r, so that they should look as nice as
possible when she came to show them to the new cousin.

At last she dropped off into a sound sleep, and did not wake again
until the sun was shining brightly into her room. She jumped up and
looked about to see if Sophie had gone to get her bath ready. But
the maid lay fast asleep in her bed at the other side of the room,
and poor Bunny felt sure she would not get up for a very long time
yet. She felt ready to cry at the thoughts of lying there for so
long doing nothing, whilst the sun was shining so brightly over the
sea and dancing so merrily up and down the nursery walls. Suddenly,
however, a happy idea presented itself to her mind, and she sprang
out of her crib with a soft well-pleased little laugh.

"It will be such fun," she whispered to herself, "and Sophie will
get such a start when she sees the crib empty! But I must go about
very gently or she might wake up and send me back to bed."

So the little girl slipped very quietly about the room, and
struggled bravely with buttons and tapes, as she did her best to
dress herself without the assistance of her maid.

"They're all upside down and tied in big knots," she said ruefully,
"but Sophie will just have to do them all over again when she gets
up. Oh, dear, where are my boots, I wonder? I can't see them
anywhere about. Well, I must go out in these, I suppose;" and
sitting down on the floor she put on a pair of dainty Queen Anne
shoes, with satin bows and steel stars, that she had worn the
evening before when she went down to the drawing-room to see her
mama.

At this moment Sophie turned round with a loud snore, and Bunny gave
a start of alarm, as she looked quickly towards the bed. If Sophie
awoke and saw what she was doing, all her fun would surely be
spoiled, and she would be sent back to her crib in disgrace.

Very cautiously then she got up off the floor, seized her hat that
lay on the chest of drawers, and opening the door as softly as
possible, flew along the corridor and away down the stairs.

Not a servant was to be seen about, for it was not yet seven
o'clock, and so Bunny passed on without any interruption into the
dining-room, and stood on tip-toe at the side-board looking
anxiously to see if there was anything there for her to eat. But
there was not even a crust to be seen.

"Nasty old Ashton!" she cried, "he might have left a few pieces of
bread for me; but he wouldn't, I'm sure, even if he had known I