Brother and Sister | Page 3

hair was
curly and her eyes were blue. She had pink cheeks and wore a blue
dress and a white apron with a frilly bib, and altogether, Brother
thought privately, she looked very nice indeed.
"I'm very glad to get that pattern," she told him, patting the long leaves
of the fern and spreading them out to catch the rain. "I've a magazine
you can take back to Mother, dearie, and an old fashion book Sister
will like for paper dolls. Come into the sitting-room while I find them
for you. Take off your rubbers, child."
Brother followed her into the house and there Aunt Kate swooped upon
him and tickled him as she always did. Aunt Kate was a school teacher.
In summer she tutored backward pupils. She was on her way to give a
lesson now and in a few minutes she went away merrily into the
driving rain. That left Grandmother and Brother to entertain each other.
"Do you know what Ralph is going to give me for a birthday present,
Grandmother?" Brother asked, dropping flat on his stomach to play

jungle with the tigerskin that lay before the fireplace. "He says if I'm
not tall enough I can't have it. But he's bought it all ready--he said so."
Brother, you see, would be six years old in a few days. He couldn't help
thinking a great deal about his birthday.
Grandmother and Brother had no secrets from each other, though
sometimes they planned surprises for the other members of the family.
"No, I don't know what Ralph plans to give you," admitted
Grandmother. "Don't try to find out, dearie. It is much nicer to be
surprised. Why, you know you wouldn't have a bit of fun next
Wednesday if you knew what your presents were to be."
Brother was willing to be surprised, because Wednesday wasn't so long
to wait. Still he thought he would like to know what Ralph's present
was. Ralph was his dearest brother, and he had a happy knack of
always giving Brother and Sister exactly what they wanted. Louise and
Grace were apt to make them presents which were useful, like pretty
socks and hair-ribbons for Sister, and gloves and handkerchiefs for
Brother, but Ralph never did anything like that.
"I've dropped a stitch in my knitting," said Grandmother suddenly.
"Brother, I wonder if you could run upstairs and bring me my glasses? I
think they are on the bureau in my room."
Brother ran upstairs and went into Grandmother's pretty bedroom.
There were white and silver things on her bureau and a little gold jewel
box and several bottles of different colors. But, though Brother looked
carefully, he could not find the glasses.
He went out into the hall.
"Oh, Grandma!" he called. "Your glasses aren't on the bureau."
"Dear, dear," sighed Grandmother. "'Let me see, where can they be? Do
you know, Brother, I'm afraid I have left them in my black silk bag on
the closet shelf. Can you get it, or shall I come up?"

"I can get it," answered Brother confidently. "You wait, Grandma."
The closet shelf was pretty high, but Brother carried a chair to the
closet door and by standing on it he was able to reach the shelf.
Goodness, what was more, he could see the things on the shelf.
And they were bundles!
One--two--three--Brother counted three mysterious paper bundles, tied
with brown string.
Now you know if you had a birthday due most any minute and your
head was full of the presents you hoped to receive, and you saw three
bundles on the shelf in your grandma's closet, you know you would
probably do just what Brother did; poke your finger into the top bundle.
Brother poked. Then he prodded. The top bundle slipped and carried
the other two with it. Brother was brushed off the chair and three
bundles and one boy landed in a heap on the floor.
"Brother!" cried Grandma, who had come up to see what kept him so
long. "Are you hurt?"
"No'm," answered Brother, rather foolishly. "I was just feeling these
bundles, Grandma, to see--to--see----"
"Whether they were birthday presents?" smiled Grandma. "Well, dearie,
they are nothing but blankets tied up to send to the cleaners. I'm glad,
for your sake, they were, for you might have hurt yourself, otherwise,
as it is, they were soft and thick for you to fall on."
"I'll get the glasses now," murmured Brother hastily.
He climbed up on the chair again and this time found without any
trouble the black bag which held Grandma's glasses.
"Mother is waving a handkerchief--that means she wants you," said
Grandmother, glancing from the window. "Scoot along, dear, and don't
think too much about the birthday till it comes. Here are the magazines.

And here's a