A VISIT.
One morning Mr. Cary and uncle Benjamin started for a long day’s ride.
When her papa kissed Julia good-by, tears came in her eyes.
“My heartache will come back again,” she said.
But work is a good thing for a sad heart, and aunt Abby had plenty of
that for Julia. There were a hundred babies in feathers, out of doors,
which Julia liked to feed. For breakfast, dinner, and supper, and for
lunches between, Julia carried them food in a tin pail.
There were turkeys, chickens, and ducks.
When they saw aunty and Julia and the tin pail coming, they knew they
should be fed. So out of the coops came chickens and turkeys, peeping
and chirping like little birds. And up from the little pond waddled the
tiny ducks. It was fun to see how fast they came; how they tumbled down
and hopped over one another in a hungry scrabble.
Aunt Abby thought Julia would not miss her dear father so much if she
were with Anne and Rose. So after dinner they went to visit them.
[Illustration: Two kids playing with cat]
The little girls had but few playthings, but the kitten made fun enough
for them. Anne had already taught her puss to play with a string.
Before tea was quite ready for the grown folks, Anne and Rose took a
box of very small dishes out on the grass, and set a table of their
own. Their mamma gave them a part of each dish she had for her own
guest, which made a nice feast.
They laughed and ate a great deal, and drank a great many cups of tea.
But as the most of their tea came out of the milk-pitcher, and the rest
from the teakettle, it did not keep either of them awake that night.
They had romped so hard, that soon after tea aunt Abby thought best for
Julia to say “Good-night,” and each of the little tea-drinkers was soon
asleep.
Julia told her papa the next day about her good visit, and said she
chased those same kittens all night. Aunt Abby said that was because
she had been so wild, and had got so tired.
[Illustration: Decoration]