long time to think! It took him so
long that while he was thinking he filled our paper bags till they
busted! It was a nice bustedness!

"The most beautifulest thing--in all zee world?" said the Pop-Corn Man.
"In all zee world? It was in my Italy! In such time as I was no more
than one bambino I did see zee peacock, zee great blue peacock stride
out through zee snow-storm of apple-blossoms! And dance to zee sun!"

"O--h," said Rosalee. "How pretty!"

"Pretty?" said the Pop-Corn Man. "It was to zee eyes one miracle of
remembrances! Zee blue! Zee gold! Zee dazzle! Zee soft fall of zee
apple-blossoms!--Though I live to be zee hundred! Though I go blind!
Though I go prison! Though my pop-corn all burn up! It fade not! Not
never! That peacock! That apple-blossom! That shiver!"

"Our supper will all burn up," said my Mother, "if you children don't
open your eyes and run home! Already I _think_ I can smell scorched
Ginger-bread!"

We children all opened our eyes and ran home!

My Mother laughed to see us fly!

My Father laughed a little!

We thought about the Peacock as we ran! We thought quite a little about
the Ginger-bread! We wished we had a Peacock! We hoped we had a
Ginger-bread!

Our Home looked nice. It was as though we hadn't seen it for a long
while. It was as though we hadn't seen anything for a long while! The
Garden didn't look like Just a Garden any more! It looked like a
_Bower_! Carol's tame crow came hopping up the gravel walk! We hadn't
remembered that he was so black! The sun through the kitchen window was
real gold! There _was_ Ginger-bread!

"Oh dear--Oh dear--Oh _dear_!" said Rosalee. "In a world so full of
beautiful things--however shall we choose what to tell the Blinded
Lady?"

Carol ran to the desk. He took a pencil. He took a paper. He slashed the
words down. He held it out for us to see.

"I know what I'm going to choose," said the words.

He took his pencil. He ran away.

Rosalee took her pencil. She ran away. Over her shoulder she called back
something. What she called back was "Oh Goody! I know what _I'm_ going
to choose!"

I took my Father's pencil. I ran away. I didn't run very far. I found a
basket instead. It was a pretty basket. I made a nest for the White
Kitten in case I should win it! I lined the nest with green moss. There
was a lot of sunshine in the moss. And little blue flowers. I forgot to
come home for supper. That's how I chose what I was going to write!