house,
combed her hair over carefully, tied it with her best ribbon, and
arrayed herself in her new blue lawn which her mother had distinctly
told her was to be her second best for the summer.

She smoothed it down complacently--pale blue was becoming to her clear,
rosy skin--but her conscience pricked. She succeeded in lulling this
annoying mentor by reasoning that her mother wouldn't want her to go
visiting in an old dress. She tried to ignore the fact that her mother
hadn't given her permission to go visiting at all.

Slipping out the back way to avoid disturbing Marian, in case she should
be looking out her window or Jilly should be on the watch, Chicken
Little whistled softly to Huz and Buz. The puppies were three weeks
older and stronger than when Huz so nearly caused disaster, and trotted
after Jane on all her tramps. She was seldom lonesome when she had them
rolling and tumbling along beside her.

Making a wide detour around the white cottage, she struck into a faint
track skirting the upper fields. There was a nearer way through the
lower fields along the slough, but Frank had killed several big bull
snakes there the preceding week. To be sure, these were usually
harmless, but they were frightful enough to be unpleasant company.
Besides, Frank or Ernest might see her and ask her where she was going.

But the fates speeded her undertaking. No one saw her save a few quail
and nesting plover that whirred up at her approach and tried to lure her
and the dogs away from their nests by pretending to be hurt and running
a few paces ahead on the ground. Chicken Little had seen this bird ruse
too often to be fooled by it, but Huz and Buz pursued each bird
hopefully only to come sneaking back, when the mother bird suddenly
soared off as soon as they had left the nest safely behind.

"You sillies," Jane admonished them each time. "Won't you ever learn not
to be fooled?"

She found it delightful to loiter herself. The whole day was before her.
The wild blackberry bushes along the fence still hid bunches of bloom
among the half-formed berries. Clumps of white elderberry blossoms
spilled their fragrance, and the wind rustling through the long stems of
the weeds and prairie grass droned monotonous tunes. She found tufts of
crisp sour sheep sorrel which she liked to nibble, while she made ladies
out of the flowers, and the pups snapped at the grasshoppers and
butterflies. Chicken Little was taking her time for this expedi