eyes sparkled, and so did Leigh's. "We'd have him between us,Mary," said Leigh. "We must ask papa. _You'd_ better ask him becauseof its being your birthday, you know."
Just then they heard nurse's voice, she had been waiting for Artie whilehe had another ride on the stile.
"Master Leigh and Miss Mary, where are you?" she said. "We must begetting on."
The children thanked the smith and ran after her, full of the offerwhich had been made to them.
"Oh, nurse," said Mary, when they had told her of it. "Just fink of allmy birfday presents! A baby sister and a baby dog, and all my notherthings," and she gave a great sigh of pleasure.
"Yes, indeed, Miss Mary," said nurse. "I don't think you'll ever forgetyour fourth birthday."
CHAPTER FIVE.
WITH PAPA.
The children's father came back late that night, but too late for themto see him. And the next morning he had to be off again, this time fortwo whole days together, so there was no chance of asking him about thedog. Leigh and Mary spoke of it to their mother, but dogs are thingsthat papas have most to do with, and she could only say, "You must askpapa."
It was rather trying to have to wait so long to know about it, or atleast it would have been so if Mary had not had so many otherinteresting things to think about just then. There were all herbirthday presents, her "regular" birthday presents, as the boys calledthem, which were still of course quite new, not to speak of the baby,which seemed to Mary more wonderful every time she saw her.
Unless you really live with a baby, and that, as you know, had neverhappened to Mary before, you can have no idea how very interestingbabies are, even when they are so tiny that they can do nothing but goto sleep and wake again, and cry when they are hungry, and stretchthemselves and yawn, and make oh! such funny faces! Why, that is quitea long list of things to do already, and there are ever so many morequeer little ways about a baby when you come to notice them. Even itslittle pink toes seemed to Mary the prettiest and funniest things shehad ever seen in her life.
Leigh and she fixed together that, till they had asked their fatherabout the dog, they would not go past the smithy.
"It only makes us fink about it," said Mary.
And nurse, who, to tell the truth, was not very eager for them to getthe puppy, was not sorry when the children asked her not to pass thatway.
"Miss Mary is still frightened of Yakeman's dogs," she thought toherself, "and it's just as well. I don't know whatever we'd do if wehad to take a puppy out walks with us as well as Miss Baby."
For of course nurse knew that before long, when the baby grew a littlebigger, she would come to live in the nursery altogether and go outwalks with the others. Just at first nurse would carry her, but afterawhile she would go in the new perambulator which nurse had set herheart upon getting.
That reminds me of Mary's present from her father and mother, which, asI told you, was a doll's perambulator. It was a great amusement to themall, not only to Mary. You have no idea what a lot of fun you can getout of a doll's perambulator. It was not only the dolls that wentdrives in it; the children tried several other things which did notsucceed very well. The kitten for one did not like it at all. Leighcaught it one day, when there was no one else to take a drive, for thedolls had all got very bad colds, and Doctor Artie had said that theymust on no account go out. Mary looked very grave at this, but ofcourse the doctor's orders had to be obeyed.
"What shall we do?" she said sadly. "It will be so dull to go out awalk wifout the perambulator," for till now the dolls had had a driveevery day.
"Leave it to me," said Leigh, "you'll find some one all ready waitingwhen you come down to go out."
And sure enough when nurse and Mary arrived at the door, there was theperambulator, and seated in the doll's place, or rather tied into it,was a very queer figure indeed--the kitten, as I told you, looking andfeeling perfectly miserable.
Leigh had done his best to make it comfortable. He had tied it in witha large soft handkerchief very cleverly, but it was mewing piteously allthe same.
"Come along quick, Mary," he said, "Kitty's in a great hurry to be off;she doesn't like being kept waiting, that's what she's saying."
Mary looked as if she was not quite sure if that was what Kitty's mewsreally meant, but of course, as Leigh was so much bigger and older, shethought he must know best. So she began pushing the perambulator, verygently at first, for fear of frightening poor pussy, who was so muchastonished at feeling herself moving that for a moment or two she leftoff mewing.
"There now," said Leigh, "you see how she likes it. Go faster, Mary."
Mary set off running as fast as she could, which was not very fast,however, for at four years old, one's legs are still very short, but shedid her best, as she wanted to please Leigh and the kitten too. Thegarden path was smooth and it was a little down hill. Leigh scamperedon in front, Mary coming after him rather faster than she meant. Indeedshe began to have a queer feeling that her legs were running away withher, when all of a sudden there came a grand upset. Mary found herselfon the ground, on the top of the perambulator, and even before she hadtime to pick herself up her little voice was heard crying out:
"Oh poor Kitty! I'se felled on the top of poor Kitty!"
But no, Kitty was not as much to be pitied as Mary herself, for the poorlittle girl's knees were sadly scratched by the gravel and one of herhands was really bleeding. While, there was Kitty, galloping home ingreat glee--Leigh's handkerchief spreading out behind her like a lady'strain.
Mary scarcely knew whether to laugh or _cry_. I think she did a littleof both. Leigh wanted to catch pussy again, but nurse would not hear ofit, and proposed instead that they should use the perambulator to bringhome a beautiful lot of primroses for their mother, from the woods.
After this adventure with the kitten, Leigh tried one or two other"tricks," as nurse called them. He wanted to make a coachman of one ofhis guinea-pigs, who sat quite still as long as he had a leaf of lettuceto munch, but when that was done let himself roll out like a ball overand over again, till even Leigh got tired of catching him and puttinghim back. Artie's pet rabbit did no better, and then it was decidedthat when the dolls were ill it would be best to use the perambulator asa cart, for fetching flowers and fir-cones and all sorts of things.This was such fun that the dolls were often obliged to stay at home,even when their colds were not very bad.
And for nearly a week the children kept away from the smithy. Papa hadbeen home during that week, of course, and they had tried to ask aboutthe puppy. But he was very busy and hurried; all he could say was thathe must see the dog first, and that of course he had had no time for.
At last there came a morning on which, when the children went down tosee their father after the nursery breakfast, they found him sittingcomfortably at the table pouring himself out a second cup of nice hotcoffee and reading the newspaper, as if he was not in a hurry at all.
"Oh papa," said Leigh, "how jolly it is to see you like that, instead ofgobbling up your breakfast as if the train was at the door."
"If the train came as near as that I shouldn't be so hurried," said hisfather laughing, but Mary did not look quite pleased.
"Papa doesn't gobble," she said. "Leigh shouldn't speak that way, it'slike gooses and turkeys."
"I didn't mean that kind of gobbling," said Leigh. "Turkeysgobble-wobble--it's their way of talking. I didn't mean _that_ ofpapa."
Mary still looked rather doubtful, but her father caught her up and sether on his knee with a kiss.
"Thank you, my princess," he said, "for standing up for your poor oldfather. Now, what can I do for you? I've got a nice long holidaybefore me, all to-day and all to-morrow at home, so I'm quite at yourservice."
Mary looked up. She did not quite understand what "quite at yourservice" meant, and it was her way when she did not understand anythingto think it over for a moment or two before she asked to have itexplained. It is not a bad way to do, because there are often things a
child can get to understand by a little thinking, and some children havea silly way of never using their own minds if they can help it.
"Why don't you answer, Mary?" said Leigh. "I know what _I'd_ say, ifpapa offered to do anything I wanted, and I think you might rememberwhat we're all wanting so much."
Mary's face cleared.
"I didn't understand," she said. "But I do now. O papa dear, will youcome and see the sweet little doggie at the smiffy? We've been waitingand waiting."
"Oh dear," said her father, "I'd forgotten all about it. Yes, of courseI'll