Mary Jane began to talk about the
decorations. It was soon found that to be really pretty, the table
trimmings would have to be made by the hostess herself, so Mary Jane set
to work. From the advertising sections of magazines she cut letters about
an inch high. Letters enough to spell everybody's first name and last
initial. She had to have the last initial because two of her guests had
the same first name. These she sorted very carefully and put in envelopes;
one envelope for each person and just the right letters in that envelope
for the person's name. Then, she planned, when the luncheon was all ready,
she would put the letters in little piles in front of each person's place
and let them puzzle out the names before they sat down.

Mrs. Merrill promised to have a basket of flowers, spring flowers that
Mary Jane loved so very much, in the center of the table. And Mary Jane
planned to make a procession of girls and boys all around the basket.
These she cut out of magazines too and she chose girls and boys who were
doing all the things that she herself liked to do.

With all these things, besides regular duties and fun, to keep her busy,
Mary Jane didn't really have a chance to think her birthday was a long
time coming. First thing _she_ knew it was Friday night and the birthday
was the very next morning!

On Saturday morning, she waked up knowing something nice was going to
happen. Then, before her eyes were really open, she felt herself getting
mother's birthday kisses and, before those were all delivered, Alice's
birthday spats--six good big lively ones!

"Never you mind, Alice," she promised, "just wait till it's _your_
birthday and you'll get some of the hardest--"

"Don't stop for promises," said Mr. Merrill, coming in to deliver his
spats too, "what I want is breakfast and for the life of me, _I_ can't get
into that dining-room."

"_Oh!_" cried Mary Jane rapturously, "I'll be right out!"

"Not till you get dressed, you know," Alice reminded her, "so do hurry!"
For it was one of the rules of the Merrill household that birthdays and
Christmases didn't really begin till folks were dressed. So Mary Jane
scrabbled into her clothes and gave her face and hands about the most
hurry-up washing they had ever had and then rushed out to the
dining-room.

And there, standing right by her chair, was the--yes, really--the very
doll cart she had picked out! She was so happy that for a minute she
couldn't speak, she just