H, Pippin! it is such a fine day for our picnic !" Doffin cried, as she opened the window of her bedroom early one summer morning. and glanced up at the beautiful blue sky. "Do get up, Pippin; it's such a lovely day!" Pippin turned over very lazily, opened first one eye and then another, and finally sat up in bed, yawning a good deal. Presently she joined Doffin at the window, and stood lost in wonder. It was the first time she had ever seen a real early summer morning, with the dew glistening in great drops on the grass, the flowers slowly unfolding themselves, and the birds singing away joyously. Then there came such a sweet odour of hay from the meadows, mixing with the perfume of the roses and lilies in the garden; such a cheerful lively hum of voices from the farmyard, where Jim was getting out Might and Majesty, the two great farmhorses, and presently the merry music of their bells was heard tinkling, tinkling down the. lane, while the hens and chickens chatted away to each other merrily. And over and above all was the sweet freshness to be felt at five o'clock on a summer's morning. Pippin and Doffin stood at the open window, enjoying it all very much. Their real names were Alice and Ethel Lee, and they had come on a visit to their aunt and uncle at Two Elm Farm because their own mother was very ill, and their father had to take her away to the south of France, where the weather was warm and bright, and Pippin and Doffin were sent on a long-promised visit to Uncle Fred and Aunt Louie. The first day they felt very sad and solitary. Hetty, their old nurse, had gone with their mother, and Barbara, Aunt Louie's servant, was always in such a hurry that the children seemed afraid to speak to her. was whisking about the house Their aunt too, in the fast. It seemed a very, very long morning, but it was over at last. Barbara whisked away the breakfast-things, then went into the dairy, and from there into the pantry, and just as the children were beginning to think she had forgotten all about the promised basket she came with it. "Now then, my lassies, away to the fields with you, and don't come back till sundown. Keep near the haymakers, and if you look round I should think you'll find strawberries on the banks down there, and flowers in plenty. Don't eat all your lunch at once, or you'll be hungry later on." Doffin took the basket (how heavy it was, and how she longed for a peep at its contents!) and with Pippin beside her, walked gravely down the lane, Barbara standing at the door watching them. "They're not like young folk at all," she observed to Aunt Louie. "Miss Doffin is that quiet and steady you might trust her anywhere," and then she went into the kitchen. Just as soon as they reached the first meadow, Doffin laid down the precious basket, and away they scampered through the hay, tossing it right over each other's head, and having a glorious romp till they were too hot and tired to play any more; then they lay down and rested for awhile. At last little Doffin took up her basket again, and on they went through the beautiful shady lanes, filling their hands with wild flowers-and all the time the haymakers were at work on either side, and great farm-horses stood in the lane rubbing their noses over the gates, and Doffin thought they were Might and Majesty all the time, for she never noticed that they had quite lost sight of the red chimneys and sharp-pointed gables of Two Elm Farm, and that they were all quite strange haymakers that they saw about them. At length they came to a pretty mossy spot where a little brook chatted away merrily, and a tall tree cast a delightful shadow, and it was the cosiest place they had seen since they.set out. "Let's have our dinner here, Pippin," she said, putting down her basket; "I am so hungry!" Pippin was tired and hungry too. So they sat down and opened the little parcels Barbara had packed up. First there were some sandwiches, then lots of delicious brown bread and butter, cake, apples, and a bottle of milk, and in a snug corner two of Barbara's special raspberry tarts. "I'll have a sandwich," Doffin said, helping herself, and Pippin followed her example. Just as they were in the middle of their feast, there passed down the lane a little boy, and as soon as he saw them he came to where they were sitting. Such a ragged little boy, with no boots or socks, and his bare brown legs all scratched, his straw hat torn and battered, and his jacket quite in rags. "Please give me a piece of bread," he said in a whining voice. "I'm very hungry-didn't 'ave nothink to eat all day." "Poor boy!" Doffin said, handing him the largest sandwich, which he devoured greedily, while Pippin gave him the biggest and rosiest apple. He seemed evidently surprised at their kindness, and a little taken aback, for he had meant to help himself had they refused. "Would you like a piece of bread-and-butter?" Doffin asked, when the sandwich had disappeared. And the boy said he would; or two, "if miss has 'em to spare." And then they gave him a drink of milk from the horn cup Barbara had put in the basket, and then they put up all that was left of the feast, not very much, for the ragged boy had quite a dreadful appetite, and prepared for another walk. "I say, would you like to get some strawberries, good 'uns?" the boy said, after a minute's silence; he felt he should do something in return for his good dinner. "Leave your basket here under the tree, and I'll show you." "Thank you very much," Doffin said. So the basket containing the two tarts, the empty bottle, and the horn cup was concealed under some ferns, and away they scampered after the ragged boy, down a narrow lane, across a turnip-field, and into a wood, where the boy declared there were stacks of strawberries. "You just look right under the leaves, that's where the best 'uns grow," he said. Doffin and Pippin found searching for the strawberries very amusing, and they never missed the ragged little boy, who had run away as soon as he got a chance, and went right back to where the basket was left. First he ate one tart, then he ate the other, and finally ran away as quickly as ever he could in an opposite direction. But after a few hours he began to think it was very, very mean of him to have robbed the little girls who had been so kind to him; so he went back again to where the basket was, feeling determined to tell them how sorry he was. For a long time he waited, but no little girls came back. Sitting on the fence, throwing stones into the brook, and otherwise amusing himself, till he began to get hungry again, and having eaten up the few scraps of bread that remained, he lay down and soon fell fast asleep. It was long past sunset then, and when he awoke he could see the stars shining quite clearly, and there was the basket still by his side. Presently he heard the sound of voices coming down the lane, and the barking of dogs, and starting up he ran to see what could be the matter. There were two men with lanterns, and in a moment he guessed they were coming to look for the children. "They went into the wood, sir, to look for strawberries. I showed them the way," he cried in his shrill voice, "and I was waiting for them here with the basket, when I fell asleep. This way, sir," and he ran quickly in the direction he had taken the children in the morning. Doffin and Pippin, meantime, had eaten strawberries till they could eat no more, and walked so far that they lay down under a tree to rest, and so fell fast asleep, which was not at all surprising. When they opened their eyes it was quite dark, and cold too, and round on every side were tall trees, looking quite weird in the pale moonlight. one It was impossible to tell which way to turn even to search for the basket. So Doffin pressed her little sister closer to her, and determined to stay just where they were till some came to look for them. She thought of the story of the Babes in the Wood, but she was not afraid of their being so harshly treated, and it made her happy to remember that there were no cruel animals in English forests; but poor little Pippin was cold, tired, hungry, and frightened, and wept very bitterly. Presently there was a sound of voices in the distance, and the children jumped up and clung closer to each other; then came a strange flashing of light through the trees, followed by two or three sharp barks, and a shrill voice cried, "Here they are, sir, where the best strawberries in the whole wood grow," and Doffin and Pippin ran forward with a great cry of delight, for there stood Uncle Fred and Jim and Tiger. Uncle took Pippin in his arms, Jim swung Doffin on his shoulder, Tiger ran on in front, and so they all went towards home, the ragged little boy following a step behind. Presently he ran on in front and got the basket, which he gave to Jim. "I ate them tarts," he said, holding down his head. "I'm very sorry, but I was so hungry, and I kem back to tell you, and waited for you ever so long." "And if you hadn't come back, I'm afraid we should not have found our little wanderers tonight," Uncle Fred said. "So we will forgive you, Johnnie Simms. Yes, I know you very well, and though you deserve to be punished for stealing, I'll give you something for having helped to find my little girls, if you come up to the farm tomorrow." "I don't want nothing," Johnnie replied. "It was me got 'em into the wood, and it was me got 'em out, and them tarts were uncommon good," and without another word he disappeared down the lane like a dusty little shadow, and Pippin and Doffin got home safely, and were petted first and scolded after, and Aunt Louie herself tucked them into bed and gave them some nice hot milk, and declared over and over again to Barbara, that she was truly thankful matters were no worse. And that was the end of the adventures of Pippin and Doffin in the country, for never again were they allowed to go out a long way, or for a long time by themselves. H. J. B. H. |
