adful thought. The three children looked at the house and
hesitated. Then Rudolf laughed, drew his precious sword, which he had
fastened into the belt of his pajamas, and mounted the steps, the
others following behind him.

"You be all ready to run," he whispered, "if you don't like the looks
of the person who comes. Now!" And he knocked long and loud upon the
blue and white striped door.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER III

A VISIT TO THE GOOSE

The door flew open almost before Rudolf had stopped knocking, but
there was nothing very alarming about the person who stood on the
threshold. Ann said afterward she had thought at first it was a Miss
Spriggins who came sometimes to sew for her mother, but it was not; it
was only a very large gray goose neatly dressed in blue and white
bed-ticking, with a large white apron tied round her waist and wearing
big spectacles with black rims to them.

"Nothing to-day, thank you," said the Goose.

"But please--" began Rudolf.

"No soap, no baking powder, no lightning rods, no hearth-brooms, no
cake tins, no life insurance--" rattled the Goose so rapidly that the
children could hardly understand her--"nothing at all to-day, _thank_
you!"

"But _we_ want something," Ann cried, "we want to come in!"

"I never let in peddlers," said the Goose, and she slammed the door in
their faces. As she slammed it one of her broad apron-strings caught
in the crack, and Rudolf seized the end of it. When the Goose opened
the door an inch or so to free herself he held on firmly and said:

"Tell us, please, are you the Warming-pan's aunt?"

The Gray Goose looked immensely pleased, but shook her head.

"Nothing so simple," said she, "nor, so to speak, commonplace, since
the relationship or connection if you will have it, is, though
perfectly to be distinguished, not always, as it were, entirely
clear, through his great-grandfather who, as I hope you are aware, was
a Dutch-Oven, having run away with a cousin of my mother's uncle's
stepfather, who was three times married, numbers one, two and three
all having children but none of 'em resembling one another in the
slightest, which, as you may have perceived, is only the beginning of
the story, but if you will now come in, not forgetting to wipe your
feet, and try to follow me very carefully, I'll be delighted to
explain all particulars."

The children were glad to follow the Lady Goose into the house, though
they though