Sherred Willcox Adams

“ There was a farm with fences, houses, horses, cows, and chickens. There were people too—a man, a woman, and two children. Everything was made of clay. There was a tall clay lighthouse and around it were clay ships and boats.
"What splendid toys," said Paul. "Did Santa Claus bring them?"
"I made them myself," said Dick proudly. "My back and legs aren't much good but my fingers do whatever I want them to. Whenever I am lonely I think of something to make and then my fingers make it. ”

“ One very warm day Mary said, "Let's play dairy."
"All right," said Betty.
"All right," echoed Peggy and Dot. "You show us how."
So Mary brought two big pans and two pieces of soap from the kitchen. She filled the pans with water and put a piece of soap in each pan. Then she told the other children to watch the cream rise. She began to shake the soap about in the water, and the suds rose higher and higher.
"It's rather white cream," she said, "but we can play it comes from a cow named Snowball."
"It's splendid cream," cried the three little girls. "May we help make it?" ”

“ In Polly's pen nothing could be seen but a big cage with a black cover over it. Not one bright feather showed. Not a single sound came from the cage.
Snowball and her kittens were curled up in their box. They were as quiet as mice. All three had red and blue ribbons around their necks.
The pen with Arrow's name on it was empty. On the ground some grain was scattered. By the grain were three light gray feathers. But no living airplane could be seen. "Where can he be?" the children asked.
Just then Bob came out in front of the children. He was dressed like a real showman. ”

“ I wish I knew where, for turkey eggs are scarce this year. If you four children will find her nest I will pay you ten cents for each egg in it."
The little girls were very much excited.
"Just suppose," said Betty, "that we find a nest with six eggs in it. That will be sixty cents. What shall we buy with so much money?"
"Wouldn't it be fun to get Father to take us to the store and let us buy things for a picnic?" said Mary.
"Oh, yes, let's have a picnic," cried Peggy and Betty.
"But first," said wise little Dot, "we must find Brown Betty's nest." ”

“ Then away he marched, scolding to himself about little girls who played silly games.
One afternoon the children were out in the orchard playing "lady." Mary and Betty were the mothers in the game. Peggy and Dot were the children.
Betty had on a long skirt and a fine grown-lady's hat. Mary had a scarf trailing on the ground instead of a long skirt, and she carried her mother's very best umbrella. It was a bright red one that could be used for sun as well as rain. It made Mary feel very grown-up indeed. The two "play" families made their homes under the trees. ”

“ The children peeped in at Big Ben, with nice safe-afraid shivers going down their backs. Then Mary said, "Come let's go to the farmyard."
The farmyard was a very busy place. "I never saw so many pets in all my life," said Betty. But Mary knew them all. She showed them Mrs. Speckle with her family of little baby chicks that looked like fluffy, yellow balls bobbing around her.
Next she pointed out Mrs. Black Hen with her larger children. Some of these chickens were losing their feathers. How Mary did laugh when Peggy cried, "See, those poor little chickens are peeling off!" ”

“ Bob and Paul never grew tired of hearing them. Every day they came to the cottage. Captain John was always there sitting in the doorway, with his cane by his side. He was always ready to tell them an exciting true story of the sea.
One day a big gray cat was curled up at Captain John's feet. "Is pussy your pet, Captain John?" asked Bob. "No, little lad," said the old man. "She belongs to my daughter. My pet is almost as old as I am. She's a brave old friend. We have stuck by each other for over fifty years. We've seen hard times and good times together. ”

“ Very carefully the four little girls peeped through the leaves and bushes.
Can you guess what they saw?
There, walking about in an open place in the woods, was Brown Betty, and running beside her and talking to her in turkey talk were eight baby turkeys.
How excited the children were! They all wanted to run to the farmhouse with the good news. But at last they drew lots to see who should go.
"I will hold four daisies," said Peggy, "and each of you may take one. The girl who gets the daisy with the longest stem may run ahead. If you leave the longest one in my hand, I will go." ”

“ Next Bob and Betty had their turn. After that little Dot took care of the fish all by herself. The other children had turns too. But this story is about the five little children whose names you know.
One day Miss West said to the children, "How many of you little girls and boys have pets of your own?"
A great many hands were raised.
"I have!" said Bob.
"I have!" said Paul.
"I have," "I have," "I have," said Betty and Peggy and little Dot.
"I have thought of a fine plan," said Miss West. "Each day one child may tell the other children about his pet." ”

“ Ray would be greatly worried about them.
"I'll write to you," said Paul to Dick, "and I'll send you some of my books with pictures in them. Then you can make more things."
How glad Paul's mother was when her little boy and his daddy reached home. That night she came in to tuck him snugly in bed.
"Is my little boy sorry this is his last night at Fairport?" she asked.
"No, Mother," said Paul. "I hate to leave Captain John, and the cave, and the beach, and the ocean; but I want to get home. I want to see Bob and Betty and Peggy and Dot. I want them to help me do something for Dick." ”

“ Mary replied.
Then each little girl took a tin cup and followed Mr. White and Billy to the pasture where Bonny-Belle and Bess stood waiting. Billy let down the bars and the cows came into the barnyard. Mr. White milked Bonny-Belle and Billy milked Bess.
The little girls stood near and watched.
How Mr. White and Billy laughed when little Dot said, "Oh, is that the way you get milk on a farm? We get ours out of bottles." ”

“ The children enjoyed Paul's story as much as they had Dot's. They thought Hero was a fine name for such a brave dog. They said Paul was a lucky boy to have a pet like that.
On another day little Dot was blindfolded. The slip of paper she drew had this name on it—Betty. So it was Betty's turn to tell about her pet. This is what she told:
"My pet is a pigeon. He is not just a common pigeon like the ones on the church roof. He is a carrier pigeon. My Uncle Fred brought him from France. He calls him the living airplane. Can you tell why? ”

“ He goes right along. He does not stop or look around. When he comes to our house he sets the basket down. Then he watches it until Mother comes. If anyone calls, 'Here, Hero,' he pricks up his ears, but he will not move from his place.
"One day I tried to coax him away with a big bone. I know the bone looked and smelled good to Hero. He sniffed the air and looked at the bone with hungry brown eyes, but he never moved from the basket.
"Last summer we went to the seashore. We took Hero with us. One day I was on the beach, playing in the sand. Hero was lying asleep in the sun. ”

“ When the magic ring was placed around a lovely mossy spot they began to set the table for the feast.
"We'll give them cake and some ripe strawberries," said Betty.
"But fairies eat dewdrops served on rose leaves," said Peggy.
"When they come to a party given by little girls, they eat just what little girls give them. You'll see," said Betty. So the moss table was set with leaf plates, and on each plate were a ripe, red strawberry and a fairy-size piece of cake. When everything was ready the [87] children danced around the magic ring three times to make it more magic. ”

“ One day Bob and Paul found a very nice bottle on the beach. It had a tight cork so that the water could not soak in. At first they thought they would hide it in their treasure cave. But that didn't seem exciting enough. So they thought and thought what to do with it. At last Bob said, "I know! Let's write our names and where we live on a piece of paper and put it in the bottle. Then let's throw the bottle out to sea." So he wrote: [114]
They put the paper in the bottle and corked the bottle tightly. ”

“ Dot called after him, "but I wish you wouldn't kiss me with your tongue all over my face."
The morning of the picnic was bright and clear. There was great excitement in the kitchen and pantry. Mrs. White and Molly, the maid, were fixing the lunch, but the four little girls couldn't help popping in every few minutes to take a peep. The two other mothers peeped too. What they saw made them wish that they were to be invited to the picnic. But this time only the four little girls who had found Brown Betty were to go. ”

“ Then some fishermen will catch him and kill him. When they cut him open they will find the bottle, and when they read our names they will know we are the boys who helped them get the great big whale."
"Or," said Bob, "suppose the bottle goes out to sea and a man in a seaplane sees it and opens it. And suppose he comes flying to Fairport and when he lands here he asks where we are. Then when he finds [116] us he takes us for a long, long ride in his seaplane."
It was great fun supposing. The next morning Bob and Paul went to the beach all ready to have some more supposes. ”

“ Dandy went faster and faster. It was very exciting. At last Dandy stopped running. Then Bob led him back to the pen. There the little pony munched the corn happily.
Next it was Peggy's turn to show Polly. Showman Bob brought out a table. Then he helped Peggy put Polly's big cage on it. Peggy lifted the black cloth. There was Polly! She was the greenest, reddest, funniest parrot you ever saw. She winked her eyes, shook her feathers, and called out, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" The children laughed; but they did not get up. [39] So General Polly sang out, "Get busy! Get busy! Get busy!" ”

“ We know the blind man will thank you too when he gets his new dog. The show will now close with a grand parade!"
Then Bob made a showman's bow and went behind the school-house. Soon a drum began to beat—tum, tum, tum. The parade was coming! First marched Showman Bob beating the drum. Behind him was Betty carrying a big American flag. On her shoulder was Arrow, the living airplane. Next came brave old Hero pulling a little cart. In the cart were Snowball, Fluff, and Muff and what was left of Daddy's hat. Dot marched beside the cart. After them came Dandy. ”

“ Is it feeding time?" he said. "Too-ok, too-ok, too-ok. I must see; I must see; I must see." With that he flapped his great [94] red wings and flew up on the side of the pan.
Now Red Chief was a heavy rooster and the pan was not very firm. Down tumbled the pan and Red Chief together. The make-believe cream and milk went all over him. Such a wet, cross, disgusted rooster you never saw! "Too-ok, too-ok, too-ok," he croaked, as he shook the soapsuds from his feathers. ”

“ They were swimming about in the water.
"Little folks," said Miss West, "these are our school pets. We must feed them and give them fresh water. Then they will live a long time and we can have fun watching them."
The children stood around the bowl. They watched the fish swim and float. They laughed when one fish chased another round and round the bowl. He looked very funny with his big mouth wide open.
Soon Miss West showed the children how to feed the fish. After that they took turns in caring for them. Paul and Peggy had the first turn. ”

“ So they set to work with Mary as leader. They found a hollow tree with plenty of room in it. Next they gathered all the soft, velvety moss they could find. With this they made a thick green carpet on the floor. Then they made green moss furniture too. They had a bed, a couch, a table, and a chair. [70]
"We should have some one to live in our green, mossy house," said Peggy. "Let's go to the meadow and gather some daisies and make little flower people out of them." ”

“ Even the children who had pets in the show had to pay.
When the big children heard about the Pet Show they bought tickets too. Then they helped the five little friends get ready for the show.
The school yard was the show ground. The big boys made a gate for the people to come through. They made pens for all the animals. ”