d that the
box had to be unpacked and packed again, and the very last evening there
was Herr Baby on his knees before it on the floor, giving the finishing
touches, long after he should have been in bed.

"And we have to be up so early to-morrow morning," said mother, "my dear
little boy, you really _should_ have been fast asleep by this time."

"And he wakes me _so_ early in the morning," said Denny, who was
standing before the fire giving herself little cross shakes every time
poor Lisa, who was combing out her long fair hair, came to a tuggy bit.
"_Lisa_, you're _hurting_ me; _Lisa_, do take care," she added
snappishly.

"My dear Denny, how very impatient you are!" said her mother. "I don't
know how you will bear all the little discomforts of a long journey if
you can't bear to have your hair combed."

On this, Denny, as Fritz would have said, "shut up." She could not bear
it to be thought that she was babyish or "silly." Her great, great wish
was to be considered quite a big girl. You could get her to do anything
by telling her it would be babyish not to do it, or that doing it would
be like big people, which, of course, showed that she _was_ rather
babyish in reality, as sensible children understand that they cannot be
like big people in everything, and that they wouldn't be at all nice if
they were.

Baby always felt sorry for Denny or any of them when mother found fault
with them. He jumped up from the floor--at least he _got_ up, his legs
were too short for him to spring either up or down very actively--and
trotted across to his sister.

"Poor Denny," he said, reaching up to kiss her, "him won't wake her up
so early to-mollow morning."

"But we'll _have_ to wake early to-morrow," said Denny, rather crossly
still, "it's no use you beginning good ways about not waking me now,
just when everything's changed."

Baby looked rather sad.

"Is your box quite ready now, dear?" said his mother. "Well then, let
Lisa get you ready for bed as quick as she can, and you and Denny must
go to sleep without any talking, and wake fresh in the morning."

But Baby still looked sad; his face began working and twisting, and at
last he ran to mother and hid it in her lap, bursting into tears.

"Denny makes him so unhappy," he said. "Him doesn't like everysing to be
changed like Denny says. Him is so sorry to go away and to leave him's
house and Thomas and Jones, and oh! him is _so_ sorry to leave the
labbits!"

"And him