Mary Jane - Her Visit | Page 8

have guessed there were
four, they were so tiny, only she saw the four little black noses and four
pairs of beady black eyes.
"You darlingest!" she exclaimed happily, and sat right down in the hay
beside the basket to watch them. She reached her finger in and touched
their silky little backs; she watched them snuggle down tight and
tighter together and she altogether forgot about Bob and egg-hunting
and Grandmother and everything, she was so delighted. But Bob didn't
forget about her, not he.
For a while he waited patiently at the bottom of the ladder. He seemed
to know that she might have to hunt a while for the basket. But as the
minutes went by and she didn't come and didn't come, he grew more
and more restless. He whined, and he walked around the barn and he
looked out the door. Then he came back to the foot of the ladder and
put his front feet on the highest step he could reach.
But still there was no sign of Mary Jane coming down. And for her part,

the little girl was so interested in her mice that she wouldn't have
noticed had he barked out loud.
Finally he could stand it no longer. With a sudden turn, as though he
had quickly made up his mind something must be done, he ran out of
the barn and up to the kitchen door.
Grandmother Hodges saw him and supposed Mary Jane was with him
so she called kindly, "Did you find the basket, dear?"
No answer.
"Bring it in here for me to dust it off, Mary Jane," she added.
No answer.
"That's funny," she exclaimed; "what ails the child?" And she stepped
to the door to see why Mary Jane didn't answer.
That was exactly what Bob wanted her to do. The minute he saw she
was coming to the door he bounded off in the direction of the barn.
Grandmother understood at once, as Bob had known she would, and
without even stopping to drop the tea towel she had in her hand she
followed him out to the barn.
Bob ran ahead, turning two or three times to make sure she was coming,
till he reached the foot of the ladder. There he danced around as though
he was trying to say, "Now I've brought you here, do see what's the
matter!"
"Is she up there yet, Bob?" asked Grandmother wonderingly. Then she
called, "Mary Jane! Mary Jane! Mary Jane!"
"Oh, Grandmother!" replied the little girl, hearing for the first time,
"they're the cunningest! Do come see!"
"Whatever has the child found!" she exclaimed, but she went up the
ladder just the same to make sure Mary Jane was happy.
It wasn't more than a minute before Grandmother, too, was down in the
hay, admiring the little mice till even Mary Jane was satisfied. "You're
a good one," she said, "to find such a nice family right away. This old
basket's been here for years, but that looks like a brand new nest and a
brand new family. You'll have something to tell your sister about when
she comes now, won't you?"
"And may I take them down to the house?" asked Mary Jane.
"Look behind you and see if you want to," answered Grandmother.
Mary Jane turned and looked as she was told and she saw, peeping out
from behind the hay, the distressed face of mother mouse. Poor thing!

She was so afraid something terrible was happening to her babies!
"No, I don't want to," said Mary Jane promptly. "I want to keep them
right here and come up and see them whenever I want to."
"That's best," agreed Grandmother. "You come with me and I'll find
you another basket and then you and Bob and I will hunt eggs."
So that is the way Mary Jane happened to have a pretty, brand new,
pink basket for hunting eggs: and that's why they were so late getting
the eggs that it was almost supper time before they were through.

THE MYSTERIOUS BUNDLES
For three days after Mary Jane came to visit her grandparents, the sun
shone bright and warm and the little girl spent all the time out of doors.
She raced around the yard with Bob; she played with the lamb in the
wood across the road; she watched her grandfather feed the little pigs;
she fed the chickens and hunted eggs. And, the most fun of all, she
watched the baby mice in the dusky, sweet-smelling hay loft. Till,
really, by the time she had had her supper of bread and milk, Mary Jane
was ready to tumble into bed and sleep straight through the night
without ever a thought of being homesick.
But the minute she awakened on