Dotty Dimple at Her Grandmothers | Page 5

Dotty Dimple, with her finger in
her mouth; "you don't make Prudy do a single thing!"
"Prudy goes for the ice every morning," replied Mrs. Parlin. "I wish
you to do as I ask you, Alice, and make no more remarks about Mrs.
Gray."
"Yes, 'm," said Dotty in a dreary tone; "mayn't Katie come too? she's
better than nobody."
Katie ran for her hat, delighted to be thought better than nobody. The
milk was put into a little covered tin pail. Dotty watched Ruth as she
strained it, and saw that she poured in not only a quart, but a great deal
more. "Why do you do so?" said Dotty. "That's too much."
"Your grandmother told me to," replied Ruth, washing the milk-pail.
"She said 'Good measure, pressed down and running over.' That's her
way of doing things."
"But I don't believe grandma 'spected you to press it down and run it all
over. Why, there's enough in this pail to make a pound of butter. Come,
Katie."
"Let me do some help," said the little one, catching hold of the handle,
and making the pail much heavier. Dotty endured the weight as long as
she could; then, gently pushing off the "little hindering" hand, she
said,--

"And now, as we go along, we might as well be playing, Flyaway."
"Fwhat?"
"Playing a play, dear. We'll make believe you're the queen with a gold
crown on your head."
Katie put her hand to her forehead.
"O, no, dear; you haven't anything on your head now but the
broadest-brimmedest kind of a hat; we'll call it a crown. And I'm the
king that's married to you."
"O, yes, mallied."
"And we're going--going--"
"Rouspin," suggested Flyaway.
"No; great people like us don't go raspberrying. Sit down here, Queenie,
under this acorn tree, and I'll tell you; we're going to the castle."
"O, yes, the cassil?"
"Where we keep our throne, dear, and our gold dresses."
"Does we have any gold dollies to the cassil?"
"O, yes, Queenie; all sizes."
"Does we have," continued Flyaway, winking slowly, "does we
have--dip toast?"
"Why, Queenie, what should we want of that? Yes, we can have dip
toast, I s'pose; the girl can make it on the gold stove, with a silver
pie-knife. But we shall have nicer things than ever you saw."
"Nicer than turnipers?"

"Pshaw! turnovers are nothing, Queenie; we shall give them to the
piggy. We shall live on wedding cake and strawberries. Tea and coffee,
and such low things, we shall give to ducks. O, what ducks they will be!
They will sing tunes such as canaries don't know how. We'll give them
our tea and coffee, and we'll drink--what d'ye call it? O, here's some."
Dotty took up the pail.
"You see how white it is; sugar frosting in it. Drink a little, it's so nice."
"It tastes just like moolly cow's milk," said Flyaway, wiping her lips
with her finger.
"No," said Dotty, helping herself; "it's nectar; that's what Susy says
they drink; now I remember."
"Stop!" said a small voice in the ear of Dotty's spirit; "that is what I
should call taking other people's things."
"Poh!" said Dotty, sipping again; "it's grandpa's cow. When Jennie
Vance takes cake, it's wicked, because--because it is. This is only play,
you know."
Dotty took another draught.
"Come, Queenie," said she, "let's be going to the castle."
Katie sprang up so suddenly that she fell forward on her nose, and said
her foot was "dizzy." It had been taking a short nap as she sat on the
stump; but she was soon able to walk, and shortly the royal pair arrived
at the castle, which was, in plain language, a wooden house painted
white.
"So you have come at last," said Mrs. Gray, from the door-way. "They
don't milk very early at your house--do they?"
"No, ma'am, not so very."
"Have you seen anything of my little Charlie?"

"No, ma'am, not since a great while ago,--before supper."
"How is your grandfather?"
"Pretty well, thank you, ma'am."
"No, gampa isn't," said Katie, decidedly; "he's deaf."
"And what about your Aunt Maria? Didn't I see her go off in the stage
this morning?"
"Yes, 'm," replied Dotty, determined to give no more information than
was necessary.
"She's gone off," struck in Katie; "gone to Dusty, my mamma has."
"Ah indeed! to Augusta?" repeated Mrs. Gray, thoughtfully. "Any of
your friends sick there?"
"No, ma'am," replied Dotty, scowling at her shoes.
"She's gone," continued Katie, gravely, "to buy me Free Little Kittens."
Mrs. Gray smiled. "I should think your mother could find kittens
enough in this town, without going to Augusta. I thought I saw Horace
on the top of the stage, but I wasn't sure."
Dotty made no reply.
"Hollis was," cried Katie, eagerly; "he goed