Dotty Dimple at Her Grandmothers | Page 5

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 to Dusty too. I fink they put Hollis in jail!"
"In jail!" exclaimed Mrs. Gray, throwing up her hands.
"He stealed, Hollis did," added Katie, solemnly.
"Hush, Katie, hush!" whispered Dotty Dimple, seizing the child by the hand and hurrying her away. Mrs. Gray followed the children to the door.
"What does she mean, Dotty! what can she have heard?"
"She doesn't mean anything, ma'am," replied Dotty, beginning to run; "and she hasn't heard anything, either."
Dotty's behavior was so odd, that Mrs. Gray's curiosity was aroused. For the moment she quite forgot her anxiety about her little Charlie, who had been missing for some time.
"What made you say Horace stole?" said Dotty, as soon as they were out of hearing.
"Hollis did," answered Katie, catching her breath; "he stealed skosh seeds out of gampa's razor cupbard."
"What did Horace want of squash seeds?"
"He eated 'em; I sawed him!"
"There, you're the funniest baby, Katie Clifford! Now you've been and made Mrs. Gray think your brother's carried to jail."
This was not quite true. Mrs. Gray had no idea Horace had been taken to jail; but she did fancy something had gone wrong at Mrs. Parlin's. She put on her bonnet and ran across the road