"Three guesses, Maud. What have I got in my hand?"
"Oh, I don't know. Is it a parcel?"
"Yes, it is a brown paper parcel; but what is in it? That is one guess.
Now guess again."
"Is it a wax doll with curly hair?"
"No, not quite so large as that."
"Not so large? then is it a small thing? I have lost my thimble, and
I've broken my china cup, so perhaps you have brought me one. Stop,
stop; I have not had my third guess yet. Let me see: I gave my
skipping-rope to Sally Brown. Oh, Phil, is it a skipping-rope?"
Philip laughed.
"Yes," said he, "it is a skipping-rope with fine painted handles. It is
the prettiest I could find in the shop."
And Philip opened the parcel.
"Oh, what a beauty!" said Maud; "it is far prettier than mine was. And
what nice rope! Oh, Phil, how good of you!"
"Well, now let me see if you can skip with it," said Philip, giving it
into her hands.
And Maud began to skip.
"It is splendid," said she; "it almost skips of itself. I never skipped
with such a skipping-rope before. It is the thing I wanted most, Philip.
How came you to think of it?"
"Why," said Philip, "that was not very hard. You gave your rope to
little Sally because she was a poor little girl, and her mother could
not buy one for her. So I thought it was the best present I could give
you, and the best surprise, and I took a walk into Linton to the
toy-shop there, and though I saw all sorts of toys, I only asked for
skipping-ropes, and I bought the prettiest that the shop-keeper had to
sell. I am glad you like it."
"Yes, I like it very much. I could skip all day with it."
"Well, don't do that, for I want to have a hopping-race with you, and
then we will try the new jump. Where is it?"
"It is just at the end of the playground, over hurdles. They are not
very high, and I think I can jump over them. I know you can, and now
that you are here I will try."
And Maud put her skipping-rope into the brown paper, and laid it on the
bench.
"We will hop down to the hurdles, and then we will have a grand
jumping-match," said Philip.
[Illustration: "There's no compassion like a penny."]
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