to happen so they could see
what it was like. But that was not to come with this storm.

Still the wind and snow were so bad, at times, that Mrs. Martin thought
it best for the Curlytops to stay in the house. Trouble, of course, had
to stay in also, and he did not like that a bit. Neither did Jan or Ted,
but there was no help for it.

"What can we do to have some fun?" asked Teddy, for perhaps the tenth
time that day. He stood with his nose pressed flat against the window,
looking out at the swirling flakes. "Can't I be out, Mother?" he asked
again.

"Oh, no, indeed, little Curlytop son," she answered.

"But we want some fun!" chimed in Jan. "Isn't there _anything_ we can
do?"

"Have you played with all your games?" asked her mother.

"Every one," answered the little girl.

"And we even played some of 'em backwards, so's to make 'em seem
different," put in Teddy.

"Well, if you had to do that it must be pretty hard!" laughed Mrs.
Martin. "I know it isn't any fun to stay in the house, but to-morrow the
storm may be over and then you can go out. I know that won't help
matters now," she went on, as she saw that Teddy was about to say
something. "But if you'll let me think a minute maybe I can plan out
some new games for you to play."

"Oh, Mother, if you only can!" cried Jan eagerly.

"Don't talk--let her think!" ordered Teddy. "We want to have some fun--a
lot of fun!"

So he and his sister sat very quietly while his mother thought of all
the things that might be possible for a little boy and girl and their
baby brother to do when they had to stay in the house.

"I have it!" cried Mrs. Martin at last.

"Something for us to play?" asked Janet.

"Yes. How would you like to play steamboat and travel to different
countries?"

"Not real?" cried Ted, with a look at the snow outside.

"Oh, no, not _real_, of course," said his mother, with a smile. "But you
can go up in the attic, and take the old easy chair that isn't any good
for sitting in any more. You can turn that over on the floor and make
believe it's a steamboat. In that you and Jan and Baby William can
pretend to travel to different countries. You can say the floor is the
ocean and you can take some blocks of wood to make the islands, and if
any one steps in the make-believe water he'll get his feet wet."

"Make-believe wet," laughed Teddy.

"That's it," his mother agreed with a laugh. "Now run along up and play,
and then you won't think about th