We subscribed for you again, dear YOUNG PEOPLE, and you can not
imagine with what pleasure the first copies were received. We ran
to meet papa on Thursday, and how we shouted when we saw that our
books had come! But we made still more noise when we saw our old
friends Toby Tyler and Jimmy Brown. We saw one grand improvement in
HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, and it was the Postmistress. What a dear,
kind, patient lady she must be! We have a great many pets. Perhaps
we would not have so many if we did not make pets out of almost
everything; even the calves and pigs are pets. We have got a very
cunning little kitten. She is very playful, but will not make
friends with our dog Hunter. Do you think she could be taught to
sit up and beg as some dogs do? Kitty _can_ sit up when she wants
to, but it seems so easy for her to fall over. We have a pretty
little red calf that is a pet, and we named her Baby, because she
was smaller than any of the other calves of her age. We have a
handsome black colt that is two years old, and he is the greatest
pet of all. He is a little orphan. His mother died when he was a
very young colt, and my sister and I have raised him by hand. I
could fill a whole page telling you how cute he is, but I am afraid
you would not want to print so much. We have not any little birds,
but we have an empty cage, and could catch a great many wild birds
if we wished to; but we don't think they would love us if we took
them out of the beautiful woods and shut them in a narrow cage.
There are a great many wild birds' nests close around here, and in
the morning they make the woods echo with their sweet songs. In the
winter the snow-birds come every morning for their breakfast of
bread-crumbs; so we always have birds around us, winter or summer.
Rosalie P.'s letter was the first I ever saw in Our Post-office Box
written by any person that I knew. Now we will close, and, dear
Postmistress, we hope we have not made your head ache by such a
long chatterbox letter.
ADDIE and LULU.
Made my head ache? No indeed; though you did make me blush when I read
those complimentary adjectives. You are quite right not to catch and
cage the wild birds, and the pets you now have are enough in number to
occupy all your spare moments. Probably you can teach kitty to beg if
you try; but is it worth while?
* * * * *
Polly and Patty one summer day
To the dentist had to go,
For the little white teeth in Polly's mouth
Were not in an even row.
And Patty had one that ached and hurt,
Until she was fairly wild;
So mother said to her two sweet girls,
"You must each be brave, dear child!"
* * * * *