Racketty-Packetty House | Page 4

behind the door for the present and then
it shall be carried down-stairs and burned. It's too disgraceful to be kept
in any decent nursery.'"
"Oh!" cried out Peter Piper.
"Oh!" said Gustibus.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" said Meg and Peg and Kilmanskeg. "Will they burn our
dear old shabby house? Do you think they will?" And actually tears
began to run down their cheeks.
Peter Piper sat down on the floor all at once with his hands stuffed in
his pockets.
"I don't care how shabby it is," he said. "It's a jolly nice old place and
it's the only house we've ever had."
"I never want to have any other," said Meg.
Gustibus leaned against the wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"I wouldn't move if I was made King of England," he said.
"Buckingham Palace wouldn't be half as nice."
"We've had such fun here," said Peg. And Kilmanskeg shook her head
from side to side and wiped her eyes on her ragged
pocket-handkerchief. There is no knowing what would have happened
to them if Peter Piper hadn't cheered up as he always did.
"I say," he said, "do you hear that noise?" They all listened and heard a
rumbling. Peter Piper ran to the window and looked out and then ran

back grinning.
"It's the nurse rolling up the arm-chair before the house to hide it, so
that it won't disgrace the castle. Hooray! Hooray! If they don't see us
they will forget all about us and we shall not be burned up at all. Our
nice old Racketty-Packetty House will be left alone and we can enjoy
ourselves more than ever--because we sha'n't be bothered with
Cynthia--Hello! let's all join hands and have a dance."
So they all joined hands and danced round in a ring again and they
were so relieved that they laughed and laughed until they all tumbled
down in a heap just as they had done before, and rolled about giggling
and squealing. It certainly seemed as if they were quite safe for some
time at least. The big easy chair hid them and both the nurse and
Cynthia seemed to forget that there was such a thing as a
Racketty-Packetty House in the neighborhood. Cynthia was so
delighted with Tidy Castle that she played with nothing else for days
and days. And instead of being jealous of their grand neighbors the
Racketty-Packetty House people began to get all sorts of fun out of
watching them from their own windows. Several of their windows were
broken and some had rags and paper stuffed into the broken panes, but
Meg and Peg and Peter Piper would go and peep out of one, and
Gustibus and Kilmanskeg would peep out of another, and Ridiklis
could scarcely get her dishes washed and her potatoes pared because
she could see the Castle kitchen from her scullery window. It was so
exciting!
[Transcriber's Note: See picture ridiklis_cooking.jpg]
The Castle dolls were grand beyond words, and they were all lords and
ladies. These were their names. There was Lady Gwendolen Vere de
Vere. She was haughty and had dark eyes and hair and carried her head
thrown back and her nose in the air. There was Lady Muriel Vere de
Vere, and she was cold and lovely and indifferent and looked down the
bridge of her delicate nose. And there was Lady Doris, who had fluffy
golden hair and laughed mockingly at everybody. And there was Lord
Hubert and Lord Rupert and Lord Francis, who were all handsome
enough to make you feel as if you could faint. And there was their
mother, the Duchess of Tidyshire; and of course there were all sorts of
maids and footmen and cooks and scullery maids and even gardeners.
"We never thought of living to see such grand society," said Peter Piper

to his brother and sisters. "It's quite a kind of blessing."
"It's almost like being grand ourselves, just to be able to watch them,"
said Meg and Peg and Kilmanskeg, squeezing together and flattening
their noses against the attic windows.
They could see bits of the sumptuous white and gold drawing-room
with the Duchess sitting reading near the fire, her golden glasses upon
her nose, and Lady Gwendolen playing haughtily upon the harp, and
Lady Muriel coldly listening to her. Lady Doris was having her golden
hair dressed by her maid in her bed-room and Lord Hubert was reading
the newspaper with a high-bred air, while Lord Francis was writing
letters to noblemen of his acquaintance, and Lord Rupert was--in an
aristocratic manner--glancing over his love letters from ladies of title.
[Transcriber's Note: See picture duchess.jpg]
Kilmanskeg and Peter Piper just pinched each other with glee and
squealed with delight.
"Isn't it fun," said Peter Piper. "I say; aren't