that they were hungry and that it
+was long past dinner time. And sure enough! Even though it wasn't really
+long _past_ dinner time, it _was_ half past five--the time they had agreed
+upon for dinner. So a very jolly party seated themselves at a big round
+table on a second story porch of the Park restaurant. That was the nicest
+place to eat Mary Jane had ever seen--unless perhaps a diner on a train.
+For after they gave their order, she discovered that they could look right
+down on a small lake where ducks and geese and swans lived. The children
+got so interested watching the pretty creatures that for once they didn't
+have time to think the waiter was slow!
+
+They stayed there eating and watching the birds, till the sun set back of
+the trees. Then, when there wasn't another scrap of cake or teaspoonful of
+ice cream left, they gathered up wraps and hats and started for home.
+
+"I know one thing," said sleepy Mary Jane as they waited for the bus that
+was to take them to their train. "I know there're a lot more animal folks
+in the world than I thought for--oh, a lot more! And I think I'd better
+come again to see them all."
+
+
+
+
+A DAY IN THE PARKS
+
+
+A whole long vacation begun! Alice home all day and plenty of time for
+walks and playing together! It seemed almost too good to be true. For
+although Alice was several years older than her sister Mary Jane, the two
+girls had always had very happy times playing together and they had missed
+each other very much during school days. Now that the Holden family was
+away, for they went off, bag and baggage, to their country home up in
+Wisconsin the very day school closed, the two girls had no one near by to
+play with, so more than ever before they needed and enjoyed each other's
+company. Frances Westland had gone back to the country and the Merrill
+girls had not made friends with anyone who lived near enough to make a
+convenient playmate.
+
+They didn't do as some girls and boys do in vacation, get up late in the
+morning. No, they thought it was more fun to get up promptly and have
+breakfast with Dadah and then, when the afternoon got hot, as often
+happened, they took a nice long rest and dressed fresh and clean for
+dinner. On many a day Mrs. Merrill packed a basket of dinner and they met
+Mr. Merrill over by the park, had their dinner near one of the small
+lagoons or close to the big lake. After dinner they played ball or
+tennis--Alice was learning to be very good at tennis.
+
+"I wish there were swans in our park," said Mary Jane as she sat on the
+edge of the lagoon and watched the row boats and the electric launches
+gliding about on the water. "I liked those swans at Lincoln Park."
+
+"I was just thinking to-day," said Mr. Merrill, "we haven't seen all the
+parks and I promised you, that you should see them--all the big ones
+anyway. I wonder when we could go, mother?"
+
+"I wonder _how_ we could go," said Mrs. Merrill, "the parks are so far
+apart that a journey through them all would be a hopeless task, seems to
+me."
+
+"Depends on how you do it," laughed Mr. Merrill. "I'll tell you what I
+thought. I'll take the whole day away from the office so as to go along.
+We'll start fairly early and take the elevated out to Garfield Park--you
+know we promised the girls a trip on the elevated and we've always taken
+the train! We'll see that park well, you know it has gardens and
+greenhouses and lakes, and then we'll get a taxi and go to two or three
+other parks and ride home."
+
+The girls thought that was a wonderful plan and they wanted to set the day
+for that very same week. So Thursday was decided upon.
+
+"Now there's one thing besides getting a good lunch ready that I want you
+folks to do," said Mr. Merrill as they picked up their baskets and balls
+ready to go home, "I want you to get out that map of Chicago we had on the
+train the day we came up here and find just where Garfield Park is and how
+we get there and how many interesting sights like rivers and parks and
+boulevards we pass on the way." And of course the girls promised that they
+would find the map and get all that information first thing in the
+morning.
+
+Riding on the elevated proved to be great fun. Mary Jane was afraid for a
+few minutes she wasn't going to like it--the stairs were so very high up
+with holes in each step to see down to the ground; and the train dashed to
+the platform with such a roar and bustle and people crowded on and jerk!
+the train rushed off. But when she settled down in the seat, comfortingly
+near her mother, and looked out over the roofs of houses and stores, and
+down long streets, one after another, she found she wasn't a bit afraid
+and that she liked it very much. She liked watching for children on folks'
+back porches. Some played on the porch and some played in the dining-room
+windows--it was easy to tell which were the dining-room windows because
+always there were three big windows and always she could look right
+through the curtains and see the big table in the middle of the room. The
+only trouble with watching folks from an elevated was that the train
+dashed by so quickly she couldn't any more than see, till--flash, flash,
+and they were gone and there was another street and another set of back
+stairs and some different children playing. It really was awfully queer.
+
+Pretty soon they reached the big down town and there they got off their
+train, climbed over a big bridge to another elevated train and away they
+went whizzing again. It certainly was a queer way to travel, Mary Jane
+thought.
+
+But finally father announced that they had come to Garfield Park, so they
+got off, walked down the stairs to a park that looked so much like their
+own park that Mary Jane had to rub her eyes and look twice to make sure
+she wasn't dreaming. Here were the same winding driveways, beautiful trees
+and small lakes.
+
+"Did we come back to our Park?" she asked in surprise.
+
+"Oh, no," answered Alice who had run on a little ahead, "look at the big
+greenhouse and look back there! Now don't you see the swans?"
+
+No, it wasn't their own neighborhood park, Mary Jane soon realized that,
+because there were many new things to be seen. The wonderful tropical
+greenhouse where palms and bananas and wonderful ferns such as the girls
+had seen in Florida were growing. And then there were beautiful out of
+door gardens--Mary Jane liked those even better than the greenhouse
+gardens, wonderful as those were. She seemed to feel, someway, as though
+the flowers must like the out of doors better.
+
+Right in the middle of the many lovely flower beds in the out of doors
+gardens, there was a lily pool in which grew water lilies of all colors
+and sorts. Mary Jane had never seen water lilies before and she thought
+them very lovely--and rather queer too, if the truth must be told. She
+decided she would stay right there a while and let Alice and her father
+explore the rest of the gardens--they wanted to know names of flowers and
+names didn't seem a bit interesting to the little girl.
+
+Just after she had decided to stay there and play, she spied a boy of
+about her age who was watching the lilies too.
+
+"Can you walk all the way around the edge?" he asked her.
+
+"Edge of what?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"The edge of the pool," he replied, "see," and he put his foot up on the
+stone rim of the pool, "all the way around on this."
+
+"Can you?" asked Mary Jane. She wanted to see what he would say before she
+answered his question.
+
+"Sure!" he replied, "it's just as easy! Only girls are 'fraidies."
+
+"I guess I'm not," declared Mary Jane firmly, "watch!" She stepped up on
+the stone rim--it was about eight inches wide--and walked boldly along
+toward the middle of the long side of the pool.
+
+"You can, can't you," said the boy admiringly.
+
+"Just as easy," replied Mary Jane, for when she found she could do what he
+had asked she was anxious to have it appear to be as easy for her as for
+him.
+
+"Come on," the boy suggested, "let's race!"
+
+"Race?" asked Mary Jane, "how?"
+
+"'Round the pool. You start this way, and I'll start that way and the one
+that gets around home first beats."
+
+"All right," agreed Mary Jane, "let's."
+
+Now before Mary Jane saw the boy by the pool, Mrs. Merrill spied some very
+beautiful grasses over at one side of the gardens; the very sort of
+grasses, she decided, that Mary Jane's grandmother would like to use in
+her flower beds by the driveways. And of course she wanted to find out the
+names of the grasses so she could write to grandmother about them. Seeing
+that Mary Jane was so absorbed in the pool and the lilies, she slipped
+over to look at the name sign which she knew would be stuck right by the
+roots. She jotted the name down in her note book, looked along at a few
+others and--turned back to the pool just in time to see her small daughter
+and a strange boy run racingly along the rim of the pool straight at each
+other.
+
+"Mary Jane! Mary Jane!" she called, "jump down onto the ground! Jump
+down!"
+
+Whether Mary Jane heard her and became confused, or whether the boy's
+bumping into her made her lose her balance, nobody ever quite found out.
+But anyway, right before Mrs. Merrill's astonished eyes, Mary Jane Merrill
+tumbled 'kplump--into the lily pool!
+
+Fortunately the lily pool wasn't very deep so Mary Jane didn't fall far.
+But she did hit the bottom pretty hard; so hard that when she bobbed up,
+her head out of water and her feet on the bottom, she hardly knew what had
+happened to her.
+
+Mrs. Merrill screamed and Mr. Merrill, Alice, three policemen and about
+twenty other people came running to see what had happened. It wasn't
+necessary for anybody to jump in and make a triumphant rescue for Mary
+Jane was so close to shore that Mrs. Merrill had taken firm hold of her
+hand and pulled her out just as all the folks got there. So there was
+nothing for them to do but to stare and to ask questions.
+
+"How did she do it?" asked the first policeman.
+
+"Hurt you any?" asked the second.
+
+"You and your mother come with me," said the third (and Mary Jane guessed
+right away from his voice that he must have some little girls of his own),
+"and I'll show you where you can dry your clothes."
+
+The procession of policemen and onlookers, led by a very wet and greatly
+embarrassed little girl, crossed the gardens, crossed the street and went
+into a comfortable big building. There a kindly matron produced a big
+bathrobe in which Mary Jane sat while her dress was wrung out and dried.
+And wasn't she glad there was a good hot sun so things could dry quickly!
+
+Finally, when Mary Jane was beginning to get awfully hungry, mother
+announced that the clothes were dry and that she had pulled and stretched
+them the best she could in the place of ironing. So Mary Jane dressed and
+they went in search of Alice and her father.
+
+"Well, you certainly do mix up baths with your picnics," laughed Mr.
+Merrill when he saw them coming. "Remember the time you fell into
+Clearwater, Pussy?"
+
+"But it isn't so bad, really, Dadah," said Mary Jane, "and I'm not wet
+now."
+
+"So you're not," said Mr. Merrill, "but _I_ am hungry--anybody agree with
+me?"
+
+They all admitted to being nearly starved, so they found a pretty, grassy
+spot close by the lake on which several beautiful swans were sunning
+themselves, and there they spread out the luncheon they had brought. At
+first the girls were so hungry they didn't want to do anything but eat.
+But by the time they had eaten a plateful of potato salad and three or
+four sandwiches, the swans discovered their lunching place and came to
+call. Evidently swans were used to being treated very nicely by folks who
+came to the park for they didn't seem to have a trace of fear of
+strangers.
+
+The girls tossed the crusts of the sandwiches to the edge of the water and
+the swans bent their long necks and picked them up and ate them, every
+crust, so daintily just as though crusts were a diet fit for kings--and
+swans. The swans didn't actually come out of the water, but they came so
+close to the shore that the girls could almost touch them and they soon
+got to feeling very well acquainted.
+
+So it was with some regret that they heard Mr. Merrill say, "Well, girls,
+weren't we to see some of the other parks too?" And here it was four
+o'clock!
+
+The basket was packed--and there wasn't a scrap of anything a swan could
+eat, you may be sure of that--and they strolled down to the roadway. In a
+minute or two Mr. Merrill hailed a passing taxi and they settled
+themselves for a nice long ride.
+
+They didn't stop at any other park; Mary Jane was sure no other could be
+as interesting as the one where she had had such exciting experiences and
+Alice was quite as content as her father and mother to sit back, cool and
+comfortable, and see the beautiful flowers and shrubbery slip past them.
+So they rode and rode through one park after another, it seemed, till
+suddenly Mary Jane spied something that looked familiar.
+
+"That's my Midway!" she announced, as the car turned into the long, broad
+stretch of parkway near their own home.
+
+"Sure enough it is!" exclaimed Mr. Merrill in pretended amazement, "we'll
+have to turn around and go back!"
+
+"No we won't," said Mary Jane, "we'll go home."
+
+So they went on home, just in time to cook a good warm dinner and to talk
+over and over again the many things they had seen in the parks.
+
+
+
+
+VISITORS--AND A BOAT RIDE
+
+
+One day, not so very long after the trip through the parks, the bell at
+the Merrills' front door pealed long and hard. Mary Jane, whose job was
+answering the door, ran to the little house 'phone, and heard a loud voice
+shout, "Special for Merrill!"
+
+"What's he mean, mother?" she asked, in a puzzled voice.
+
+"Better press the buzzer and let him in, dear," replied Mrs. Merrill, "if
+he has the name right he must have something for us."
+
+So Mary Jane pressed the downstairs buzzer and then opened the front door.
+Yes, it was for them--a special delivery letter for Mrs. Merrill. Mary
+Jane and Alice were much excited and could hardly wait till the
+messenger's book was signed and the letter was opened.
+
+"It's from grandma," said Mrs. Merrill as she glanced at the writing, "and
+listen! This is what she says:
+
+"'Grandpa finds quite unexpectedly that he must come to Chicago on
+business and he says that if it's convenient to you folks I can come along
+and we'll stay two or three days for a visit. Please wire reply because we
+must start Wednesday evening.'"
+
+"And it's ten o'clock Wednesday morning now!" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill. She
+hurried to the telephone, called Mr. Merrill so he could send a telegram
+at once, then she and the two girls went right to work making ready for
+the guests.
+
+It was decided that Alice and Mary Jane should sleep on couches and give
+up their room to the visitors. "Now's when I wish we had our nice guest
+room," said Mrs. Merrill, "but then, grandma knows that folks who live in
+Chicago flats don't keep guest rooms for infrequent visitors." For her
+part, Mary Jane thought sleeping on a couch would be great fun--so grown
+up and different from every day. She was to have the dining-room couch and
+Alice was to sleep in the living-room. When all plans were made, bedding
+sorted out and laid ready for making up the beds fresh first thing in the
+morning, Mrs. Merrill began planning the meals. If the visitors were to
+stay only a short time she wanted to have as much baking and marketing as
+possible done beforehand, so every minute could be spent in fun and
+visiting. Alice and Mary Jane, who had been marketing so much with their
+mother of late that they really could be trusted, took a long list up to
+the grocery and Mrs. Merrill set to work baking coffeecake and bread and
+cookies. Um-m! It wasn't an hour till that tiny kitchen began to smell so
+good that the girls could hardly be coaxed away. Mrs. Merrill let them
+help in a good many ways. Mary Jane put the sugar and nuts on the tops of
+the cookies after her mother put them in the pan and Alice, who was
+getting to be a really good cook, tended to the baking. She put the big
+pans in, and watched the baking, and took them out when every cookie was
+evenly browned. Then, after she took a pan out of the oven, she gently
+lifted the hot cookies out from the baking pan onto a wire rack where they
+could cool without losing their pretty shapes. When the cookies were cool,
+it was Mary Jane's turn again. She put them all in the tin cookie box,
+counting them and laying them neatly between layers of paraffin paper so
+they would keep fresh even in the hot weather.
+
+It was a rule that only perfect cookies should be packed away--scraps
+never went into the tin box. But for some reason or other, the girls never
+seemed to mind the job of eating the broken ones! In fact Mary Jane often
+asked Alice _not_ to be so careful--to please break a few so there would
+be plenty to eat right then and there.
+
+The day went by so quickly that it was bed time before the girls realized
+it and then, after about forty winks, it was morning--the morning when
+grandma and grandpa were coming.
+
+Everybody was up early, Alice and Mary Jane made up the beds fresh and
+neat, mother cooked a good breakfast and Dadah went to the train, at a
+near-by suburban station, to meet the travelers. It was a jolly party that
+sat around the breakfast table--you may be sure of that!
+
+"Now then," said Mr. Merrill, when the breakfast was eaten up and news of
+the farm had been told, "I'll have to go to work and I suppose grandpa has
+to do his business to-day, so we'll leave you folks to yourselves. Then
+to-morrow, if grandpa is through his business, we can plan some fun."
+
+So the two business folks went down town and grandma was left to enjoy
+life at home. The girls were glad she could stay.
+
+"Let's take grandma over to the lake," suggested Alice, "I know you'd love
+riding in one of those little electric launches, grandmother."
+
+"Let's take some lunch and not come home till she's seen everything in
+Chicago," said Mary Jane in a rush of hospitality.
+
+"Dear me! Child!" exclaimed grandma in dismay, "don't you know there's
+another day coming!"
+
+Mary Jane agreed to leave a few sights for the next day, but she didn't
+want to lose any time getting off. Fortunately the morning work didn't
+take but a tiny bit of time, and as grandma, who didn't care much for
+"stuffy sleepers," was very glad to get out into the fresh air, they very
+soon were on their way to the park.
+
+The girls felt quite at home in the neighborhood and in the park by this
+time, and they thought it was great fun to show the sights to somebody
+else--somebody who didn't know all about Chicago. Grandma loved the
+beautiful Midway, the charming lagoons and she enjoyed her ride on the
+little launch fully as much as the girls had thought she would.
+
+"But don't you have any _big_ boats?" she asked, "great big ones with two
+decks and lots of passengers and all that? I'd like to ride on a big boat
+too."
+
+"Then that's exactly what we'll do to-morrow, mother," said Mrs. Merrill.
+"There is a big boat that runs from Jackson Park up to the municipal pier.
+We'll go on it to-morrow and we'll get our lunch up town and then we'll
+come back home on the boat."
+
+And that's exactly what they did.
+
+When Mr. Merrill heard that grandma wanted a ride on a big boat, the plans
+for the next day were as good as made. He thought the idea of going to
+town on the boat and then getting lunch and coming home was a fine one and
+he only made one change in the plan.
+
+"Instead of going to a store, in the loop, let's take one of the little
+launches that run from the Municipal pier to Lincoln Park and go up there
+for our lunch so grandma can see your favorite swans and perhaps, if we
+want to stay that long, see the seals get their four o'clock tea." But
+dear me, he little guessed what would happen as his nice-sounding plan
+worked out!
+
+So the next morning, the Merrills all had a nice, leisurely, visity
+breakfast, then a walk through the park, and never did the park look
+lovelier than on the sunny summer morning, and then, boarding the boat
+that rocked at the pier on the big lake, they found comfortable seats on
+the shady side and prepared for a pleasant ride.
+
+Mary Jane chose to sit on the side nearest the pier because she loved to
+look down from the upper deck and watch the people boarding the boat. She
+had never ridden on boats very much, only when she went to Florida, and
+this boat they were now aboard seemed very different from the big,
+awkward, flat bottomed boat they took their river trip on through Florida
+jungles.
+
+"You don't need to sit by me if you want to talk to mother," she said to
+her father.
+
+"Humph!" said her father teasingly, "how do I know you're not going to
+tumble overboard! You know you have a way of mixing up picnics and water,
+Mary Jane, so I don't think I'll take any chances." But when Mary Jane
+promised that she would sit very still and not walk around a step and not
+lean over the edge, he went to speak to grandpa a few minutes. And while
+he was gone, Mary Jane leaned up against the side of the boat and watched
+the folks down on the pier.
+
+She thought it must surely be about time for the boat to start because
+there was hurrying on the pier, and men were busy taking ropes off of the
+big wooden posts along the side nearest the water. While she was watching,
+a woman came along the dock toward the boat and with her were two little
+children, a girl about Mary Jane's own age and a little boy some two years
+younger. Just as they reached the gang plank, ready to step onto the boat,
+the little boy began to cry.
+
+"I left my boat! I left my boat! I left my boat!" he cried. Mary Jane
+could hear him very plainly even though she sat so far up above him.
+
+She couldn't hear what the mother said, but evidently she promised to get
+the missing boat for him, because she left both children by the side of
+the gang plank, and hurrying as fast as possible she ran back toward the
+shore. And right at that minute, the big bell overhead rang three times
+and the engine aboard the boat began to throb--it was time to go.
+
+The men on the dock noticed the two children and one said to the little
+girl, "Were you going?" and she nodded yes. So he picked up the boy and
+hurried the two children aboard just as the gang plank was hauled in and
+the boat made away from the pier.
+
+Mary Jane was so thrilled and excited she could hardly sit still. She
+tried to call her father but he was on the other side of the boat and she
+had promised to sit still--perfectly still--till he came back. What in the
+world was a little girl to do? And back on the shore that was so rapidly
+getting farther and farther way, Mary Jane could see the mother of the
+children, running frantically toward the dock which the boat had left.
+Surely the captain would see her, Mary Jane thought. But if he did, he
+likely thought she was merely somebody who had missed the boat and that he
+had no time for turning back. And so the boat continued out into the
+lake.
+
+Finally after what seemed the _longest_ time (though it really was hardly
+more than five minutes), Mr. Merrill came back and then, such a story as
+he heard!
+
+"Are you sure, Mary Jane?" he asked, "certain sure? The men wouldn't put
+children on a boat without grown folks along!"
+
+"But they did, Dadah!" insisted Mary Jane, "I saw 'em!"
+
+"Then you come with me," said Mr. Merrill, "and we'll see if we can find
+them."
+
+So Mr. Merrill and Mary Jane went down the stairs, and that took some time
+because folks were coming and going and getting settled for the trip, and
+there, huddled close together and crying as hard as they could cry, were
+the two little waifs!
+
+Mary Jane with real motherliness began talking to the little girl; Mr.
+Merrill picked up the boy and together the whole party went in search of
+the captain. By the time he was found though, the boat was still farther
+on its journey toward the city and the dock they started from was farther
+and farther behind.
+
+"Well, that is a time we were wrong," admitted the captain when he had
+listened to all Mary Jane had to say and talked with the man who had put
+the children aboard. "But even though we were wrong, we can't go back now.
+We'll have to make the children comfortable and take them back to their
+mother on the return trip."
+
+So Mr. Merrill and Mary Jane went back to the deck, only this time they
+took with them the two little strangers. Mrs. Merrill was told the story
+and she and Alice and Mary Jane, with help from grandma, grandpa and Mr.
+Merrill, set themselves to the task of making the little children happy.
+At first it was hard work, because they cried all the time for their
+mother. But erelong they understood the friendliness around them and they
+stopped crying and began to have a good time. Grandpa discovered some
+crackerjack and everybody knows what a help _that_ is; Mrs. Merrill told
+some funny stories and Mr. Merrill took them all over the boat--to see the
+great engine and everything. Then there were the sights to watch from the
+deck and the big buildings to count and the boats they passed to
+watch--oh, there surely was a lot to do that made that trip interesting
+and so very short.
+
+As the boat pulled up near the down town pier, the Merrills saw a taxi
+dash up near where the boat was to land: saw a woman get out and, followed
+by a policeman, hurry up to the side where the boat would pull in.
+
+"Look!" exclaimed Mary Jane excitedly. "Look!"
+
+The little girl, whose name was Ann, looked along with the others, and
+then she gave a happy cry.
+
+"Mother!" she shouted, so loudly that her mother, waiting on the pier
+could hear and was so very relieved!
+
+When the boat pulled into the dock, the captain was the first one to step
+off; he met the mother and the officer and brought them aboard at once.
+Mary Jane was called upon to explain all that she had seen and the
+officer, as well as the mother, was satisfied that the whole thing was an
+accident and not an attempt to steal the children.
+
+"But how did you get up here so quickly?" asked Mary Jane, when the first
+excitement was over.
+
+"My dear child!" laughed Ann's mother, "a person can do a lot when she
+thinks something is happening to her children! I took a passing taxi,
+dashed to a police station and then on up here. And nothing has happened
+at all--except you nice people have given my little folks a very pleasant
+trip. Next time, Bobby," she added, "we'll leave your toy boat or we'll
+all go together to find it. We won't take any chances of losing each
+other!"
+
+"Well," laughed Mr. Merrill when the mother and children and officer and
+captain had all gone on about their own business, "what was it we were
+going to do to-day?"
+
+Everybody laughed at that! They had been so excited that they had
+forgotten, yes, actually forgotten, that this was a sight-seeing trip for
+grandma and grandpa. But once they remembered, they knew just what to do.
+They climbed aboard a waiting launch, rode up to Lincoln Park, had a
+wonderful dinner and fun all the rest of the day.
+
+"I don't see," remarked grandma, as they neared home, late that evening,
+"how you girls are ever going to settle down to school again! Did you know
+that school was only a few weeks away? Vacation will be over before you
+know it!"
+
+
+
+
+SCHOOL BEGINS
+
+
+When grandma suggested that it was nearly time for school to begin, on
+that day of the boat ride, she guessed better than the girls suspected. At
+the time they laughed and thought she was joking, but, after she and
+grandpa had gone home, they got out a calendar and counted up and there,
+to be sure, only one and one-half weeks of vacation were left.
+
+"I didn't realize school began so early," exclaimed Mrs. Merrill in
+dismay.
+
+"I thought summer was a long time!" cried Alice, "but it isn't any time at
+all!"
+
+"Goody! Goody! Goody!" Mary Jane said happily, "then I get to start to
+school like a big girl."
+
+It was no wonder Mary Jane was happy, for she remembered that the plan was
+for her to start in the really truly school, not the kindergarten where
+she had gone in her other home, and any little girl likes to start to
+school like her big sister.
+
+When the day finally came, Alice was as much excited as Mary Jane herself.
+For although the summer had been so pleasant she almost hated to see it
+end--the free days with plenty of time for visits with mother and picnics
+and marketing and all--still, school was pleasant too and any little girl
+who does nice work and tries to learn, will make good friends and have
+happy days, just as Alice always had had.
+
+Mary Jane had a hard time deciding which dress to wear. She wanted to look
+very grown up, so that teacher would realize she was a big girl, so she
+finally decided upon a dark blue sailor suit. The one that had the red
+insignia on the sleeve and that looked just like a big girl's dress. With
+a clean 'kerchief peeking out of her pocket and a smashing big red bow on
+the top of her brown head, she looked very nice.
+
+Alice and Mary Jane waked up that morning the very minute they were called
+for they wanted to help mother so she could go over to school with them.
+And with all that good help of course they were off on time. Alice was
+glad to have company going to school for Frances wasn't home yet and
+wouldn't be there for a couple of weeks.
+
+Mary Jane's heart went thump, thump as she and her mother went in at the
+teachers' gate, and up the stairs and into the principal's office. And
+thump, thump some more when she saw the whole roomful of strange boys and
+girls and thump, thump some more when her turn came and she was sent
+(fortunately with her mother along) to the first grade room--number 104.
+The room was full of children, hundreds, Mary Jane thought there must be,
+though the teacher told Mrs. Merrill there were about forty-five. And if
+her heart went thump, thump before, it certainly went thump, thump,
+_thump_ when the teacher, smiling at her so kindly, gave her a seat in
+the--front-row--such a nice seat for her very own! and she sat down and
+tried to look as though she had been used to going to school all her whole
+life.
+
+For a minute she couldn't look around or anything, she felt so queer. Then
+she glanced at the next seat and there, sitting right beside her,
+was--whom do you suppose? Ann! The same pretty little Ann who had been
+lost on the boat. Immediately Mary Jane forgot all about being afraid and
+thumping hearts and strangeness and everything and began to like school.
+The two little girls had much to say about what they would do at recess
+and where did they live and everything, so the time before school began
+passed very quickly.
+
+Suddenly, in the midst of their talk, a bell rang, "GONG-GONG!" Two loud
+tones close together that way, and school began. Mary Jane Merrill was in
+a really truly school like the big girl she was getting to be.
+
+Ann came home with Mary Jane that first afternoon and Mrs. Merrill
+discovered that her name was Ann Ellis and that she lived two blocks from
+their own home and that the two little girls would no doubt find it very
+easy to be friends. They began having a good time that very afternoon and
+they planned still better times when Betty would be back and they could
+all play together. Now wasn't that fine!
+
+Mary Jane found that she liked school every bit as much as she had thought
+she would. She liked her teacher, a charming Miss Treavor, and she liked
+her studies. But most of all she liked the fun she had on the playground.
+In the big cities, like Chicago, where lots of girls and boys have no
+yards, the school yards are the only places were children can play. So, to
+make everything safe and orderly, the school folks have a playground
+teacher stay at school all the day, to help in the games and to see that
+every one has a happy time. The playground teacher at Mary Jane's school
+liked little girls very much and she knew many good games for them to
+play. So in addition to "London Bridge" and "Drop the Handkerchief" and
+"Tag" that all children play, Mary Jane learned "Roman Soldiers" and
+"Ghost Walk" and "Three times Three."
+
+Of the new ones, Mary Jane liked "Ghost Walk" the best. To play it, the
+girls and boys made a big circle, then they selected some one to be
+"Ghost." This person stood in the middle of the circle and everybody shut
+eyes tight, very tight. Then the Ghost, while every one kept very quiet,
+tried to tip-toe to the edge of the circle, slip out between two folks and
+get away without being caught. That may sound easy, but played in a yard
+full of romping boys and girls, it is not really as easy as it might seem
+and it was lots of fun, because often folks would think the "Ghost" was
+near them and would try to grab--and the joke was on them because all the
+while, maybe, the "ghost" was in another part of the ring. And whenever
+folks thought they caught the "Ghost" and _didn't_, then every one opened
+their eyes, the person who had made the mistake had to get out of the
+circle and the game began again. But if the "Ghost" really did get out of
+the circle without being caught, then the "Ghost" could hide anywhere in
+the yard and the game became an old-fashioned hide-and-seek with everybody
+hunting one lucky person.
+
+One day, when Mary Jane was "Ghost," she was determined she would get out
+of that circle without getting caught. She had tried it many a time before
+and failed; this time she was going to do it. She tiptoed, oh, so softly
+over the loose gravel to the edge of the circle. Then noiselessly she
+dropped down on hands and knees and, without a thought for her dress,
+crawled slowly between Ann and the girl next to her. She could hardly keep
+from giggling, it was so funny to be so close she almost bumped them and
+yet not to be discovered. Now she was right between them, now she was
+almost outside--now she was free and away she dashed to the spot she had
+long ago picked out as a hiding place for just such a time as this.
+
+The folks in the circle waited--but nobody was caught, so they shouted,
+"Ghost Walk?" and when the "ghost" didn't answer they opened their eyes
+and--no Mary Jane was there!
+
+"I'll get her," shouted Ann, "I'll find her! I'll bet she got out on your
+side of the circle, Janny, she never could have passed _me_!"
+
+"I'll find her myself," answered Janny, "but she never passed by me, she
+didn't!"
+
+So they hunted, up and down the yard, around the bushes, by the doorway,
+everywhere they could think of. But no sign of Mary Jane did they
+discover. They hunted and they hunted till the gong sounded and they had
+to go into school again. But not a sign of any Mary Jane did they find.
+Was Mary Jane lost? Miss Treavor must be told so everybody could hunt, for
+something surely must have happened to a little girl who didn't answer the
+recess bell when it rang for school to begin.
+
+Now it happened that some days before, when Mary Jane had first learned to
+play "Ghost walk" she hunted around the yard for a good place to hide--in
+case she ever succeeded in getting out of the circle so she _could_ hide.
+She didn't want to hide among the bushes because that was the first place
+the children looked; she didn't want to hide in the doorway because that
+was against rules and if a child was discovered there by a teacher, the
+child had to go straight upstairs and stay the rest of recess. And there
+didn't seem to be any other place. But there was another hiding place--and
+Mary Jane found it. Around the corner of the building, on the side nearest
+the furnace entrance, there was a jog in the brick wall. And in front of
+the little niche made by this jog, boards left by some carpenters had been
+carelessly tossed.
+
+"I could climb over the boards," Mary Jane had thought, "and hide down
+behind and nobody'd ever find me--ever."
+
+So when her time came, and she really did get out of the circle without
+being caught, she didn't have to stop and hunt a hiding place; she knew
+exactly where she wanted to go.
+
+But there was one thing Mary Jane hadn't figured on; one thing she didn't
+even think of as she crouched down behind her boards while the children
+hunted for her, hither and yon over the school yard. She hadn't thought
+that way off, 'round the corner and behind boards that way, she
+couldn't--_hear_. The sounds of playing and romping seemed so quiet, so
+quiet that they were hardly noticeable. She didn't hear the bell and she
+didn't even notice the sudden quiet when the children fell in line to
+march upstairs. She sat there, huddled in a snug little heap, and she
+laughed to herself about the joke she was playing on her mates.
+
+To be sure the time _did_ seem pretty long and she thought they were very
+stupid--but then--she never suspected that recess was over and--
+
+Till suddenly there descended upon her a cloud of chalk dust! It powdered
+her face and dress and shoes and made her forget all about being quiet and
+jump up with a lively scream of fright.
+
+Overhead she heard Miss Treavor's voice, exclaiming, "Whatever in the
+world!" And then, before she could quite get the dust out of her eyes and
+understand what had happened, Miss Treavor and two other teachers who had
+heard the scream, stood before her and the whole story came out. Miss
+Treavor tried not to laugh when Mary Jane told her she was hiding but she
+couldn't help it. Mary Jane looked so be-powdered and forlorn. But Mary
+Jane didn't mind the laughing because at the same time, Miss Treavor
+lifted her out from behind the boards and set her down in the cheerful
+sunlight.
+
+"That _was_ a good place to hide," the teacher admitted, "and you were a
+clever little girl to think of it. But I believe, dear," she added kindly,
+"that next time you'd better hide some place where you can hear the bell,
+even though you _are_ more likely to get caught."
+
+And Mary Jane promised that she would never, never hide in such a very
+good place again.
+
+Mary Jane hated to go back into the school room all mussed and tumbled as
+she was, so Miss Treavor sent for Alice and the two little girls skipped
+home for a fresh dress and clean ribbons so Mary Jane could enjoy the
+classes.
+
+When, a half an hour later, she came back, with the dark blue dress
+changed to a plaid gingham and the red bow changed to green, the children
+wanted to know where she had been and what had happened. But Miss Treavor
+wouldn't tell. And she had made Mary Jane promise not to tell, because
+that place was _such_ a good hiding place that the teachers didn't want
+other folks finding it and hiding there to make trouble too.
+
+But all of Mary Jane's school fun wasn't from trouble. That was just one
+day. Most of the time, she played without anything happening just as the
+other folks did. And all the time she made more friends and had a better
+time, till, when Betty came back from the country, she knew most everybody
+in her room.
+
+She liked school so very much that the days slipped by one after another
+so fast a person could hardly count them--one day and another day and
+another day--just that way. Till one Monday morning when they went to
+school, Miss Treavor announced, "Do you boys and girls know what we are
+going to do to-day? We're going to start making Christmas presents.
+Because Christmas is only _three weeks away_!"
+
+"Christmas!" thought Mary Jane, with a thrill of joy, "Christmas! Why,
+they _do_ have Christmas in Chicago! I wonder what I'll get and what I'll
+do!"
+
+
+
+
+CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO
+
+
+Christmas in Chicago! When Mary Jane heard those words she had her first
+real pang of homesickness for the home she had left when they moved to
+Chicago. Would any Christmas anywhere ever be so beautiful as the
+Christmas in that dear home? She remembered the pine trees in the yard,
+loaded down with their wealth of snow: the glowing fire on the hearth with
+its Christmas-y smell from the pine cones that were saved through the year
+for the Christmas Day fire; the tree in the angle near the fireplace where
+the afternoon sun touched it into a blaze of glory; the party for the poor
+children that had been such fun to plan for--would anything in Chicago
+ever be half the fun of Christmas in the old home? But Mary Jane was soon
+to discover that Christmas doesn't need certain houses or fires or trees
+to make it perfect; that Christmas is made in folks' hearts and that
+wherever there is a Christmas heart, there will be a happy day--in village
+or city, the place makes no difference.
+
+When she went home from school that afternoon and announced that Miss
+Treavor said Christmas was so very near, she found that mother wasn't even
+a little surprised.
+
+"Why to be sure Christmas is coming," laughed Mrs. Merrill, "and here I've
+been waiting and waiting and _waiting_ for you to talk about it till,
+actually, I thought I'd had to begin myself, if you didn't wake up pretty
+soon." And then everybody began to talk at once.
+
+"Do they have trees in Chicago?" asked Alice.
+
+"Are there any poor folks who would like parties?" asked Mary Jane.
+
+"Is anybody coming to see us?" demanded Mary Jane.
+
+"Here! Here! Here!" exclaimed Mr. Merrill, "one at a time, ladies, one at
+a time! If you doubt that there will be trees in Chicago, you should see
+what I saw this morning as I went down to work. A train load of Christmas
+trees--yes, sir!" (for he noticed the girls could hardly believe him) "a
+whole train load of trees. And I see by the paper this evening that a boat
+load has arrived, too, so there will be no shortage of trees."
+
+"Then we can have one," said Mary Jane, with a satisfied sigh.
+
+"And let's put it in front of this foolish little gas log," suggested
+Alice, "then we won't think about a real fireplace."
+
+"And there are plenty of poor folks," said Mrs. Merrill, going back to
+Mary Jane's question, "only they will not be so easy to get together, as
+back at home. How would you like to take a Christmas party to some family
+instead of having a party at home as we did last year?"
+
+The girls hardly knew what to say about that new idea so Mrs. Merrill
+explained further. "I telephoned to the Associated Charities this very
+day," she said, "and they gave me the names of a fatherless family in
+which there are two girls about your ages, and one boy. I thought we could
+plan a fine Christmas for them and then, on Christmas morning, take it
+over and surprise them."
+
+"Oh, let's do that, mother," said Mary Jane happily, "then we'd be like a
+real Santa Claus only we'd be a morning Santa. May we do it, surely?"
+
+"I thought you'd like the idea," said Mrs. Merrill, "so I got lists from
+the association as to just what was most needed. Alice, if you'll get a
+pencil and paper, we'll figure it all out."
+
+Making plans was the girls' favorite way of spending an evening so they
+whisked the cover off the dining table, pulled up chairs for four and went
+to work list-making.
+
+"Tom," began Mrs. Merrill, consulting her list, "hasn't a bit of warm
+clothing."
+
+"Why couldn't I knit him a muffler and some mittens?" asked Mary Jane. "I
+remember how and I haven't knitted anything since the war stopped."
+
+"Fine!" approved Mrs. Merrill, "I think I have enough yarn for the mittens
+and if you'll get it out of the drawer there we can wind it while we talk
+and it will be all ready for you to set up at once. You'll have to work
+hard and fast if you want to make a muffler and a pair of mittens before
+Christmas."
+
+"Now then," she continued, looking at the list, "they have very few bed
+covers and the children get so cold at night."
+
+"Why couldn't you make some covers, mother?" suggested Alice, "and let me
+make them each some flannelette pajamas like we wear--you know how
+toasting warm they are. And I have the pattern and I know I could make
+them all myself."
+
+"That's a beautiful idea," approved Mrs. Merrill, "and I hadn't even
+thought of such a thing. When we get through planning, dear, you can get
+out your pattern and see how much material you'll need. Then, when I go up
+town to-morrow, I'll get it for you."
+
+"And they need stockings," she continued, "and shoes--"
+
+"Could any of 'em wear my good shoes that are too little?" asked Mary Jane
+eagerly. She had been greatly distressed about those "best" shoes that
+were so good, and yet were hopelessly outgrown.
+
+"I think they'll be exactly right," said Mrs. Merrill. "In fact I picked
+out this particular family because I was sure we could find nice things
+for them among you girls' outgrown things and that, put with what we buy
+new, would make all the bigger Christmas for them.
+
+"And about toys," she continued with the list, "the girls have never had a
+doll--"
+
+"Never had--" began Mary Jane but she couldn't quite get the words out.
+Never had a doll. Never had a Marie Georgiannamore to love and care for
+and take riding in a beautiful cart. Never had--no, she couldn't quite
+imagine it.
+
+After that there was no more reading off a list. Mary Jane and Alice began
+making a list of their own, of what those children were to have for
+Christmas.
+
+"But," objected Mrs. Merrill, "you girls forget that things cost money--a
+lot of money these days. And you can't possibly buy all those things and
+get any Christmas of your own too."
+
+"Humph!" grunted Mary Jane as she squeezed her face up tight in an
+effort to write, "then we won't have one of our own! Haven't we got Marie
+Georgiannamore and a cart and a nice house and warm
+clothes--and--everything?"
+
+That settled it. There would be a tree and dinner and a lot of fun in the
+Merrill house on Christmas Day, but the presents were to go to their
+adopted family to make _their_ Christmas one never to be forgotten.
+
+If you have ever planned a Christmas for somebody who never, in all their
+lives had one, you will know something about the fun that Mary Jane and
+Alice had in the time that was left before Christmas. They were about the
+busiest girls in all Chicago! They hurried home from school and they
+worked Saturdays but, actually, as soon as they got one thing done they
+thought of something else they wanted to make or buy and they had to begin
+all over again. They made cookies and candies and dressed dolls, one for
+each girl, and made a complete set of covers and pillows and "fixings" for
+an adorable doll bed that Mr. Merrill made in the evenings. Alice had to
+work pretty hard to get the pajamas all finished in time for there was
+considerable work on each pair; but she got them finished and she could
+hardly wait till Christmas to take them over to their family.
+
+Mary Jane finished the muffler and mittens though she _almost_ had to knit
+while she ate--towards the last--it takes a good many stitches to make a
+muffler big enough for an eight year old boy. The muffler was a deep
+crimson and the mittens a warm shade of gray with three rows of crimson in
+the wrist end; Mary Jane had picked colors she was sure Tom would like.
+
+At last the twenty-fourth of December came around--cold and snowy and just
+the kind of a day for making a Christmas. The trees were bought and set on
+the balcony, the turkeys, two of them, were in the pantry ready to dress
+and three big baskets were set on the dining-room table ready for
+packing.
+
+"Now, then," said Mrs. Merrill, "if you have everything ready, I think
+we'd better pack all the things we can now, because when Dadah comes home
+there'll be plenty to do."
+
+Mary Jane thought the packing was the most fun of anything she had ever
+done. They packed all the doll things in one basket, doll things and toys
+and three nice books. Of course the doll bed wouldn't go in the basket; it
+had to have a package all by itself. A second basket was for clothing, the
+pajamas--and no one would ever guess that a girl as young as Alice had
+made those charming garments--the muffler, the mittens, one pair for each
+child, warm underwear and a dress for each girl (one of the nicest of
+Alice and Mary Jane's outgrown frocks). Mr. Merrill had added a nice
+flannel shirt for Tom and Mrs. Merrill put in a warm sweater for the good
+mother.
+
+"That's a basket they'll like to open," said Alice, proudly, as she tucked
+the brand new comforter Mrs. Merrill had made, around the top, "they'll be
+so happy they won't hardly be able to wait till they can put 'em on!"
+
+The third basket was fully as interesting as the others. It was a big, big
+one and in it the girls packed groceries, cans of vegetables and soup and
+sugar--a very little bit to be sure for there wasn't much to be had, but
+the Merrills had decided to send exactly half of what they had--and
+oranges for breakfast and cereals and bread. Then on top, they were to put
+cookies and candy and the turkey. But of course those last things would go
+in in the morning, just before the baskets were taken away.
+
+By the time Mr. Merrill came home, the three baskets were packed, covered
+up and set in the corner of the dining-room ready for morning.
+
+"Now for the tree!" said Mr. Merrill as he took off his coat ready for
+work. He set their tree in the dining-room and with Alice's good help
+fixed a solid bottom standard and set it up in the living-room right in
+front of the foolish little fireplace. They wired it firmly and then Mrs.
+Merrill brought in the boxes of Christmas trimmings and everybody set to
+work.
+
+Such fun as it was! Mary Jane kept saying, "Remember this!" And Alice
+added, "Remember that!" till it seemed as though it _couldn't_ be more
+than a week since last Christmas when they had put the same things on a
+tree that looked exactly like the one they were now trimming. This year,
+seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old person, she was allowed to put the
+gold star on the top of the tree; she climbed the ladder, with father
+holding one hand and wired it on all by herself; and Alice, as a special
+privilege, was allowed to hang the crystal icicles on every tip.
+
+Nobody put any tinsel on the tree--that was left for the middle of the
+night like the story of the old time legend. Whether the spiders and the
+Christmas fairies, working together, really covered the tree with silver,
+Mary Jane never stopped to figure out. But at any rate the tree was
+covered with strings of gold the next morning and Mary Jane thought it the
+prettiest Christmas tree she had ever seen!
+
+[Illustration: This year, seeing Mary Jane was such a _very_ old person,
+she was allowed to put the gold star on the top of the tree
+_Page 195_]
+
+The very last thing before she went to bed, Mary Jane hung up her
+stocking. And Alice, looking a bit foolish, hung hers close by.
+
+"I thought you two folks weren't going to have any Christmas," said Mr.
+Merrill teasingly.
+
+"Of course we're not," said Mary Jane bravely, "but we want to hang our
+stockings just the same as if--you know." And Dadah must have understood
+for he nodded his head and didn't tease any more.
+
+Nobody would say how it ever happened. Certainly it was well understood
+that there were to be no presents. But, anyway, when Mary Jane and Alice
+looked at those stockings Christmas morning they were fat, as fat could
+be! Just bulging over with queer shaped parcels!
+
+Mary Jane couldn't even wait to put her slippers on! She bundled a kimono
+around her, grabbed up her stocking and ran into her mother's room to open
+it. Alice wasn't far behind and certainly for girls who were to have _no_
+presents, they fared very well indeed! Santa Claus must have got his
+signals mixed some way! There were doll things for Marie Georgiannamore,
+and a ring for Mary Jane; hair ribbons, handkerchiefs, skates for Alice
+(think of that in a stocking!) and slippers for the little girl who forgot
+to put on her old pair and, oh, many lovely little things that could be
+tucked into a stocking.
+
+The girls spread the things out on mother's bed and had a happy time till
+suddenly Mr. Merrill exclaimed, "Girls! It's eight o'clock and I ordered
+that taxi for nine!"
+
+Then there _was_ a scramble! Gifts were hustled away, clothes were put on,
+breakfast was eaten and a few last things packed in the baskets, just as
+the taxi arrived.
+
+It was fortunate Mr. Merrill had ordered a big car for with three baskets,
+a bundle containing the doll bed and another the turkey, to say nothing of
+the tree roped on the side of the car and the box of trimmings on Mrs.
+Merrill's lap even a big car was pretty full.
+
+Mary Jane felt like a real Santa Claus for sure!
+
+The family they were going to see didn't know they were coming, so when
+the car stopped in front of a shabby little house, three puzzled and very
+sober faces pressed against the window and looked out. But the sober faces
+soon changed. In a few minutes the mother was helping Mrs. Merrill put the
+turkey in to roast, the older girl was helping Mr. Merrill set the
+Christmas tree in place and Tom and Ellen, the little girl, were helping
+the Merrill girls trim the tree.
+
+When the Merrills left the house some two hours later the turkey was
+almost cooked, the tree was trimmed, presents unpacked and happiness and
+good cheer had settled down in the little house for many a day.
+
+It was a good thing they came away when they did, though, for exactly as
+they drove up to their own home, they met an express wagon. And in their
+own vestibule they found the driver. "Family of Merrill here?" he asked
+them.
+
+"They're us," said Mary Jane eagerly. And whereupon the driver carried
+upstairs the biggest, fattest Christmas box Mary Jane had ever seen.
+
+Of course it was from grandma and in it were so many lovely things from
+uncles and grandparents and cousins that Mary Jane thought she never would
+get everything unpacked!
+
+"Well," said the little girl as some time later the family sat down to
+their own belated dinner, "I think for not having any presents, we got a
+lot! And I think I like Christmas in Chicago just as much as anywhere, I
+do."
+
+
+
+
+A SUMMER HOME--AND A TELEGRAM
+
+
+"Let's go skating!" called Frances one cold morning as she saw Alice shake
+the bath room rug from the balcony.
+
+"Skating?" answered Alice, "where?"
+
+"Down on the Midway," said Frances. "As soon as you get your work done,
+you and Mary Jane come around to our front door and Betty and I will be
+ready."
+
+"But Mary Jane doesn't know how to skate," said Alice.
+
+"Betty doesn't either," answered Frances, "but they can take their sleds
+and coast down the sides of the bank while you and I skate."
+
+Alice promised and then she hurried inside to finish her work. She had
+heard about the fine skating on the Midway where the park board flooded
+the sunken greens for the benefit of neighborhood children, but thus far
+the weather had been too mild for any skating, so she hadn't had a chance
+to try it. But a sudden cold snap, with snow enough to cover the sloping
+banks, had provided both skating and coasting.
+
+Well protected with warm mittens and leggings the girls set out and had
+the jolliest kind of a morning. At one end of the ice, the younger folks
+did their coasting, the sloping sides giving a flying start and the smooth
+ice a glorious finish. At the other end the older boys and girls did their
+skating, so there was no mix up or interference.
+
+That morning was the first of many happy Saturday mornings spent on the
+ice. Even Mary Jane got some skates and, with the help of Dadah when he
+could get away from the office, she learned to be a fine skater.
+
+But winter fun never lasts very long. Just about the time Mary Jane
+learned to skate well enough to challenge Alice to a race, the spring sun
+sent the ice to nowhere land and the while-ago ice pond turned to green
+grass! Spring had come.
+
+With the coming of spring, Mary Jane grew very restless. She wasn't sick,
+but something was wrong. Something was making her very solemn and
+sober--quite unlike her usual lively self.
+
+"I know what's the matter with me," she announced one warm sunny morning,
+"I want to dig."
+
+"You want to dig?" exclaimed Mrs. Merrill in amazement, "well, why don't
+you go down and dig in the Holdens' yard? You know Mrs. Holden said you
+might."
+
+"But I don't want to dig in somebody's yard," answered Mary Jane, without
+a spark of interest, "I want to dig in my _own_ yard and have flowers and
+a sand pile and everything right in my own yard, I do."
+
+Mrs. Merrill didn't reply but she did do a lot of thinking and that
+evening she and Mr. Merrill had a long conference.
+
+As a result, at breakfast table the next morning Mr. Merrill said, "How
+would you girls like to have a summer home of your own? A place in the
+woods where we could go as soon as school closes and where you could wear
+bloomers and play in the sand and gather flowers and make garden and all
+the things you love to do but can't do in the city. How would you like
+that?"
+
+Mary Jane and Alice stared at him. Would they _like_ it? anybody could see
+by their faces that they would _love_ it!
+
+"But we wouldn't want to leave you here in Chicago, all summer," objected
+Alice.
+
+"And I wouldn't want to be left," Mr. Merrill assured them. "But I am
+sure, somewhere in the suburbs around Chicago there must be _some place_
+we could get a summer home. And we'll make it our business to find that
+place."
+
+"I thought," began Mrs. Merrill, and then she hesitated.
+
+"Something nice?" asked Alice, encouragingly.
+
+"It would have been nice," admitted Mrs. Merrill, "but likely we couldn't
+do it. I'd been thinking how pleasant it would be to take another trip
+this summer. You know how you girls enjoyed going to Florida. And you
+remember Uncle Hal graduates from Harvard this June. I had been wondering
+if we could go east in time to be there when the festivities are going
+on."
+
+"Oh, mother!" cried Mary Jane, "what fun! I do want to ride on a train, a
+big train with a sleeper and a diner! But then I want to dig, too," she
+added, insistently.
+
+"Then we'll take one thing at a time," suggested Mr. Merrill. "We'll look
+into the question of a summer home--we know we'd all like that. And you
+folks don't know that a very popular uncle would _want_ a grown up sister
+and two small nieces hanging around at commencement time," he added
+teasingly.
+
+"How do you find a summer home?" asked Alice thoughtfully.
+
+"That's what we'll have to discover," laughed Mr. Merrill. "And we'll
+begin this very Saturday afternoon if the weather is fine. We'll take a
+suburban train and ride till we see a place that looks homey and there
+we'll get off and hunt."
+
+The next Saturday was warm and sunny, the kind of a day for bringing
+flowers into bloom and for making little girls want to play out of doors.
+Mrs. Merrill and the girls met Mr. Merrill at his office so as not to lose
+a minute's time, and they hurried right over to the station, and got
+aboard the first suburban train they could find.
+
+"I think this is lots of fun," said Mary Jane as they found their seats,
+"we don't know where we're going--we're just going!" And the train was
+off.
+
+For some time the girls were really discouraged. They passed factories,
+and tenements, and more factories till Mary Jane was sure they were never
+coming to country--real country. But suddenly, when she was about to give
+up, the factories were gone and from the window the girls could see wide
+fields and strips of woods and an occasional brook. Two or three little
+stations were passed and then the train ran through a beautiful stretch of
+woods--rolling woods all leafy and budding and flower decked. The ground
+was fairly covered with early blossoms and trees of wild crab were just
+bursting into pink bloom.
+
+Mary Jane grabbed her coat and started down the aisle.
+
+"Make 'em stop the train, Dadah," she said, "this is where we want to
+live!"
+
+Fortunately at that minute the train really did stop at a small station
+and the Merrills got off and looked around. It didn't take long to explore
+into the woods far enough to find that they had come to the very place
+they were looking for--a spot not too far from the city for Mr. Merrill's
+daily trip and yet wild enough to give the girls some real woods. The
+girls picked flowers as they explored and had such a happy time that it
+was hard work to persuade them to go back to the city when the twilight
+came. But they had found the very place!
+
+Three weeks later Mr. Merrill bought a lot in the heart of the woods, and
+the summer home was no longer a mere dream--it was to be really truly.
+
+"Now," announced Alice, "we'll draw the kind of a house we want. I love to
+draw plans of a house!" She cleared off the dining table, sharpened
+pencils, brought two tablets and insisted that everybody come out and
+help.
+
+And just then the door bell rang.
+
+"Telegram for Merrill!" shouted a voice through the tube and Mary Jane
+pressed the buzzer in a hurry--a telegram usually meant something
+exciting.
+
+It was addressed to Mrs. Merrill and said, "Have all tickets and hotel
+reservations. You and the girls must come." And it was signed by Mrs.
+Merrill's brother.
+
+"If that isn't just like a college boy!" laughed Mrs. Merrill. "For weeks
+he doesn't answer a letter and then he telegraphs! Girls," she added,
+"let's go! Wouldn't you like to go to Boston and see the college and the
+ocean and the White Mountains--and--everything?"
+
+"Oh, mother, _really_?" exclaimed Mary Jane. (She felt as though she must
+be dreaming, things were happening so fast!)
+
+"But what about the summer home?" asked Alice.
+
+"Don't you worry about the summer home," Mr. Merrill assured her, "we'll
+have that summer home just the same. You girls take your trip east. You
+won't be gone more than a couple of weeks--and what are two weeks out of a
+whole summer? And before you go, we'll get the shack all planned and when
+you come back we'll move out."
+
+"Goody! Goody! Goody!" cried Mary Jane happily, "then I can see Uncle Hal
+and ride on the train and dig a garden and _everything_!"
+
+And if you want to hear all about Mary Jane's beautiful trip to Boston and
+the White Mountains, the fun she had sight-seeing and the jolly party on
+"Class Day," you must read--
+
+                       "MARY JANE IN NEW ENGLAND"
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE MARY JANE SERIES
+BY CLARA INGRAM JUDSON
+Cloth, 12mo. Illustrated.
+With picture inlay and wrapper.
+
+[Illustration]
+Mary Jane is the typical American little girl who bubbles over with fun
+and the good things in life. We meet her here on a visit to her
+grandfather's farm where she becomes acquainted with farm life and farm
+animals and thoroughly enjoys the experience. We next see her going to
+kindergarten and then on a visit to Florida, and then--but read the
+stories for yourselves.
+
+Exquisitely and charmingly written are these books which every little girl
+from five to nine years old will want from the first book to the last.
+
+                       1 MARY JANE--HER BOOK
+                       2 MARY JANE--HER VISIT
+                       3 MARY JANE'S KINDERGARTEN
+                       4 MARY JANE DOWN SOUTH
+                       5 MARY JANE'S CITY HOME
+                       6 MARY JANE IN NEW ENGLAND
+                       7 MARY JANE'S COUNTY HOME
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+NEWARK, N. J.               NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+CHICKEN LITTLE JANE SERIES
+_By_ LILY MUNSELL RITCHIE
+
+[Illustration]
+Chicken Little Jane is a Western prairie girl who lives a happy, outdoor
+life in a country where there is plenty of room to turn around. She is a
+wide-awake, resourceful girl who will instantly win her way into the
+hearts of other girls. And what good times she has!--with her pets, her
+friends, and her many interests. "Chicken Little" is the affectionate
+nickname given to her when she is very, very good, but when she misbehaves
+it is "Jane"--just Jane!
+
+                 Adventures of Chicken Little Jane
+                 Chicken Little Jane on the "Big John"
+                 Chicken Little Jane Comes to Town
+
+With numerous illustrations in pen and ink
+By CHARLES D. HUBBARD
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+NEWARK         NEW YORK
+ N. J.          N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Dorothy Whitehill Series
+For Girls
+
+[Illustration]
+Here is a sparkling new series of stories for girls--just what they will
+like, and ask for more of the same kind. It is all about twin sisters, who
+for the first few years in their lives grow up in ignorance of each
+other's existence. Then they are at last brought together and things begin
+to happen. Janet is an independent go-ahead sort of girl; while her sister
+Phyllis is--but meet the twins for yourself and be entertained.
+
+5 Titles, Cloth, large 12mo.,
+Covers in color.
+
+                     1. JANET, A TWIN
+                     2. PHYLLIS, A TWIN
+                     3. THE TWINS IN THE WEST
+                     4. THE TWINS IN THE SOUTH
+                     5. THE TWINS' SUMMER VACATION
+                     6. THE TWINS AND TOMMY JR.
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+NEWARK, N. J. NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+THE POLLY PENDLETON SERIES
+BY DOROTHY WHITEHILL
+
+[Illustration]
+Polly Pendleton is a resourceful, wide-awake American girl who goes to a
+boarding school on the Hudson River some miles above New York. By her
+pluck and resourcefulness, she soon makes a place for herself and this she
+holds right through the course. The account of boarding school life is
+faithful and pleasing and will attract every girl in her teens.
+
+                1 POLLY'S FIRST YEAR AT BOARDING SCHOOL
+                2 POLLY'S SUMMER VACATION
+                3 POLLY'S SENIOR YEAR AT BOARDING SCHOOL
+                4 POLLY SEES THE WORLD AT WAR
+                5 POLLY AND LOIS
+                6 POLLY AND BOB
+
+Cloth, Large 12mo., Illustrated.
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+Newark, N. J. New York, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The Sunny Boy Series
+By RAMY ALLISON WHITE
+
+[Illustration]
+Children, meet Sunny Boy, a little fellow with big eyes and an inquiring
+disposition, who finds the world a large and wonderful thing indeed. And
+somehow there is lots going on, when Sunny Boy is around. Perhaps he helps
+push! In the first book of this new series he has the finest time ever,
+with his Grandpa out in the country. He learns a lot and he helps a lot,
+in his small way. Then he has a glorious visit to the seashore, but this
+is in the next story. And there are still more adventures in the third
+book and fourth book. You will like Sunny Boy.
+
+4 Titles, Cloth, illustrated, 12mo.,
+with colored covers.
+
+                     1. SUNNY BOY IN THE COUNTRY
+                     2. SUNNY BOY AT THE SEASHORE
+                     3. SUNNY BOY IN THE BIG CITY
+                     4. SUNNY BOY IN SCHOOL AND OUT
+                     5. SUNNY BOY AND HIS PLAYMATES
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+PUBLISHERS
+NEWARK, N. J. NEW YORK, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+GOOD STORIES FOR CHILDREN
+(From four to nine years old)
+THE KNEETIME ANIMAL STORIES
+By RICHARD BARNUM
+
+[Illustration]
+In all nursery literature animals have played a conspicuous part; and the
+reason is obvious, for nothing entertains a child more than the antics of
+an animal. These stories abound in amusing incidents such as children
+adore, and the characters are so full of life, so appealing to a child's
+imagination, that none will be satisfied until they have met all of their
+favorites--Squinty, Slicko, Mappo, and the rest.
+
+                    1 Squinty, the Comical Pig.
+                    2 Slicko, the Jumping Squirrel.
+                    3 Mappo, the Merry Monkey.
+                    4 Tum Tum, the Jolly Elephant.
+                    5 Don, a Runaway Dog.
+                    6 Dido, the Dancing Bear.
+                    7 Blackie, a Lost Cat.
+                    8 Flop Ear, the Funny Rabbit.
+                    9 Tinkle, the Trick Pony.
+                    10 Lightfoot, the Leaping Goat.
+                    11 Chunky, the Happy Hippo.
+                    12 Sharp Eyes, the Silver Fox.
+                    13 Nero, the Circus Lion.
+                    14 Tamba, the Tame Tiger.
+                    15 Toto, the Rustling Beaver.
+                    16 Shaggo, the Mighty Buffalo.
+                    17 Winky, the Wily Woodchuck.
+
+Cloth, Large 12mo., Illustrated.
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+Publishers
+Newark, N. J.            New York, N. Y.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The Yank Brown Series
+By DAVID STONE
+Cloth, large 12 mo. Illustrated.
+
+[Illustration]
+When Yank Brown comes to Belmont College as a callow Freshman, there is a
+whole lot that he doesn't know about college life, such as class rushes,
+rivalries, fraternities, and what a lowly Freshman must not do. But he
+does know something about how to play football, and he is a big, likeable
+chap who speedily makes friends.
+
+In the first story of this series we watch Yank buck the line as a
+Halfback. In the second story he goes in for basketball, among many other
+activities of a busy college year. Then there are other stories to
+follow--each brimful of action and interest. This is one of the best
+college series we have seen in a long while.
+
+                    YANK BROWN, HALFBACK
+                    YANK BROWN, FORWARD
+                    YANK BROWN, CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNER
+
+BARSE & HOPKINS
+NEWARK         NEW YORK
+N. J.          N. Y.
+
+(Other volumes in preparation.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Mary Jane's City Home, by Clara Ingram Judson
+
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