to take Milly a drive all
about the mountains, and made her find out their names, and the names of
the towns and the lakes, beginning with Lake Windermere. Olly was
interested too, for Mrs. Norton told them a great many things about the
places, and made quite a story out of it.

[Illustration: "He was quite sure that h-a-y spelt 'ham' and s-a-w spelt
'was.'"]

"Why, mother, I never could go all that long way all at once--_really_,
could I?" asked Milly, when they had been all round the mountains, in
and out and round about.

"No, Milly, not quite," said Mrs. Norton, laughing, "but it's very easy
to go a long way in a pretendy drive. It would only take us about ten
minutes that way to get to the other side of the world."

"How long would it take really?" asked Olly.

"About three months."

"If we could fly up, and up, ever so far," said Olly, standing on
tiptoe, and stretching out his little arms as high as they would reach,
"it wouldn't take us long. Mother, don't you wish you was a bird?"

"No, I don't think so, Olly; why do you?"

"Because I should like to go so _krick_. Mother, the fly-catchers do fly
so krick; I can't see them sometimes when they're flying, they go so
fast. Oh, I do wish father would let me get up a ladder to look at
them."

"No Olly, you'll frighten them," said Milly, putting on her wise face.
"Besides, father says you're too little, and you'd tumble down."

Olly looked as if he didn't believe a word of it, as he generally did
when Milly talked wisely to him; but just then he found that mother had
put into his lap a whole basketful of letters to tear up, and that
interested him so much that he forgot the fly-catchers. Nurse cut out a
most fashionable blue dress for Katie, and Milly was quite happy all the
rest of the morning in running up the seams and hemming the bottom. So
the morning passed away. After dinner there were the toys to play with,
and Katie's frock to try on, for nurse had taken a turn at the body
while Milly had been making the skirt. It fitted very well, and Milly
had only the band to put on and the sleeves to make before it would be
quite finished. Then nurse promised to put a little white lace round the
neck, and cut out a blue sash, that Katie might be quite turned into an
elegant young lady. Tea came very soon, and when it was cleared away
father and mother came into the big kitchen without a fireplace, next to
the children's room, and they all had a splendid romp.