FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   >>  
lked up the road a few steps. Suddenly she faced about. Mehitable had already started homeward. "Mehitable Lamb!" said she. Mehitable looked around. "I s'pose you'll go right straight home and tell my mother just as quick as you can get there." Mehitable said nothing. "You'll be an awful telltale if you do." "Sha'n't tell," said Mehitable, in a sulky voice. "Will you promise--'Honest and true. Black and blue. Lay me down and cut me in two'--that you won't tell?" Mehitable nodded. "Say it over then." Mehitable repeated the formula. It sounded like inaudible gibberish. "I shall tell her myself when I get home," said Hannah Maria. "I shall be back pretty soon, anyway, but I don't want her sending father after me. You're sure you're not goin' to tell, now, Mehitable Lamb? Say it over again." Mehitable said it again. "Well, you'll be an awful telltale if you do tell after that!" said Hannah Maria. She went on up one road towards her uncle Timothy Dunn's, and Mehitable trundled her doll-carriage homeward down the other. She went straight on past Hannah Maria's house. Hannah Maria's mother, Mrs. Green, had come home. She saw the white horse and buggy out in the south yard. She heard Mrs. Green's voice calling, "Hannah Maria, Hannah Maria!" and she scudded by like a rabbit. Mehitable's own house was up the hill, not far beyond. She lived there with her mother and grandmother and her two aunts; her father was dead. The smoke was coming out of the kitchen chimney; her aunt Susy was getting supper. Aunt Susy was the younger and prettier of the aunts. Mehitable thought her perfection. She came to the kitchen door when Mehitable entered the yard, and stood there smiling at her. "Well," said she, "did you have a nice time at Hannah Maria's?" "Yes, ma'am." "What makes you look so sober?" Mehitable said nothing. "Did you play dolls?" "Hannah Maria's too big." "Stuff!" cried Aunt Susy. Then her shortcake was burning, and she had to run in to see to it. Mehitable took her china doll out of the carriage, set her carefully on the step, and then lugged the carriage laboriously to a corner of the piazza, where she always kept it. It was a very nice large carriage, and rather awkward to be kept in the house. Then she took her doll and went in through the kitchen to the sitting-room. Her mother and grandmother and other aunt were in there, and they were all glad to see her, and inquired i
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   >>  



Top keywords:
Mehitable
 

Hannah

 

carriage

 

mother

 

kitchen

 
homeward
 
father
 

telltale

 
grandmother

straight

 

perfection

 

chimney

 
younger
 

thought

 
entered
 

prettier

 
smiling
 
coming

supper

 

burning

 

awkward

 

piazza

 

sitting

 

inquired

 

corner

 

laboriously

 

shortcake


carefully

 

lugged

 

sounded

 

inaudible

 
gibberish
 

formula

 

repeated

 

nodded

 
looked

pretty

 
promise
 

Honest

 
sending
 
calling
 

scudded

 
rabbit
 
started
 

Timothy


Suddenly

 
trundled