ldiers,
and the Queen's baby, and to-morrow we are going to drive in the milk
cart! What a beautiful world it is!"

Just as they were dropping off to sleep, they heard a great noise in
the street.

"Clap, clap, clap," it sounded, eight times.

"There goes the Klapper man," said Grandmother Winkle. "Eight o'clock,
and time all honest folk were abed."

V

THE DAY THEY DROVE THE MILK CART

The next morning Kit and Kat woke up very early, without any one's
calling them. You see, they were afraid they would be too late to go
with the milk cart.

But Grandfather Winkle had only just gone out to get the milk ready,
and they had plenty of time to dress while Grandmother got breakfast.
Grandmother helped with the buttons and the hard parts.

Grandmother Winkle's kitchen was quite like the kitchen at home, only a
little nicer. It had red tiles on the floor; and it had ever so many
blue plates hanging around on the walls, and standing on edge in a row
on the shelves. There was a warming-pan with a bright brass cover,
hanging on the wall; and I wish you could have seen the pillows and the
coverlet on the best bed!

Grandmother Winkle had embroidered those all herself, and she was very
proud of them. When she had company, she always drew the curtains back
so that her beautiful bed would be seen. She said that Kit and Kat were
company, and she always left the curtains open when they came to visit
her.

When the Twins were all dressed, Grandmother said,

"Mercy sakes! You have on your best clothes! Now that's just like a man
to promise to take you out in your best clothes in a milk wagon!
Whatever was Grandfather thinking about!"

Kit and Kat thought she was going to say that they couldn't go, so they
dug their knuckles in their eyes and began to cry. But they hadn't got
farther than the first whimper when Grandmother said,

"Well, well, we must fix it somehow. Don't cry now, that's a good Kit
and Kat." So the Twins took their knuckles out of their eyes and began
to smile.

Grandmother went to the press and brought out two aprons. One was a
very small apron. It wouldn't reach to Kit's knees. But she put it on
him and tied it around his waist.

"This was your Uncle Jan's when he was a little boy," she said. "It's
pretty small, but it will help some."

Kit wished that Uncle Jan had taken it with him when he went to
America. But he didn't say so.

Then Grandmother took another apron out of the press. It lo