But the minute Mary Jane saw her grandfather smile as he came back into
the chicken house, she knew that if something _had_ happened it was a
nice something--for he was smiling a nice sort of a smile.
"Good news for us, Pussy," he said. "Now you're going to have some one
to play with."
"Another Bob?" asked Mary Jane.
"Another fiddlesticks!" laughed Grandfather. "Haven't you enough
animal friends as it is? What would you do with more? No, sir! This
is a real playmate."
"Who is she?" asked Mary Jane.
"_She_!" laughed Grandfather, "is your cousin Margaret's boy John--or
rather, she's your mother's cousin. They live over in Benset, you
know, Pussy. They promised that if you came this summer, they'd let
John come over for a visit so you two could play."
"Oh, goody!" cried Mary Jane happily, "how big is he?"
"About as big as you are, I expect," said Grandfather thoughtfully,
"but I can't really say because I haven't seen him for a long time.
But you'll know all about him to-morrow."
After that Grandfather and Grandmother fixed the little chickens as
quickly as ever they could, and then Grandfather went out to clean up
his car and Grandmother and Mary Jane hurried off to the kitchen to see
about the baking of good things to eat, for Cousin Margaret was to
bring Tom herself and would stay part of a day before going back.
How Mary Jane did love the work and bustle! Grandmother made a big jar
of sugar cookies (she let Mary Jane put the sugar on them herself, and
you know that's fun!), and a big cake with thick chocolate icing (and
Mary Jane scraped out the frosting bowl), and then she "dressed" two
chickens (and Mary Jane thought that the most wonderful performance she
had ever seen).
Then they went upstairs and got out fresh bedding, and Mary Jane
herself put out the fresh towels in the guest bathroom. And by that
time it was six o'clock--time for bread and milk. Everybody went to
bed early so as to be up and feeling fine in the morning.
Next morning Mary Jane helped Grandmother with the morning work; then
she put on her pink gingham dress and got out her biggest pink plaid
hair ribbon for Grandmother to tie. And in no time at all, they were
off to the station.
When the train stopped and left a pretty lady and a rosy-cheeked little
boy of about Mary Jane's age on the tiny platform, Mary Jane suddenly
felt very shy. She had never played with little boys, except Junior,
and he was so much younger she didn't count him, and she didn't quite
know how to talk to a little boy cousin she had never seen before. But
she needn't have worried about what to say because the grown folks
talked all the time and the two children on the front seat beside
Grandfather Hodges, simply sat and looked at each other all the way
home!
But after Grandfather had helped them out, by their own doorstep, Mary
Jane seemed to feel that something must be said so she remarked, "Would
you like to see my mice?"
"I thought girls were afraid of mice," replied John.
"Well, I'm not," said Mary Jane scornfully. "Come on see 'em." And
she started for the barn.
Strange to relate, they hadn't got half way across the barn yard before
the big pig, the same one that had so frightened Mary Jane on her first
day, ran out of his pen in the barn and made straight for them.
Grandfather had been in a hurry both times he went for the train and
had forgotten to lock him up, most likely. John, who wasn't any more
used to creatures than Mary Jane had been, screamed and screamed at the
top of his voice.
Mary Jane looked at him scornfully and, forgetting all about how she
herself had felt when _she_ first came, said, "He won't hurt you! I'll
send him away!" And without a thought of fear, she waved her arms
around as she had seen Grandfather do on that first day. Mrs. Pig
stopped short as she had for Grandfather, and Mary Jane, delighted with
the success she seemed to be having, waved and shouted till
Grandfather, hearing the commotion, came running to see what the matter
could be.
"Well! Well! Well!" he exclaimed when he reached the barn gate and
saw what had happened. "Say I couldn't make a farmer's girl out of
you, Mary Jane! I'm proud of you! Isn't she a good one, John?"
John, his eyes round with fear for himself and with admiration for his
new little cousin, nodded "Yes."
After that Grandfather stayed around near where they were and helped
Mary Jane show John the little pigs, Brindle Bess the cow, and then the
baby mice (who soon wouldn't be babies any more, by the way) up in the
loft. And of course they went across the road to see the lamb that by
now was well acquainted with Mary Jane; and they played with Bob who
came frisking to meet them. And last of all they showed John the brand
new baby ducks.
"I'd have liked the rabbits best," said John when they had told him
about the pets that were found and lost so soon the day before.
"Couldn't we get them back again?"
"Maybe we could, maybe we could," said Grandfather thoughtfully. "We
hadn't tried. Maybe that foolish mother took them back to where we got
them. 'Twould be just like her. Let's go see."
So with a child on each side of him (just the very thing he liked best
too), Grandfather and his guests went back through the cornfield and
the pasture lot to where the rabbit nest had been.
"Well," said Grandfather as he bent over the rubbish where the nest had
been, "for a boy who had just come onto a farm, you're a pretty good
guesser, my son. Look here!" He pulled back the rubbish, just as he
had done the day before, and there, before their eyes were the rabbits,
five of them, just as soft and just as warm and comfortable as though
they had never taken a journey in their lives.
[Illustration: "There, before their eyes were the rabbits, five of
them."]
"Didn't they like our house we made for them?" asked Mary Jane.
"'Pears not," said Grandfather. "What do you want to do about it,
children?"
"I've always wanted some rabbits in a box," said John, "and I never did
have any. I want to feed 'em and watch 'em, you know."
"Yes, I know," agreed Grandfather, but that was all he said.
Mary Jane thought of saying that the box already had a family in it,
her family of ducks, but she thought maybe that wouldn't be polite, and
anyway, likely as not there were more boxes, so she just kept still,
very still.
And while they were all three standing there, wondering, Mary Jane
looked up and over in the hedge, she spied the mother rabbit standing
partly on her hind feet and looking at them as _hard_!
"Look!" cried Mary Jane, "there's their mother!"
The sound of a voice startled the little mother and she ran away,
lipity, lipity, lip; lipity, lipity, lip; such a funny little run! till
she reached the shelter of a log. There she waited--they could see the
tip, white of her tail through the leaves.
"She's waiting to see what happens to her babies!" exclaimed Mary Jane,
and suddenly she made up her mind about rabbit pets. "Let's leave them
here, John," she said quickly. "Their mother's lonesome if they go up
to the house. Let's leave them here and I'll give you half of my
ducks."
"All right," agreed John, "but may I come and see them sometimes,
Grandfather?"
"As often as you like. You just let me know and we'll come twice a
day," said Grandfather, "and you'll have most as much fun with the
ducks, I'll wager. Now let's see if we can't hunt up some dinner."
And they turned to the house.
Such a big day as Mary Jane and John did have! They played and they
hunted eggs and they rode on the cow; yes, that can be done, didn't you
ever try it? And they fed the chickens, and by night time they were so
sleepy and tired they hardly noticed their supper.
But after supper Grandfather sat down to look at his paper. And as he
spread it out before him he suddenly chuckled to himself.
"The very thing!" he said, "the very thing! Why didn't I think of that
before?" Then he looked over at the droopy-eyed little folks sitting
on the window seat. "But I suppose you wouldn't care to go?"
"Go where?" exclaimed both children in a breath. "Where, Grandfather?"
"What you talking about, Father?" asked Grandmother.
Instead of answering, Grandfather passed his paper over to her and
pointed to where he had been reading.
Grandmother laughed and nodded. "Yes, if you want to," she said, "but
they'd better be going to bed in a hurry if they're going to do all
that to-morrow!"
"Tell us! Tell us!" cried Mary Jane eagerly.
"Not a word," laughed Grandfather.
"Not a word," insisted Grandmother. "You wouldn't sleep a wink. You
just stop thinking about what it is and go to sleep. Father, you take
John up and I'll go with Mary Jane."
So without finding out the least thing, for Grandmother wouldn't even
answer a question, not one, Mary Jane went off to bed--and to sleep.