GUESSING.

Poor nurse was very sorry. But she knew it would not do to be _too_

sorry for Mary, for then she would go on crying. And once Mary got into

a long cry it sometimes went on to be a very long one indeed. So nurse

spoke to her quite brightly.

"My dearie," she said, "you mustn't cry on your birthday morning. It's

quite a mistake. Look up, dear. See, the sun's coming out so beautiful

again, and we'll have Master Leigh and Master Artie calling for their

breakfast. And you'll have to be quick, for your papa gave me a message

to say you were to go down to see him in the dining-room."

Mary gave a little wriggle, though she still kept her face hidden. But

as nurse went on talking she slowly turned round so that her dressing

could go on.

"I've something to say to you before you go down," nurse went on.

"There's something that's come just in time for your birthday. I'll

give you each two guesses--you and Master Leigh and Master Artie, while

you're eating your breakfast."

Mary looked up.

"Where's my hankercher?" she said, and when nurse gave it to her she

wiped her eyes.

That was a good sign.

"Let me have my guesses now, nursey," she said coaxingly.

But nurse kept to what she had said.

"No, dear, guesses are much nicer when there's two or three together.

Besides, we must be very quick. See, there's your nice frock all

ready."

And Mary saw, where nurse pointed to, one of her Sunday afternoon frocks

lying on a chair. It was a blue one--blue with tiny white stripes, and

Mary was very fond of it. It had a very pretty wide sash, just the same

colour, and there were little bows on her shoes the same colour too.

Her face got quite smiley when she saw all these things. She was not a

vain little girl and she did not care about fine clothes, but it gave

her a nice feeling that, after all, her birthday was going to be

something different to other days.

Soon she was dressed; her hair, which was not very long but soft and

shaggy and of a pretty brown colour, combed out so that no tuggy bits

were left; her hands as clean as a little girl's hands could be; a nice

white pinafore on the top of the pretty blue frock, so that Mary felt

that, as nurse said, she was quite fit to go to see the Queen, if the

Queen had asked her.

And when she went into the day-nursery things seemed to get still nicer.

There were no bowls of bread and milk, but a regular "treat" breakfast

set out. Tea-cups for herself and the boys, and dear little twists of

bacon, and toast--toast in a toast-rack--and some honeycomb in a glass

dish.

"Oh," said Mary, "it _is_ my birfday. I'm quite sure now there's no

mistook."

And in a minute Leigh and Artie came running in. I do not know, by the

by, that Leigh came _running_, most likely he was walking, for he was

rather a solemn sort of boy, but Artie made up for it. He scarcely ever

walked. He was always hopping or jumping or turning head over heels, he

could _almost_ do wheels, like a London street boy. And this morning he

came in with an extra lot of jumps because it was Mary's birthday.

"You thought we'd forgotten, Leigh and me, now didn't you?" he said.

"But we hadn't a bit. It was Leigh said you liked the bacon twisted up

and it was me reminded about the honey. Wasn't it now, nurse? And

we've got a present for you after breakfast. It's downstairs with

papa's and mamma's. We'll give you them all of us together, Mary."

But the mention of mamma brought a cloud again to Mary's face.

"Nursey says mamma's dot a headache, and we can't see her. Not Mary on

her birfday."

At this Leigh looked up.

"Is that true?" he said. "Is mamma ill?"

"She's asleep, Master Leigh, and she may sleep a good while. I dare say

you'll all see her when she wakes."

"Her shouldn't be 'nill on my birfday," began Mary again.

"Rubbish, Mary," said Leigh. "I dare say she'll be all right. And you

should be sorry for mamma if she's ill; it isn't her fault."

"I am sorry," said Mary dolefully; "that's why I can't help crying."

"Come now, Miss Mary," began nurse. "You're forgetting what we fixed.

No crying on a birthday, my dear. And you're forgetting about the

guesses. I'm going to give you two guesses each, Master Leigh and

Master Artie and Miss Mary, about what's come just in time for her

birthday. Now don't speak for a minute, but think it well over while

you go on with your breakfast."

There was a silence then; all the children looked very grave, though

their thinking did not prevent their enjoying their nice breakfast.

"Now, Master Leigh," said nurse, "you guess first."

"A pony," said Leigh. "A new pony instead of Dapple Grey who's getting

too old to trot." Nurse shook her head.

"No, it's not a new pony. Besides, I don't think Miss Mary would care

as much for a new pony as you boys would."

"No," Mary agreed. "I don't want no pony but Dapple Grey. Nother

ponies trot too fast." Leigh thought again. This time he tried to make

his guess some quite "girl" thing.

"A doll--a big doll for Mary," he said.

Nurse smiled. No, it was not that--at least--"A wax doll, do you mean,

Master Leigh?"

"Yes, a wax doll. But I don't _think_ it could be a doll, for that

could have been got already for a birthday present, and this is quite an

_extra_ present, isn't it?" said Leigh.

"Yes, _quite_ extra," said nurse. "But now it's Master Artie's turn."

Artie's ideas were very jumbled. He did not keep the inside of his head

in nearly such good order as Leigh kept his. First he guessed "a fine

day for Mary's birthday," as if any "guessing" could be needed for a

thing which was already there before their eyes. Then he guessed a

_very_ big cake for tea, which was not a very clever guess, as a nice

big cake on a birthday was an "of course." So now it came to Mary's own

guesses. She looked up eagerly.

"For us all to be doo--" Then with a great effort, for Mary was growing

a big girl and wanted to speak quite rightly, "to be g-ood all day.

Kite g-ood."

"That would be very nice," said nurse, "and I hope it will come true,

but that's more wishing than guessing, Miss Mary. It's something that's

come, not going to come, that I want you to guess about."

Mary's face grew very grave. Then it smiled again.

"I know," she said, "mamma's headache to g-go away, now, jimmedjetly,

and then we'll go and see her."

"I hope it will," said nurse. "But that wasn't the guess."

She saw that Mary was too little quite to understand.

"See if I can't help you," she said. "What would you like best of

anything? Don't you think a doll that could learn to speak and love you

and play with you would be a nice birthday present?"

Artie and Mary looked puzzled. They had to think about it. But Leigh

was quicker.

"Why, nurse," he said, "a doll like that would be a _living_--oh nurse,

I do believe--" but just as he was going to say more there came a tap at

the door, and Robert, the footman, came in.

"If you please, Mrs Barley," he began. "Barley" was nurse's own name,

and, of course, the other servants were all very respectful, and always

called her "Mrs Barley."

"Master wants the young gentlemen and Miss Mary now at once, if so be as

they've finished their breakfast."

"I think you should say `Miss Mary and the young gentlemen,' Robert,"

said Leigh.

"Specially as it's Mary's birthday," said Artie.

"Oh rubbish," said Leigh; "birthday or no birthday, it's proper."

"I beg the young lady's pardon," said Robert, who was a very well

brought up footman. "I'm sure I meant no offence," and he looked

towards Mary, but just then he could not see anything of her. For while

her brothers were correcting Robert, Mary had been employing herself in

getting down from her chair, which took a good while, as it was high and

she was very short. Nothing but a sort of fluff of blue skirts and sash

and white muslin pinafore and shaggy hair, with here and there a shoe or

a little pink hand sticking out, was to be seen. Robert sprang

forwards, meaning to be extra polite and set Miss Mary right side

uppermost again, but in some mysterious way she managed to get on her

feet by herself.

"No, zank you, Robert," she said with dignity, as she stood there with a

rather red face, smoothing down her pinafore. "I can get down alone."

"Miss Mary, my dear," said nurse. "I'm always telling you to ask me to

lift you down. The chair will topple over some day and you'll be

hurting yourself badly."

"But, nurse, I'm _four_, now," said Mary. "Four is big."

"Of course it is," said Leigh. "Never mind, nurse. The best plan will

be for me to hold her chair while she gets down. Are you ready, Artie?

Mary and I are."

Artie had managed to "honey" his face and hands, and nurse thought Mary

too would not be the worse for a slight sponging.

"Papa likes a sweet kiss, but not a honey one," she said.

But at last they were all ready and on their way down to the

dining-room, where they came upon Robert again, ready to throw open the

door with great dignity, as he had hurried down the back stairs on

purpose to be there before them.

Papa was just finishing _his_ breakfast. He looked up with a bright

smile.

"Well, young people," he said. "Well, my pet," this was to Mary. "So

this is your birthday, my little queen--eh?"

He lifted her on to his knee and kissed her.

Mary loved when papa called her his little queen.

"I have to be off immediately," he said, "but first I have to give you

your birthday presents from dear mamma and me."

"And ours, papa, Leigh's and mine. They're all together--mamma put them

all together," said Artie.

"All right. They are over there on the side-table. You fetch them,"

said papa.

"Are you going to a meeting, father?" asked Leigh.

"Yes, my boy, to lots of meetings. I shan't be back till late

to-night."

"What are meetings?" Mary was just going to ask, but the sight of Artie

and the parcels put it out of her head. There was a beautiful doll's

perambulator from papa and mamma, and "a church book," bound in red, and

with "Mary" outside, in lovely gold letters; and from Leigh and Artie, a

doll's tea-service--cups and saucers and teapot and everything--in white

china with little pink flowers, and dear little teaspoons of shining

silver, or at least quite as pretty as silver. And then there was the

birthday cake--covered with white sugar and with "Mary" in pink letters.

There was no fear of Mary forgetting her name this birthday, was there?

How her eyes sparkled, and how quick her breath came with pleasure, and

how rosy her cheeks grew!

"Oh papa," she said, "oh Leigh, oh Artie!" and for a minute or two that

was all she could say.

"Are you pleased, my pet?" said papa.

"Oh, I _never_, never did have such sp'endid presents," said Mary.

"Dear little Mary," said Artie, kissing her. "I am so glad you like

them."

Then another thought struck Mary, as she stood touching gently one of

her treasures after the other, as if she did not know which she loved

the most.

"Papa, dear," she said, "can't I see dear mamma? I would like to zank

dear mamma."

"And so you shall, my pet," said her father. And he picked her up as he

spoke and seated her on his shoulder. Mary was very fond of riding on

papa's shoulder. "Come along, boys," he said, "you may come with me, if

you won't be noisy, to see mamma and something else--Mary's best

birthday present of all."

"Anoder birfday present," said Mary, so surprised that she felt quite

breathless. "_Anoder_, papa?"

"Yes, old woman--you couldn't guess what, if you tried for a week of

Sundays," said papa.

Papa did say such funny things sometimes! Mary would have begun

wondering what a week of Sundays could be like, if her thoughts had not

been so busy with the idea of another birthday present, that she could

not take in anything else.

What _could_ it be?

"There's been nothing but guessing to-day," said Artie. "Nurse _was_

making us guess so at breakfast, about something that's comed for Mary's

birthday. Could it be this other present, papa? I'm tired of

guessing."

"Well, don't guess any more," said papa. "I'm going to show you."