y soul!" she cried, crossing herself, "the red rooster gave me a
dreadful turn. I was just in the midst of a most beautiful dream! But
now he has driven it all out of my head with his silly noise, and I
cannot even remember what it was about!"

Dona Teresa rose, and while she talked she deftly rolled up the mat on
which she had slept and stood it on end in the corner of the room. You
see it didn't take any time at all to dress, because they always slept
with their clothes on. But Dona Teresa was very particular about one
thing. She made them all wash their faces and hands the very first thing
every single morning!

For a wash-basin there was a part of a log, hollowed out like a trough.
Beside the hollow log there was a large red olla, with a gourd in it.
Pancho had dipped water from the olla into the trough and was already
splashing about, while Dona Teresa rolled the Twins off on to the floor
and placed their mats in the corner with the others.

"Come, my pigeons," she said to them, "it is time to be stirring. We are
very lazy to lie in bed after cockcrow on San Ramon's[7] Day!"

"Oh, Little Mother," cried Tita, picking herself up, "is it really the
fiesta of San Ramon? And may I take the little white hen to be blessed,
all myself?"

"You may take the little white hen if you can catch her," Dona Teresa
answered. "Indeed, we must take all the animals, or at the very least
one of each kind to stand for all the others. The turkey must be caught,
and the goat must be brought from the field so I can milk her. Tonto
[that was what they called the donkey] is waiting in the shed to be made
ready, not to speak of the cat and dog! Bless my soul, how many things
there are to be done!"

While his mother talked, Tonio had taken his lasso down from the nail
where it hung, and was just quietly slipping out of the door with it,
when Dona Teresa saw him. "Here you--Tonio," she cried, "come back and
wash yourself!"

[Illustration]

"Can't I wait until I've caught Pinto?" Tonio begged. "What's the use of
washing? You only get dirty again. Lots of the boys don't wash at all
except on Sunday."

"Come right back and wash yourself this minute," commanded Dona Teresa.
"You might as well say it's no use to eat your breakfast because you'll
be hungry again right away! As long as I'm your mother you shall begin
the day right at least."

Tonio groaned a little, and came back to the trough. There he did
something that he called washin