iece. Why, Jasper, Phronsie told me herself that she
_must_ hear yours."

"Well, and so she told me that she'd rather hear you play your piece,"
said Jasper; "but you and I, Polly, as long as we change the program,
can't come in among the first."

"No, of course not," said Polly. "But, oh, Jasper," and she gave a sigh,
"it's too bad that you can't recite yours, for it is most beautiful!"
Polly clasped her hands and sighed again.

"Well, that's not to be thought of," said Jasper. "Now I tell you how
we'll fix it, Polly," he said quickly.

"How?" asked Polly gloomily.

"Why, we have twenty minutes that Phronsie can stay in. Now, let's mark
off all those things that she wants, except yours and mine, even if they
come beyond the time; and then we'll draw just those that will get into
the twenty minutes."

"Oh, Jasper, what a fine idea!" exclaimed Polly, all her enthusiasm
returning.

"Well, mark off half of 'em, and I'll write the others," said Jasper,
tearing off strips from his big sheet of paper. So Polly and he fell to
work; and presently "Pick," and "Tom" ("that's for the song," said
Polly), and "Banjo," and "Mr. Dyce," and "Percy," went down on the
little strips.

"Oh, and I forgot," said Polly, raising her head from her last strip,
"Phronsie wanted to hear Clare very much indeed."

[Illustration: "OH, I DO HOPE I SHALL DRAW THE RIGHT ONE, JASPER."]

"Well, we should have had the whole program with a vengeance," said
Jasper, bursting into a laugh. "Well, put him down, Polly."

So "Clare" went down on another strip, and then they were all jumbled up
in a little Chinese bowl on the bookcase.

"Now, you draw first, Polly," said Jasper.

"Oh, no, let us choose for first draw," said Polly; "that's the way to
be absolutely right."

So she ran back to the table and tore off two more strips, one short and
the other long, and fixed them in between her hands.

"You didn't see?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Not a wink," said Jasper, laughing.

So Polly ran back, and Jasper drew the short one. "There; you have it,
Polly!" he cried gleefully. "Oh, that's good!"

"Oh, I do hope I shall draw the right one, Jasper," she said, standing
on tiptoe, her fingers trembling over the bowl.

"They are all of them good," said Jasper encouragingly. So Polly
suddenly picked out one; and together they read, "Tom."

"Fine!" they shouted.

"Oh, isn't that perfectly splendid?" cried Polly, "because, you see,
Phronsie di