Produced by Charlene Taylor, Emmy and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
[Illustration: _Frontispiece--Dear Little Couple Abroad_
"Polly drew her stockings and shoes on."
_See p. 6_]
HOW "A DEAR LITTLE COUPLE" WENT ABROAD
BY
MARY D. BRINE
AUTHOR OF
"THE DOINGS OF A DEAR LITTLE COUPLE"
WITH SEVENTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS
PHILADELPHIA
HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY
DEDICATION.
To my little friends who have known and loved our "Dear Little
Couple" (Polly and Teddy) I herewith dedicate this story, which
tells of _more_ of the Doings of the Little Couple, and am
lovingly the friend of all my little readers,
MARY D. BRINE.
COPYRIGHT, 1903.
BY HENRY ALTEMUS.
HOW "A DEAR LITTLE COUPLE" WENT ABROAD.
CHAPTER I.
POLLY THINKS OVER HER "SURPRISE."
[Illustration]
Polly opened her blue eyes one lovely morning in May, and found the "sun
fairies"--as she called them--dancing all about her wee bed-chamber, and
telling her in their own bright way that it was high time little girls
were up and dressing for breakfast.
At first she was sure she had been having a beautiful dream, for what
else could make her feel so happy and "sort of all-overish," as if
something very nice and unusual had come upon her? She was sure she had
dreamed that a splendid surprise had happened, and it was something
about going away, too!
Polly lay still in her little white nest of a bed, and thought over her
dream, and lo! on a sudden, as she grew more and more awake, the real
cause of her new and glad sensations came into her curly head, and she
bounced, like a little rubber ball, right out of bed, and danced a wee
lively jig on the floor.
Why, of course it wasn't a dream! No, indeed! it was as real--oh! as
real as Polly Darling herself, and no wonder she had felt so
"all-overish" and so "glad all inside of her"! She sat down on the soft
carpet and drew her stockings and shoes on, but it was slow work,
because Polly was thinking, and she had a great deal to think about, you
see.
[Illustration]
First--oh! how it all came back to her now!--first she remembered that
last night after supper Papa had taken her on his knee and whispered in
her ear: "Pollybus, how would you like to go with Mamma and Papa across
the sea for a little trip?"
And while she was squeezing him almost to pieces by way of answer, Mamma
had come along, and had shaken her finger at Papa, as she said: "Oh,
naughty Papa! the idea of telling Polly that _just when she's going to
bed_! She won't sleep a wink for thinking of it." And Polly remembered
jumping down from Papa's knee, and going to Mamma's side, saying very
earnestly: "Oh, yes, I will! I truly will, Mamma! I'll shut my eyes and
think 'bout little lambs jumping over a fence, 'cause Cook says that's
the best way to get sleepy, and it's worked be-yewtifully on _her_ lots
of times! Oh, true and true, black and blue, I'll go right to sleep! And
oh, I'm so happy!"
And pretty soon after that the bed-time for little girls had come, and
Polly had been kissed and petted a little, as was usual after she had
snuggled down in bed, and had a little while alone with her dear Mamma,
and then she had tried very hard to keep her promise, and "go right to
sleep." But oh, dear, it had been such hard work to keep those blue eyes
shut! No matter how much she thought of the lambs jumping, one after the
other, over the imaginary fence, it did not make her the least bit
sleepy, and the lambs all seemed to scamper off to Europe as soon as
they had jumped the fence, and of course Polly's thoughts had to go
flying after them. So, you see, it had really been a long while before
the little tired lids had closed over those dear soft blue eyes, and
sleep had really come. But when it did come you may be sure it was a
very sound, sweet sleep, and so when Polly awakened in the morning it
could hardly be wondered at that she thought she had been having a
beautiful dream.
She knew now that it was no dream, but a most delightful reality, and
oh, how happy she was!
[Illustration]
She came to the end of her long "think" at last, and turned her
attention to her dressing, and just then Mamma came in to put the
finishing touches to the process, and Polly's tongue wagged so fast all
the while that it really seemed as though it were hung in the middle,
like a little sweet-toned bell, and able to swing both ways.
However, Mamma patiently answered all the rapid questions, and explained
that Papa, having to go abroad on business, had decided that it would
do Mamma and Polly good to go also, and be the best thing to keep _him_
from being lonely, of course.
And she told Polly something else that had not been told the night
before, but kept for an added "surprise" this morning, and that was that
Teddy's Mamma and Papa had given permission for _Teddy_ to go with Polly
to Europe, as a great and wonderful treat for both little folks. But
Teddy didn't know it yet, because both Mammas thought Polly would enjoy
telling him herself and giving him a delightful surprise.
"So you may run over right after breakfast," added Mamma, "and tell him
the good news."
This additional beautiful "surprise" was more than Polly could bear in
an ordinary way, so she just simply _cried_ for joy (you've heard of
people doing that?), and in the midst of her tears she began to laugh,
and then she cried a little more, and it seemed a long time before the
little happy Polly settled down and was able to eat her breakfast.