k stared at her. Then he laughed.

"There!" he said, picking Sister up and kissing her soundly. "Now will
you leave me in peace, you monkey?"

Sister was satisfied and hurried off to her bathing. When she came out
of the bathroom, she found Brother sleepily waiting for her, sitting
up, in his bed.

"If you hear Ralph in the morning," he told her earnestly, "you call
me, 'cause I want to see my own birthday present before you do."

"Can't I look at it if you're not awake?" asked Sister hopefully.

"No, you mustn't," said Brother firmly. "It's my birthday present, and
I want to see it first. Now you remember!"

Mother Morrison kissed them both, put a screen in another window, for
the night was warm, and snapped off the light. It was time for Brother
and Sister to be asleep.

"Roddy!" whispered Sister softly.

"Uh-huh?" came sleepily from Brother.

"Suppose I can't help looking when Ralph opens the door?"

Brother roused himself.

"You mustn't," he repeated. "It's my birthday. I wouldn't look first if
it was your birthday present. You can shut your eyes, can't you?"

Sister sighed, and a big yawn came and surprised the sigh.

"Maybe he'll have it tied in a paper," she murmured hopefully. "Then I
can't see it."

CHAPTER VI

RALPH'S PRESENT

The sun rose bright and early on Brother's birthday morning. Not any
earlier than usual, perhaps, but it certainly woke Brother a whole
half-hour earlier than he usually opened his eyes.

Almost at the same moment that his brown eyes opened wide, and he sat
up in bed, Sister's dark eyes also opened wide and she sat up in her
little white bed.

"Oh!" she said, blinking. "OH, it's your birthday, Roddy! Many happy
returns of the day--and I have a present for you!"

She slipped out of bed and ran over to the chest of white drawers that
held her own possessions.

"You can play with them a little while and then you can eat 'em," she
explained, returning with a flat, white box which she put on Brother's
lap.

The present proved to be a pound of animal crackers, of which Brother
was very fond, and Sister was telling him how she had carefully picked
out as many horses and elephants as she could--for indulgent Grandma
Hastings had bought several pounds of the crackers, and allowed Sister
to select the two kinds of animals that were Brother's favorites--when
they heard Ralph's quick step in the hall.

"Here comes Ralph! Don't look!" commanded Brother hastily.