_How Opal Pays One Visit to Elsie and Another to Dear Love, and
Learns how to Mend her Clothes in a Quick Way._
The nipple on Elsie’s baby’s milk-bottle has not stay-ons. It has
had come-offs a lot of times to-day. The last time it did come
off, Elsie did say, “I wish it would stick tight this time.” I was
standing by with the bacon she was sending back that she did borrow
from the mamma. When I did hear her express her wish, I did tell her
I had knows of a way to make that nipple stick tight on the baby’s
milk-bottle. She said, “That’s nice--I don’t know of a way.” Inside
me I had feels she ought to have knows of a way--now that her babies
are two. But I had sees how it was she had not knows of a way; on
her lamp-shelf back of the stove there is no bottle of china-mending
glue guaranteed to stick. I looked looks up to the shelf and there
was not any.
She had asks for me to show her the way. I told her it was as I
would have to go first to the house we live in. I so went in a quick
way. The mamma was not in. I put the bacon on the cook-table. Then
I made a climb up on the stove to get the bottle of china-mending
glue. I most fell off the stove, but I did n’t. If I did, I might
have broke the bottle of china-mending glue guaranteed to stick.
That would have been a cal lamb of tea.
When I was come to the house of Elsie, she had askings what was
she to do. I told her to go in the bedroom and shut her eyes while
her wish came true. She filled the baby’s bottle that used to be a
brandy bottle with warm milk. She gave it and the nipple to me, and
she went into the bedroom to wait waits for her wish to come true. A
little time it took. I had to have carefuls, so there would n’t be
glue in top of the bottle too. I made it in a nice ring around the
top. Then I put some more china-mending glue guaranteed to stick in
a ring around the edge of the nipple. That fixed it. When I put it
on, I had knows it would stick.
I put the china-mending glue in my pocket, and when I did say, “It
is fixed!” Elsie did come. I felt a big amount of satisfaction. It
is nice to help people to have what they wish for. It was as Elsie
did have wishes for it to be. When I did hand it to her, she did have
askings how was she going to have it stick on on other days when I
was not there to make it so do. She did have asks how did I do it.
I told her it was n’t me--it was the china-mending glue guaranteed
to stick. That was what did it.
She had a spell of cough. It came in a sudden way upon her while
I was telling her what it was that made the nipple stick like she
had wishes for it to. I had not knows in the morning of this day
she had a cold. Whenever she does have a cold or feels of a one
coming, she does send in a quick way for her mother. And her mother
does come. She comes down the road that goes up to the mines. She
has not come yet. And it’s an awful cough Elsie did have then, and
tears in her eyes.
When she did get better of the cough, I did give more explains
how she could always make the nipple stick on tight on the baby’s
bottle by keeping there on her lamp-shelf a bottle of mending glue
guaranteed to stick. She started to have coughs again and I gave
her some pats on the back, like I have seen a man by the mill by
the far woods pat his brother on the back. The pats on the back did
help her some. When she had coughs no more, I went out the door. She
stepped out on her back steps. She gave my curls a smooth back and
told me thanks for making her wish come true. And she told me more
thanks for the in form ashun about how to make the nipple stick on
the baby’s bottle other times.
When I was come into the house we live in, I had thinks to go to
visit Dear Love. When I did give my dress a smooth-out, I did have
feels of that tear I got in it yesterday on top the barn door when
I did go to talk with Michael Angelo Sanzio Raphael. That was not
a little tear. It was quite a big one. I had thinks it might get
some more tear if I did not mend it. I got a patch. It was almost
like the dress. It was a piece of a piece that was left when the
mamma did make for her baby a jacket of light blue outing flannel.
The patch of light blue looked nice on my dark blue calico dress,
and the patch did have a soft feel. I mended it onto my dress with
china-mending glue guaranteed to stick. Mending it that way saves so
much time. It is quicker than mending it with a needle and thread
in the regular way.
Then I went to get the cap of the husband of Dear Love. The husband
of Dear Love has given me one of his old caps to carry some of my
pets in. Sometimes caterpillars do ride in it--black and brown ones
that do roll up in a ball and sleep the all of the time that I have
them out for a walk. And sometimes Felix Mendelssohn and Nannerl
Mozart and Louis II, le Grand Condé, do all ride in it. It is a
nice warm place for them to ride when we do go on winter walks. But
mostly Louis II, le Grand Condé, has prefers to ride in the sleeves
of my warm red dress.
Sometimes Brave Horatius does wear this cap that was the cap of the
husband of Dear Love. It so was to-day when Brave Horatius and I
did go to visit Dear Love; Brave Horatius did wear the cap of her
husband. I put little pink-ribbon strings on it, and I did tie them
under his chin in a nice way. He was very quiet while I did so do,
and his being quiet did help me to get them tied in a nice way. He
is such a lovely dog. And he does have appreciations for all the
things I do for him. When I did have that cap tied on in a nice way,
he did bark a joy bark, and he gave his tail three wags, and we
did start to go to the house of Dear Love.
As we did go along I did make stops to look for cones and to get a
piece of long moss. I put them in my pocket. I put them there for
the girl who has no seeing. She has likes for the things I bring her
to feel. She says she has likes to have them near her in the house
she does live in. So most every day I do find something for her, so
she can have joy with its feels. She so does like pine-needles. I
did gather for her my little basket full of pine-needles under the
most tall pine tree of all.
We went on. Little blue fleurs are early blooming now, before the
oak and maple trees have yet their leaves. I do so like blue. It is
glad everywhere. When I grow up I am going to write a book about the
glads of blue--and about the _dauphinelle_ and _lin_ and _cornette_
and _nigelle_ and _herbe-de-la-trinité_.
We made more stops to tell the willows by Nonette about this day
being the borning day of Galileo in 1564 and the going-away day of
Michael Angelo in 1564. And I did say another little thank prayer to
God for their borning. This morning we did have prayers of thanks in
the cathedral for the works they did on earth. And Elizabeth Barrett
Browning was there and Brave Horatius and most of the rest of us,
except Louis II, le Grand Condé.
When we were come to the house of Dear Love, the husband of Dear
Love was making for her a chair. He was putting much work on all the
little pieces. He did make all little rough places to have much
smoothness. He so did with tools out of a tool-box he does keep in
the kitchen of their little house. When he is not having uses of the
tools in the tool-box, then the tool-box has its lid down and it
is a seat to sit on. Sometimes on rainy days when I do take Thomas
Chatterton Jupiter Zeus to visit Dear Love, we all do sit on the
tool-box and Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus does allow Dear Love
to give him gentle pats on his nice white paws. He does have such
beautiful ones. To-day he did have allows for her to pat his paws
while we did sit on a little bench.
Dear Love had thinks the appears of the cap of her husband on the
head of Brave Horatius was very nice. And the husband of Dear Love
did say the pink ribbons now on his cap made it a better-looking
cap. I had thinks so, too. Before I did have comes back to the house
we live in, Dear Love did get out a piece of calico just like my
dress. Then she cut out the light blue patch that I did mend on with
china-mending glue guaranteed to stick. She did sew on the blue
calico patch in a nice way. She so did because she thought the light
blue patch of outing flannel would be nice for a crib-robe for Felix
Mendelssohn.
While Dear Love was sewing that blue calico patch on my blue calico
dress with little stitches, her husband did smile and look at her and
he did say, “Another reason.” Now I have thinks the other reason
was that he had fears if I longer wore that light blue patch of
outing flannel on my dress, some of its soft feels would get wored
off and would n’t be there for the joys of Felix Mendelssohn. He is
a mouse that has likes for soft feels to go to sleep in.