"There now!" exclaimed Mrs. Hodges impatiently, "that's the 'phone and
I'll have to answer and see what's wanted. You walk along slowly, Mary
Jane, right over to the barn and through the gate and I'll hurry and
catch up with you as quickly as I can."
Left alone, Mary Jane walked past the wood shed; passed what seemed to
be a tool house because through the open door she saw tools of all
sorts and sizes; and on across the yard toward the barn yard gate.
"She said 'through the gate,'" thought Mary Jane, "and this must be the
gate. I wonder if it opens?" She shook the gate as hard as she could
but it didn't open; it didn't even look as though it intended to open;
it looked shut for all day, and Mary Jane was almost discouraged about
getting into the barn yard till she happened to think of a gate at the
back of Doris's yard (her little playmate Doris who lived next door to
Mary Jane's own home) that looked surprisingly like this gate. To be
sure it was little, and this gate was big and wide, but both had boards
crosswise, just right for climbing.
"We climbed on Doris's when it wouldn't open," she thought, "so I guess
this one will climb too."
She put her foot carefully on the first bar--nothing happened; on the
second--everything seemed all right; on the third and in a minute she
was over and climbing proudly down on the other side.
"Grandfather! Grandfather!" she called as she ran gayly toward the
barn; "I did it! The gate wouldn't open so I--Oh, dear! Oh! Oh!
It's coming! _Grandfather_!" she screamed breathlessly as she saw,
coming out of the barn--not Grandfather as she had expected--but a
great, fat, grunting _pig_!
Mary Jane shrank back toward the gate and how she did wish it was open
so she could slip through and shut it tightly behind her. She was
afraid to turn her back to the pig long enough to climb over the gate
as she had come; all the while she was trying her best to think of some
way to get away, that fat, grunting pig was coming closer and closer.
Now it was half the length of the barn yard away. Now it seemed to
have spied her and was coming straight for her--nose to the ground
sniffing and grunting louder than ever.
Grandfather, working in the barn, heard and came a-running as fast as
ever he could run; and Grandmother, 'way in the house, heard and
dropped the receiver and ran out so fast that she was breathless when
she reached the little girl. Grandfather was nearest so got to her
first. Really, he saw what the matter was as soon as he got outside
the barn and he shouted to the pig and flapped his arms in such a
comical fashion that Mary Jane hardly knew whether to be afraid of him
or to laugh. But the pig had no such doubts. She seemed to know that
he meant she should go away. She gave one final snort--almost at Mary
Jane's toes--and then turned and went back to the barn as fast as she
could waddle. The faster she waddled the more Grandfather flapped,
till first thing she knew Mary Jane was laughing and had forgotten all
about being afraid.
Grandfather reached down and picked her up, and Grandmother, who came
through the gate at that minute (she seemed to know how to open it,
Mary Jane noticed), patted her and gave her a kiss and a hug.
"Did we frighten you first thing, Puss?" asked Grandfather tenderly.
"That old Mrs. Pig wouldn't hurt you for anything. She was just trying
to get acquainted."
"Yes?" replied Mary Jane doubtfully, "but you see I'm not used to
getting acquainted that way. I 'spect she wouldn't hurt me, but she
didn't _act_ like she wouldn't hurt me," she added.
Grandfather threw back his head and laughed at that. "No, she didn't;
you're right, Mary Jane! She acted pretty bad. But you shouldn't be
here alone before you get used to our family."
Grandmother explained about the 'phone calling her back. "And I left
the receiver hanging, I came so quickly," she added laughingly. "I
guess I'll go back now and hang it up."
"Then I'll show Mary Jane around myself," said Grandfather firmly.
"She's more important than work, so there!" He set her down beside
him, took her hand snugly in his own (and it feels pretty good to have
somebody hold your hand when everything is strange, you know that
yourself), and they started off.
First they went into the barn where they saw Mrs. Pig, grunting still,
but standing very meekly in her own corner; and eleven little pigs that
grunted such cunning, squeaky little grunts. Mary Jane wasn't afraid
of them for one minute. They weren't dirty as Mary Jane supposed pigs
always were, not a bit dirty; they were tidy and neat and their little
round sides shone like silk.
"Oh, I like _them_, Grandfather!" she exclaimed. "Could I play with
them someday?"
"I thought you didn't like pigs," teased Grandfather.
"Oh, but these aren't _pigs_," corrected Mary Jane; "these are
_piggies_; nice piggies like in my painting book. I like _them_."
"I don't know about playing with them," laughed Grandfather; "we'll
have to see. But I'll tell you what you may do; when we're through
looking all over the place, you may come back here with me and feed
them. Would you like that?"
Would she? Mary Jane clapped her hands and wanted to insist on feeding
them right that very minute; only, just in time, she remembered that
she wasn't to tease. So she slipped her hand back into Grandfather's
big one and they went on with their walk.
Next they saw Brindle Bess, but Mary Jane didn't like her as well as
the little pigs. She switched her tail and looked around at Mary Jane
so pointedly that Mary Jane was really relieved when Grandfather
slipped around and opened the door and let her wander out to pasture.
"She's an awful _big_ cow, isn't she, Grandfather?" said Mary Jane, as
the cow ambled off.
"Oh, I don't know about that," said Grandfather, not understanding.
"Well, she's lots bigger than me when I'm five," said Mary Jane
positively. "I think I like little things best."
"Then I've the very creature to show you," said Grandfather, "and we
might as well see him now because your grandmother will want to show
you the chickens when she comes out. We'll lock this door so Mrs. Pig
can't get out into the front barn yard again, and then we'll cross the
road and I'll show you something you'll like."
"Will it be big?" asked Mary Jane as she skipped along beside him.
"Middling big and middling little," answered Grandfather.
"Will it be brown or gray?" asked Mary Jane, thinking of the cow and
the pigs.
"Neither," said Grandfather.
That puzzled Mary Jane, but she couldn't think of anything else to
guess so she kept her eyes carefully ahead as they went down the yard
and across the road, in hopes she Would see the surprise quicker that
way.
Across the road from Grandfather's house was a strip of wooded land
which Grandfather had let grow wild. Grandmother loved the trees and
the wild flowers and liked to feel that they were near to her.
"Oh!" exclaimed Mary Jane as they crossed the road, "see those trees!
Are those the surprise?"
"My, no!" replied Grandfather; "those are only a couple of wild crab
trees--they do look pretty full of bloom as they are, don't they? But
the surprise is a real, live, running around surprise. Here, let me
boost you over the fence; that's more fun than a dozen gates." He set
Mary Jane over the fence and then came in the gate and locked it
carefully behind him.
"Are you 'fraid it'll get away, is that why you lock the gate?" asked
Mary Jane.
"Well, it's pretty little to run away," said Grandfather, "but you
never can tell, so I lock it to be sure." He took hold of Mary Jane's
hand again as he added, "now just behind these trees; and around these
bushes; and--"
"I see it myself," exclaimed Mary Jane, "and I know what it is--it's a
little sheep!" She dropped his hand and ran a few steps toward the
lamb she saw grazing a few steps away. But just as she drew near, the
lamb spied her and started to meet her. Mary Jane ran quickly back
toward her grandfather; it was one thing to go to meet the lamb herself
and quite another to have the lamb come and meet her! "Will he grunt?"
she asked.
"Not a single grunt!" laughed Grandfather. "He's the friendliest
little creature you ever saw. See?" Grandfather took Mary Jane's hand
and laid it on the soft wool of the lamb's back. "He likes you already
and he'll like you even better when you bring him something good to
eat. Before very long you will learn to climb this fence all by
yourself; then you can come over here and play with him any time you
want to."
"And pick flowers for my grandmother, too?" asked Mary Jane as she
looked at the lovely bluebells that grew around where they were
standing.
"You're a girl after your grandmother's own heart!" exclaimed
Grandfather delightedly; "you can pick all the flowers you like. But
let's not stop now. Don't you want to see more of the farm?"
Mary Jane did, so they left the lamb with a promise to come again later
and went back across the road to the house. There they met Grandmother
who declared that she was through with the telephone long ago and
wanted to show Mary Jane the chickens herself.
"Very well," said Grandfather; "but don't you show her the garden."
"I won't," replied Grandmother, and they both looked so mysterious that
Mary Jane was sure some surprise was in that garden.
"Are you going to show it to me?" she asked her grandfather.
"Some day," he replied, "but there's too much else to see this morning.
The garden can wait."
So Mary Jane and her grandmother went to the chicken yard and
Grandfather started for the barn to finish his work.
If you've ever seen about a hundred cunning, little, yellow and white
and gray chickens, so soft and fluffy they look as though they were
Easter trimmings; and dozens of motherly looking hens ambling around
and a few big, important-looking roosters crowing in the sunshine, you
know just what Mary Jane saw when they reached the chicken yard. For
her part, Mary Jane had never seen such a sight before, and she was so
surprised and pleased she could hardly believe her eyes.
"Are they all _yours_, Grandmother?" she asked in amazement.
"I should say they are," laughed Grandmother. "You stand right
here--no, that rooster won't come any closer," she added as one big
fellow crowed loudly near by. "You stay here till I get some feed and
you shall see a funny sight."
She slipped into the chicken house and returned in a minute with a
small basket of grain. "Here, Mary Jane," she said, "you hold this
so--and throw the grain out on the ground so--" and she did just as she
wanted Mary Jane to do, "and watch them come!"
Mary Jane reached her hand into the basket of grain, took out a handful
and threw it far as she could; and then how she did laugh as she saw
the chickens scramble for it!
"Can I do it again?" she asked delightedly.
"All you like till the grain is gone," replied Grandmother.
"There now," said Grandmother, after awhile, "we've stayed so long here
it's 'most dinner time. Are you hungry, Mary Jane?"
Mary Jane started to say no, because she was _sure_ the morning hadn't
more than begun, but to her surprise she found she _was hungry_, oh,
awfully hungry.
"I thought so," laughed Grandmother, who guessed what the little girl
was thinking, "and it's most eleven, so we'd better see what we're
going to have to eat. How about chicken and biscuits and apple
dumplings and cream?"
"They're my favorites," said Mary Jane, with a little skip of pleasure.
"Every one's my favorite, all of 'em!"
So she and Grandmother put away the grain basket and went into the
house.