epping so slowly."

The old horses pricked up their ears when they heard this, and trotted
away as fast as they could down the country road until they came to
town. Just as they got to the railway station the train came whizzing
in.

"All off!" cried the conductor, as the train stopped; and out came a
group of children who were, every one of them, Grandfather and
Grandmother Grey's grandchildren. They had come to spend Thanksgiving
Day on the farm.

There was John, who was named for grandfather and looked just like
him, and the twins, Teddie and Pat, who looked like nobody but each
other; their papa was grandfather's oldest son. Then there was Louisa,
who had a baby sister at home, and then Mary Virginia Martin, who was
her mamma's only child.

"I tell you," said grandfather, as he helped them into the wagon,
"your grandmother will be glad to see you!"

And so she was. She was watching at the window for them when they
drove up, and when the children spied her they could scarcely wait for
grandfather to stop the wagon before they scrambled out.

"Dear me, dear me!" said grandmother, as they all tried to kiss her at
the same time, "how you have grown."

"I am in the first grade," said John, hugging her with all his might.

"So am I," cried Louisa.

"We are going to be," chimed in the twins; and then they all talked at
once, till grandmother could not hear herself speak.

Then, after they had told her all about their mammas and papas, and
homes, and cats and dogs, they wanted to go and say "how do you do" to
everything on the place.

"Take care of yourselves," called grandmother, "for I don't want to
send any broken bones home to your mothers."

"I can take care of myself," said John.

"So can we," said the rest; and off they ran.

First they went to the kitchen where Mammy 'Ria was getting ready to
cook the Thanksgiving dinner; then out to the barnyard, where there
were two new red calves, and five little puppies belonging to Juno,
the dog, for them to see. Then they climbed the barnyard fence and
made haste to the pasture where grandfather kept his woolly sheep.
"Baa-a!" said the sheep when they saw the children; but then, they
always said that, no matter what happened.

There were cows in this pasture, too, and Mary Virginia was afraid of
them, even though she knew that they were the mothers of the calves
she had seen in the barnyard.

"Silly Mary Virginia!" said John, and Mary Virginia began to cry