Alice Hale Burnett

“ Won't you young ladies take a chance?" said a boy, stepping up to them and waving a handful of tickets.
"How do we know she's beautiful?" asked Uncle Billy. "We'd like to see her first."
"Only a few tickets left," urged the boy, "you'd better take them now. The doll's right over there in the glass case for you to look at." ”

“ They're blue like your's, Mary," remarked Jerry.
Uncle Billy, who had said nothing up to this time, now drew a letter from his pocket from which he tore three little strips of paper.
[Pg 56] "I'm going to chance her all over again," he declared. "Each of you take a slip. The shortest wins the doll."
"Not I," objected Jerry, "because I've had a balloon ride and I loved it more than anything else. Let Beth and Mary choose."
"Oh, that wouldn't be fair," protested Mary.
"Yes, it is," agreed Uncle Billy. "I understand. Jerry doesn't want to be selfish." ”

“ When the ride was over they walked to the other side of the grounds, where a great crowd had gathered.
"What is it?" asked Jerry. "What is the fun about?" for everyone seemed to be laughing.
[Pg 29] Uncle Billy soon found a place for the girls near the inner circle, and to their great surprise they saw a number of boys trying to catch some very shiny little black pigs within a small enclosure. The crowd roared with delight whenever a pig would slip through the fingers of the boy trying to catch him.
"What makes them so shiny?" asked Beth, "and why do they want to catch them?" ”

“ CHAPTER IX HOME AGAIN
"If we're going to get home before dark, as I promised, we'd better be moving along," said Uncle Billy. "I expect to find a man with our car outside the grounds."
The three girls arose reluctantly from their seat on the long bench.
"Well, I suppose the very best of days must come to an end," sighed Jerry.
"Why, it hasn't ended yet," said Beth, cheeringly. "We still have the long ride home, and you must sit in front, for [Pg 59] I'm sure Mary and I will have our hands full to keep Elizabeth Geraldine from falling out." ”

“ Geraldine, whom of course we know better as Jerry, plays the part of hostess to her many friends, although it must be admitted that her guests knew of the affair before she did. A jolly evening is spent by the girls which is shared in by some of our young Merryvale boy friends.
MARY ENTERTAINS THE SEWING CLUB
Mary entertains the club at her home, and the efforts of some of the members cause many outbursts of merriment. The girls decide to hold a "fair of all nations" for the benefit of the Merryvale Day Nursery. Their many friends aid them and their plans succeed beyond their expectations. ”

“ Uncle Billy started off at once to meet it and while the girls were busily packing the things back into the basket he was [Pg 24] telling the man who drove the wagon about their mishap.
"You can all come along with me to town and then send some one back with gasoline to fetch in your car, if you like. I'm driving in to the county fair," explained the farmer.
"Fine!" decided Uncle Billy. "We'll do it." So in great haste the girls were soon swung up, one by one, to the top of the hay. Then Uncle Billy climbed on.
"All aboard!" he shouted, and at the word the farmer started his team. ”

“ It took but a moment for Jerry to reach the house and in another she had reached the room where her mother sat sewing.
"Oh, it's going to be such fun! May I go? The whole day, and a motor ride, and a surprise, too. Isn't it sweet of Beth?"
"Jerry, what are you talking about?" asked Mrs. White; "a motor ride and a surprise; what do you mean, dear?"
"Oh," giggled Jerry, "I always get mixed up when I talk fast," and standing beside her mother, she explained about the invitation she had just received from Beth. ”

“ It's almost like being a bird."
Uncle Billy bent down to look at [Pg 41] Jerry as they arose higher into the air.
"Is it as fine as you thought it would be?" he asked.
"Oh, it's heaps nicer," she cried, clapping her hands. "See how small everything is down there, and do you see the merry-go-round? What would Mary and Beth think if they knew?"
"Over those hills is Merryvale," he pointed out. "That road winding in and out leads into the town. It's the one we came by." ”

“ You're only a foot high and fat as a butter ball."
The three girls laughed until they cried, as Uncle Billy bowed and smiled at himself before the mystic mirror that made the tallest person seem short and squatty.
"Let's ride on the merry-go-round," proposed Beth; "it's almost ready to start."
[Pg 28] "Jump aboard," ordered her uncle, "I'll see to the tickets."
Jerry had at once chosen a very wild-looking lion to ride upon, but Mary and Beth decided on two beautiful white horses, that rose up and down on the iron rods that ran through their wooden bodies, as the platform circled about. ”

“ Of course we would not let all of the gas out, but just enough to let it sink to the ground. Why, you little monkey," added Uncle Billy, "I believe you wanted it to break away," and he laughed at her daring.
After the balloon ropes were well tested, both climbed into the basket where two women passengers were already standing beside the attendant.
[Pg 40]
"Only fifty cents for ten minutes above the clouds," shouted the man selling tickets, "step this way and get off the earth."
"He's trying to be funny, isn't he?" laughed Jerry as she held tightly to the basket's edge. ”

“ The description of the final game with the team of a rival town, and the outcome thereof, form a stirring narrative. One of the best baseball stories of recent years.
Great Hike; or, The Pride of The Khaki Troop
After weeks of preparation the scouts start out on their greatest undertaking. Their march takes them far from home, and the good-natured rivalry of the different patrols furnishes many interesting and amusing situations.
Endurance Test; or, How Clear Grit Won the Day
Few stories "get" us more than illustrations of pluck in the face of apparent failure. ”

“ Uncle Billy then gave each of the girls one of the tickets he had bought and kept the fourth one himself.
At a nod from the man, the little girl [Pg 54] stretched out her hand and plunged it down into the box.
"Just take one of them out," directed the man and the little tot smilingly obeyed, holding up one of the pieces of cardboard.
"Number 97 wins the doll," called the man from the box, as his eyes swept the eager crowd. ”

“ Beth, who had now taken the front seat, sat close to Uncle Billy as they sped toward home.
"You're the very best uncle in the world," she told him. "We've all been happy, but I've been the happiest of all."
"You always will be, Beth, because you have found out that the greatest joy is in doing for others."
THE END
THE MERRYVALE GIRLS By ALICE HALE BURNETT
Four delightful books for the smaller girls, each a complete story in itself, describing in simple language the interesting experiences of Beth, Mary and Jerry, three little maids of Merryvale. ”

“ Wild Animals of the United States—Tracking—Trees and Wild Flowers of the United States—Reptiles of the United States—Fishes of the Unite States—Insects of the United States and Birds of the United States. ”