WORKING FOR THE FAIR

"I do," said Meg, turning around on the piano bench. "You have tables,
and on 'em things to sell, and everybody comes. Where could we have
the fair, Mother?"

"I think here in the house," answered Mother Blossom thoughtfully. "We
live near enough to the center of town for people to get here easily."

"But how do you have a fair?" persisted Bobby. "Where do we get things
to sell? Can we do it all ourselves?"

"Certainly you can," declared Father Blossom. "You want the money to
be your own gift, so you boys and girls must do the work. We older
folk will help with advice. Mother can tell you all about it. Her
church society gives two fairs every year."

Mother Blossom smiled as Bobby looked at her expectantly.

"You want to know how we do it?" she asked. "Well, first we choose our
committees and plan the tables. There is usually a refreshment table;
a table for fancy work, aprons, bags, and pretty handkerchiefs; if the
fair is held in summer, we have a flower table; then a grab-bag table
for the little people. After we plan how many tables we will have, the
committees set out to collect the things to be sold. They go to the
baker and ask for cake donations; and to ladies and ask them to bake
cakes; they ask other ladies to make aprons and bags; Mr. Barber, the
grocer, usually gives us something for the canned goods table. You
see, the idea is to ask people to give all these things and then
whatever they are sold for can go outright to the purpose for which the
fair is held."

"Like new carpets for the church," put in Meg wisely.

"Yes, new carpets for the church, or new books for the Sunday-school
library," agreed Mother Blossom. "Your fair will be for the Jordans,
and the money you raise will help them through the winter."

Bobby was silent a long time, puzzling over the idea of a fair. Before
his bed hour came he had decided that perhaps that was the best way to
raise money, and anyway he would talk it over with the boys at school.

"I've been thinking," announced Mother Blossom at the breakfast table
the next morning. "As our living-room isn't very large, I think three
tables will be all we can comfortably arrange. As an extra attraction
for the fair, why don't you give a little play?"

"A stuffed animal play," suggested Aunt Polly mysteriously. "If the
children like the idea, don't you say another word. I'll make the
costumes and drill them."

A stuffed animal