ABOUT HARRIET By Clara AVhitehill Hunt ■Soofefi bp Clara ^!)itcI)iU |)unt PUBLISHED BV HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY ABOUT HARRIET. Illustrated in color by Maginel Wright Enright. WHAT SHALL WE READ TO THE CHILDREN? About Harriet ABOUT HARRIET By Clara Whitehill Hunt With Illustrations by Maginel JVright Enright Boston and New York Houghton Mifflin Company 1916 COP\ IIIGHT, I916, BY CLARA WHITEHILL HUNT AND MAGINEL WRIGHT ENRIGHT ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Ptihlished IVovembfr iqrb EOUC. UBRARI TO Grace Rogers Hunt ^ Here are Seven Stories ABOUT HARRIET The First Story tells What she did on Friday The Second Story tells What she did on Saturday The Third Story tells What she did on Sunday ''% % f X"^i^ ^^ifc^v Vll ABOUT HARRIET The Fourth Story tells What she did on Monday The Fifth Story tells What she did on Tuesday The Sixth Story tells What she did on Wednesday The Seventh Story tells What she did on Thursday What Harriet did on Friday ABOUT HARRIET I THIS IS THE FIRST STORY ABOUT HARRIET IT TELLS WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY Harriet is a little girl four years old. She lives with her Father and Mother in a great huge city. When Harriet opened her eyes one Friday morning, the first thing she thought about was her baby, who al- ways sleeps in a wee, small crib be- 3 ABOUT HARRIET side Harriet's big crib. Harriet reached down to the little bed and called, " Time to wake up, Florella May." Then she lifted dolly into her own bed, hugged her close, and told her the very same story that Father had read to Harriet at bedtime last night. Florella May listened very quietly. She liked best of all Harriet's stories the one about " The Three Bears." It made her shiver when Mamma Har- riet spoke in agreat,gruffvoice, like the Big Bear's, and she wished very much for a taste of Baby Bear's porridge. After the story was finished, Har- riet's Mother came and said, " Now, little daughter, it 's almost time for your porridge." So Mother helped her dress, but Harriet put on her shoes and stock- ings all by herself. There was not time to dress Florella May, because 4 WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY Father was waiting for breakfast ; but dolly seemed glad to take another nap. When Harriet ran into the dining- room, Father called : — "Hullo, Miss Dusenberry! How do you find yourself this fine day ? " And Harriet jumped into Father's arms and answered gayly: — " I find myself ready to go to the beach with you, Mr. Father Robert- son ! Then Father laughed, — "Oho! What do you suppose my big boys would think if their teacher went off to play on a school day ? " " They would think, ' We '11 go to the beach too'!" she answered quickly. But Mother said : " Oh, we are n't ready to go to the beach to-day. You and I have a great deal of baking to do first, or there w^ould n't be lunch enough. You know Old Ocean always 5 ABOUT HARRIET makes little girls and big Fathers want to eat a great many sandwiches and a great many cookies; and our cooky jar is almost empty." "Shall we go to-morrow ? " asked Harriet. "Is to-morrow Saturday ? " " Yes," answered Mother. " But come to breakfast now or our good food will be quite cold." Then Father lifted Harriet into her high chair and tied on her bib, and Harriet said a little "Thank you" to God for the nice breakfast. Then she picked up her birthday spoon and began to eat her oatmeal. When Harriet had eaten every bit, she smiled happily, for down at the bot- tom of her bowl was a picture which she always liked to see. There was a lit- tle Japanese garden and in the middle of it was a tiny bridge across a wee lake, and two funny little Japanese 6 WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY children were leaning over the railing of the bridge throwing crumbs to the swans in the water. Harriet owned a great many picture dishes, because she had two Grandmothers and four aunt- ies and three uncles, and many friends who loved to give her presents ; but ever since Mother had read the story of " The Japanese Twins " Harriet liked this bowl best of all. Soon Father jumped up, kissed Mother and Harriet good-bye, and started off to catch his train. ABOUT HARRIET Harriet ran to the window to wave her hand and throw kisses till Father turned the corner and she could see him no longer. Then the busy day began. In fact, there was so much to do that Florella May slept in her nightie all day long, because her httle Mother did not find time to dress her. WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY First there were the dishes to wash and wipe. Harriet knew how to wipe the knives and forks and spoons till they were so bright that she could see her face in them. This was a great help to Mother. Next there were beds to make and rooms to be put in order; and then it was time for cooky-making. This was the most fun of all. Mother worked at a high table, with a big moulding-board and a large rolling-pin, a great bowl and wooden spoon, and cooking dishes of large size. Harriet stood by her own little table and she had a little moulding- board and a little rolling-pin, a wee bowl and a tiny wooden spoon. First Mother made the cooky dough, then she put some of it into Harriet's bowl. Harriet stirred briskly for a long time. Then she sifted some flour 9 ABOUT HARRIET through her tiny sifter on to her moulding-board. Then she rolled out the dough, very thin. And then she cut out the cookies. First she used a crinkly-edged cut- ter as large and round as a fifty-cent piece. Next she cut out a tiny heart, like a valentine the postman had brought her last Valentine's Day, — only the valentine was red and the cookies were yellow as gold. Last of all she used the cutter that made a lot of little baby moon cook- ies, just like the tiny golden boat that Harriet loved to watch as it floated on the sky ocean at night. Harriet was too little to attend to baking her cookies in the great hot oven, so Mother did that for her, while Harriet climbed into the rock- ing-chair in the sitting-room and lO WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY rocked and sang to herself, making- believe she was in the steamboat on the way to Maine where she and Father and Mother lived in summer. After a while Mother called, " Do you want to see your cookies, dear ? They are all out of the oven." Harriet ran into the kitchen and gazed with delight at her hearts and rounds and baby moons; and, oh joy! there in their midst was a tall, thin, boy cooky and a short, plump, girl cooky that Mother had made as a surprise for her little daughter. Harriet gave her Mother a bear hug of thankfulness, but she did not ask to eat anything then, because she knew that cookies hot from the oven are n't good for a little girl's "tummy." After a long, satisfied look at the panful Harriet asked: — 1 1 ABOUT HARRIET '' Now^ what are we going to do, Mother dearie ? " "I think I must next smooth out the wrinkles in your brown Hnen dress," said Mother. " That is a good dress for the beach, and though it is not soiled, it is a little too mussed for the first part of the day." " It '11 have lots and lots of wrinkles in it the last part of the day, won't it. Mother?" said Harriet gleefully. "Yes, indeed!" laughed Mother. " After a day in the sand and the puddles it will be quite ready for Mrs. O'Brien to take home to wash on Monday." While Mother ironed the linen dress, Harriet with her own little iron pressed the wrinkles out of Tommy Sweet Tooth's blue jumpers. Tommy Sweet Tooth was Harriet's boy doll. He had been a present from Aunt 12 WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY Grace on Harriet's last birthday. On the same birthday Aunt Helen had given Harriet the story of a funny little boy doll whose name was Tommy Sweet Tooth, so it is n't any wonder that the birthday " truly boy " was given the same name as the birthday story boy. Presently it was lunch-time, and after lunch nap-time; and then it was time for a walk in the sunshine. Harriet loved to walk on the Park- way not far from the quiet little street on which she lived. The Parkway was a great wide avenue, almost wide enough for three streets. First there was the sidewalk in front of the row of high brick houses. Along the edge of the sidewalk was a strip of green grass with a row of tall trees stand- ing with their roots in the soft grass. Beyond the trees was a paved road- 13 WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY way for heavy wagons and grocers' and butchers' carts. Then came a broad gravel walk, bordered with grass and roofed over with two rows of beautiful, stately trees. Along both sides of the gravel walk were benches; and on this bright June afternoon the benches were filled with mothers and nurses, while ever so many babies were sleeping and laughing and crowing in their pretty carriages, and ever so many little boys and girls were trundling hoops and dragging little carts and pushing doll carriages and running about merrily in the sunshine. Beyond the gravel walk was a wide, wide road along which automobiles whizzed swiftly and splendid horses drew shining carriages on their way to the Park at the end of the Park- way. And again beyond the wide road 15 ABOUT HARRIET was another gravel walk and another narrow roadway, and another side- walk. So it is no wonder that Harriet felt it a long and dangerous journey to cross the Parkway; and even though the splendid policeman on his beauti- ful, glossy horse was on guard to take care of the people afoot, Harriet al- ways clung tightly to Mother's hand till they were safe under the trees on the gravel. There isn't time to tell about all the things that Harriet saw on that Friday afternoon. It was the first warm, bright day after many cloudy or rainy ones, so it seemed as if every- body had come out to enjoy the sun- shine. There was the peanut man with his shaggy pony and red cart and the squeaky whistle that kept blowing i6 WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY while the peanuts were roasting in the Httle oven. There was the balloon man carrying red and yellow and green and purple balloons on one arm, a basket of gay 17 ABOUT HARRIET paper windmills on the other arm, while a whistle in his mouth made the children think a canary bird must be flying about the Parkway. Once Har- riet had seen an automobile stop at the curb to let a little boy buy a yel- low balloon, which his father fastened to the front of the car. Then the auto- mobile whirled away with the balloon bobbing in the wind before it. There was the hurdy-gurdy — or street piano, some children called it — played by a dark-skinned Italian whose gayly dressed wife kept time with her tambourine and then passed it around for pennies. Harriet always liked to give pennies to the Italian woman, because she smiled so brightly and said, "Thanks, little Lady," so politely to Harriet. There were so many things to see that Harriet thought the afternoon i8 WHAT SHE DID ON FRIDAY had been very short when Mother said : — " It is time to go home now, dear, or Father will get there before we do." You may be sure that at the end of this busy day Harriet was quite willing to go to bed early ; only, of course, she had to have her bedtime story first. This time she chose the story of 19 ABOUT HARRIET "The Elephant's Child." It was such fun to pull Father's nose, the way the crocodile pulled the inquisitive little elephant's, and to hear Father say, "Led go, you are hurtig be!" just the way the elephant child talked in the "Just so" story. After the story came the good- night prayer, then oh, so many hugs and kisses for Father and Mother, and in two minutes more Harriet was fast asleep. So that is the end of the First Story about Harriet and what she did on Friday. What Harriet did on Saturday CT- II THIS IS THE SECOND STORY ABOUT HARRIET IT TELLS WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY The very minute her eyes opened the next morning Harriet called: — "Is the sun shining? Are we going to the beach to-day ? " And her Mother answered : — " Yes, it is exactly the right kind of a day for the beach." 23 ABOUT HARRIET You may be sure it did not take Harriet long to dress on that morn- ing. And poor Florella May got no attention at all. She lay in her little crib in her nightie for another long day, but she did n't seem to mind it a bit. As her little Mother often remarked, Florella May had a very nice disposition. Harriet was so excited that she could not eat enough of her oatmeal to uncover the Japanese garden. She could hardly wait for Father and Mother to get ready to start, but it was really only a short time before they were closing the big front door and walking down the street toward the trolley car. Father carried the suitcase which held the lunch-boxes, the towel, Har- riet's rompers. Father's book, and Mother's knitting. Mother carried a 24 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY cloak for Harriet in case cool winds should blow up before the end of the day. And Harriet held a bright red pail and a shiny new shovel, and you know what they were for ! Down at the corner they stopped for the trolley car. Although it was so early in the morning the very first car that came along was almost full of happy little boys and girls with 25 ABOUT HARRIET their mothers and aunties and their lunches and pails and shovels. There were n't many fathers on the car, be- cause not all the little children were so fortunate as Harriet in having a Father who could play with her on Saturdays now and then. The motorman stopped the car, Father helped Mother into a seat and swung Harriet up into Mother's lap, then he stood in the aisle because all the seats were filled. It was not a very pretty ride through the city streets, but Harriet was in- terested in everything she saw. Pres- ently they passed the Park, and that was lovely. It was so pleasant to look in under the trees and see the chil- dren at play on the soft grass. In less than an hour they were getting out of the car and walking through a great high open building 26 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY out on to the board walk from which they could see Old Ocean, with his little waves dancing and winking in the sunshine, and his big waves rum- bling and roaring as they broke on the sand under the board walk. After a long, happy first look at the water and some deep, long breaths of its salt breezes. Father said : — " Come, we don't want to stay 27 ABOUT HARRIET here among the merry-go-rounds and side-shows. Let 's go over to Sunset Beach where we can get down on the sand and enjoy the waves close at hand." So they walked and walked, first on the board walk and then on the sand. Harriet kept her hand in Fa- ther's because this was her first visit to the Ocean for almost a year, and she was a little bit afraid that the big roaring waves might run up so high that they would gobble her up and take her down, down into the green water to feed the little fishes. After a while they came to a nice quiet part of the beach and Father paid a man for two easy seats with awnings over them to shade them from the sun. Then Mother told Har- riet she might take off her shoes and stockings and put on her rompers. 28 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY Oh, how good the soft sand felt to little feet that had been cooped up in shoes and stockings for most of a year! Very soon Harriet lost all fear of her old friend the Ocean, and was merrily playing "tag" with the little waves, which every now and then caught up with her and gave her feet a splashing. After she had run and jumped and 29 ABOUT HARRIET pranced and squealed, "letting off steam," as Father called it, she ran to her Mother and said : — "Mother, I 'm hungry ! " "I thought so ! " said Mother, with a laugh. " Very well, you may have a little lunch now to make up for the breakfast you did not eat, but we '11 not have our real luncheon until later." So Harriet sat down beside her Mother's chair and ate two thin bread- and-butter sandwiches and one large cooky, and then she drank some milk out of one of the little paper cups that Mother always kept on hand for picnics and traveling. After her little lunch was finished, she took her pail and shovel down to where the sand was damp. First she filled the pail even full of sand and patted down the top, very smooth, with her shovel. Then she pressed 30 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY her hands into the smooth sand ; and then she trotted up to her Father, say- ing : — " See, Daddy, I have two hands in my pail and two hands on my arms." "So I see," said Father. "You are quite a handy young person." Next Harriet dug a deep hole, sat down and put her feet into it, and then scooped the sand back into the hole, burying her feet tightly under the sand. "Oh, Daddy !" she shrieked. "I've lost my feet. The little gnomes down in the ground are pulling them!" "You don't say so!" said Father. " Then I suppose you '11 have to make those two extra hands serve in place of feet hereafter." "I know! Like Jocko ! His back feet are almost like hands," said Har- riet. 31 ABOUT HARRIET Jocko was a little monkey at the ^' Zoo." He was very tame and all the children loved him. You shall hear about him in another story. Next Harriet decided that she would make a house. With the edge of her shovel she marked out a square on the sand. This was the kitchen of her house. Then she made a little mound of sand against one wall of her kitchen, cut off the top and the sides of the mound so that they were flat in- stead of rounding, and this was the kitchen stove. She marked six little circles on the top of the stove for 32 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY the places on which to set the cook- ing dishes over the gas flames. After looking with pride at her stove, she was about to begin on a table, when a little girl with sparkling black eyes ran up to her and, after a look at Harriet's work, said : — " Hello ! Are you making a house ? " "Yes," answered Harriet. "I '11 make one next door and then we can visit each other." "All right," said Harriet, very much pleased to have a playmate. The two little girls worked busily side by side for some minutes. By the time Harriet had finished her kitchen, and Marjorie — that was the new little girl's name — had marked out a good many rooms, but had not furnished any of them, the little neighbors be- gan making calls on each other. And before long Marjorie exclaimed : — 33 ABOUT HARRIET "Oh, let's dig some wells and see the waves come up and fill them!" So they left their houses unfinished and began to dig a number of deep holes, keeping watch to run out of the way when a wave now and then ran up high and filled the holes. In a short time Marjorie said: — ''My Mother brought my tin dishes in her bag. Let 's make some pies and cakes in them." Marjorie scampered off and soon came running back with her tiny doll kitchen dishes in her hands. She gave half of them to Harriet. In a few minutes each little cook had made a row of pies and cakes and cookies which looked so good that Marjorie exclaimed : — "They look good enough to eat. Let's!" By this time Harriet was so charmed 34 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY with her lively new friend that she was ready to do anything Marjorie suggested, so those two little girls put as much as a spoonful of damp sand into their silly little mouths ! Then how they spluttered and made wry faces, and Marjorie said : — "Ugh ! It's almost as bad as medi- cine. Oh, I'll tell you! Play you're sick and I'm the doctor and I'll come to visit you." " W-e-U — but don't make me take any bad medicine," said Harriet doubtfully. "No; I'll just say you are run down and need to go to the country at once to rest." This sounded very nice. The next thing to do was to make a bed. This they did by digging a long, shallow place in the warm, dry part of the sand. First Harriet lay down in the 35 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY bed, then Marjorie tried it; but it was not big enough for Marjorie, who was two years older than Harriet. So Marjorie changed her mind about being the doctor, and decided that she would be a patient too, lying in a hospital bed next to Harriet's. Harriet and Marjorie had a beau- tiful morning, and when their Mothers called them to lunch they agreed to play together again after they had eaten. Oh, what a good lunch Mother had brought, all wrapped in waxed paper that had kept the sandwiches so fresh. There were lettuce sandwiches and chicken sandwiches and egg sand- wiches, and little round sandwiches made of brown bread and cream cheese. There were olives and cookies and oranges and pink-and-white can- dies. There was milk to drink for 37 ABOUT HARRIET Harriet and hot coffee from the ther- mos bottle for Father and Mother. And they ate and ate till every crumb was gone. And after it was all eaten Harriet did n't seem to care about playing! She climbed up into Father's lap and said: — "Tell me a story, Daddy, please." So Father, looking out over the wide, wide waters, away out to where the sky seemed to come down and rest on the ocean, told about brave sail- ors, and lighthouses shining out in the dark to save ships from going to pieces upon the rocks; and about tiny little coral animals that build big islands ; and about divers who go down to the bottom of the sea for the pearls that are hidden away in oyster shells. And as Harriet watched the lovely sea gulls, now flying high in the air, now floating 38 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY like little boats on the water, Mother recited a poem that she had learned when she was a little girl. It was called "The Sea Gull," and it made Harriet look at the gulls with new wonder to think how fearless they were on the stormy waves and the night-black sea. After a time Marjorie came running up, and Father said: — "You must introduce me to your new friend, Harriet." So Harriet said, "This is Marjorie, Daddy and Mother." 39 ABOUT HARRIET And Marjorie shook hands with Harriet's Father and Mother, and then Father and the little girls had a game of romps. Father was a galloping horse with each little girl taking a turn as a rider on his back. And when Father made- believe that his drivers had worn him out, although they teased him to play with them longer, he galloped back to his seat beside Mother, and tumbling the little girls into the sand, he ex- claimed : — "Shoo! Shoo! You insatiable ty- rants ! I 've got to get to work on this book." So Marjorie and Harriet went back to their shovels, and they had such a good time that they were quite surprised when Harriet's Mother called : — " Come, dear, it 's time for us to get 40 WHAT SHE DID ON SATURDAY ready to go home. We don't want to wait till the cars are crowded, as they will be later." Harriet was sorry to say good-bye to Marjorie, but there was no help for it. Soon the little bare feet were rubbed with the towel, the rompers came off and the shoes and stockings went on, the suitcase was packed, and Father, Mother, and Harriet were walking to the car. Very soon after they were settled in the car Harriet fell asleep in Father's arms. The salt air and the play and the no afternoon nap had made her so sleepy that she only half-waked up when they got to their corner. Father carried her over his shoulder to their home. And Mother undressed her and laid her in her little bed and she did not know anything about 41 ABOUT HARRIET what was happening to her, she was so sleepy ! So that is the end of the Second Story about Harriet and what she did on Saturday. What Harriet did on Sunday Ill THIS IS THE THIRD STORY ABOUT HARRIET IT TELLS WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY Although Harriet had gone to sleep so early, she did not waken until late the next morning. Father and Mother had eaten their breakfast while Harriet was still far away in Dreamland. After a while a very bright little ray of sun- shine ran across Harriet's face and she opened her eyes quickly and sat up in bed. 45 ABOUT HARRIET "Mother dear, what day is this?" she called. "Oh, good morning, dear," said Mother. "This is Sunday and a very beautiful Sunday it is, too." "Are we going to church to-day?" asked Harriet. " Yes," said her Mother ; " since you have waked up at last. I began to think Father would have to go alone." Then Harriet ran to the bathroom, where she was soon splashing in the big white tub. And when her Mother had rubbed her dry and when her hair had been brushed till it shone, Harriet said: — " Now I 'm as clean as the children of Grubby lea, after Clean Peter had scrubbed them." "Clean Peter" was another of Harriet's picture-book friends. Then her Mother helped put on 46 WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY the dainty underclothes and the white socks and ankle ties, but she did not put on Harriet's dress. She said: — " I think I '11 let you wear your blue kimono until after breakfast, then we '11 be sure not to have any spots on the new white dress." So Harriet ate her breakfast sitting at the table all by herself. She was a very hungry little girl, too, because it 47 ABOUT HARRIET was such a long time since she had last eaten. Beside her big, juicy orange and a large dish of oatmeal, she ate a deli- cious soit-boiledeggandaslice of toast, "just the right shade of brown," she said; and she drank almost two cup- fuls of milk. " Well ! Well ! " said Father. " Some- body has a big appetite this morning ! If one day of ocean breezes makes our daughter so hungry, what do you sup- pose will happen. Little Mother, if we spend a whole summer on the Maine coast ? " "I hope it will mean that we'll bring home a little girl with more flesh on her bones than Harriet has now," said Mother. " She has not been hungry enough since she had the measles last spring." The next thing to do was to put on 48 WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY the new white dress. This was a very pretty dress, because Aunt Maud, who knew how to do all sorts of lovely things with her fingers, had made it for Harriet. There were tiny white roses embroidered here and there upon it. And when the white hat went on, with its wreath of little pink rosebuds matching the pink bow in her hair, Harriet's Father and Mother thought their little girl looked sweeter than the June day itself. The walk to church was very pleas- ant. All the streets looked especially clean and tidy. The sky above was so blue, so blue, and a gentle breeze made the fresh green leaves dance and sparkle in the sunshine. Some of the people were out in their tiny square front yards tending their bits of flower beds which made even the city streets look gay. Many 49 ABOUT HARRIET fathers and mothers and children, many young ladies and gentlemen, all dressed in their best, were walking along the streets, some on their way to church, others going to the train for a day in the country, perhaps. It was only a few blocks from Har- riet's house to the church. As they went into the door the great organ was playing one of the lovely things that Harriet's Mother often played on the piano at home. So Harriet en- joyed listening, and feeling the throb of the organ as it almost seemed to make the church building tremble with its music. Soon the minister came into the pul- pit and all the people rose and sang, '< Praise God from Whom all blessings flow." Harriet sang at the top of her voice. She knew that " blessings " meant her dear Father and Mother, her pleas- 50 WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY ant home, her kind aunties and uncles and grandparents, her books and toys and days at the beach and the Park, and all the many, many things that made her a happy little girl. And so she joined in thanking God for send- ing her these blessings. The first part of the church service was always more interesting than the last. There was a chance to stand for the hymns when a little girl got tired of sitting still. There were the pennies 51 ABOUT HARRIET to drop into the collection plate as it was passed. The minister, too, always preached a little sermon for the chil- dren, and he told stories so clearly that even little four-year-old girls liked to listen, and so did big fathers and mothers. To sit still through the grown-ups' sermon was rather tiresome and many of the boys and girls went home after the children's sermon. Harriet, how- ever, stayed with her parents, because there w^as no big sister to take her home. She did not mind the quiet time very much, because she had a busy little mind for making up stories, and Mother always brought a small picture book and paper and pencil for Harriet to amuse herself with. The book to-day was " Peter Rab- bit," and what was more delightful, . 52 WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY Harriet had her Peter Rabbit hand- kerchief with her. She knew every word of the story, so she made-believe read the words herself. Then she pre- tended to show the book Peter Rab- bit his picture on her handkerchief, whispering to the two pictures very softly. After a while she drew pictures ; and then she got tired of everything and climbed into Father's arms, snuggling down and resting quietly till the end of the service. How good it felt to be able to move about and talk again ! Harriet had to shake hands with a great many friends on the way down the aisle; and when the minister in the vestibule saw her, he picked her up in his arms and kissed her, while Harriet hugged him so hard that his face got quite red with the squeezing. He seemed to like the 53 ABOUT HARRIET hugging, though, because he and Har- riet were special friends. On the walk home the streets were even fuller of people than they had been earlier in the day. Every one looked glad of the bright Sunday when there was time to be out of doors and one did not have to hurry off to a long day's work. As soon as they reached home, Har- riet went to Florella May's crib and picked up her dolly, saying, "Why, my 54 WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY poor little daughter, did you think Mother had forgotten you ?" And she tried to make up to her neglected child by being very loving. She took off Florella May's nightie and dressed her carefully, from her hair-ribbon to her little shoes; then she sat inher rocking-chair and rocked her baby till Mother said that dinner was ready. Florella May had to have a chair at the table next to Harriet's chair, and Harriet gave her child many tastes of the food from her own plate. Dinner on Sunday was always a simple meal, but the dessert was sure to be a fine surprise. After the dishes for the first course had been taken to the kitchen, Harriet could hardly sit still. And when Father brought in, on a platter, a great pink mound with bits of red showing in it, Harriet bobbed 55 ABOUT HARRIET up and down in her high chair, crying, " Strawberry ice cream ! Oh, goody, goody ! " Sure enough, it was ice cream with real strawberries crushed in it, and Father had made it in their own freezer while Harriet had been asleep. Beside, there were little cakes that came in tin boxes from the grocery store ; and Harriet ate very slowly so as to make the good taste last as long as possi- ble. After dinner on Sundays Harriet and her Father always played a game that was great fun. First they took Mother by the hand and led her into the sitting-room. They made her sit down in a big easy chair, and Harriet brought a cushion for Mother's back, while Father found the book Mother wished to read. Then they said to Mother: — 56 WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY " Now you stay here and have a nice rest. We are going to do the dishes." Then the play began. Harriet was Mother in this game, and Father was Harriet's Httle daughter Polly ! It was such fun to make-believe that big tall Father was a little bit of a girl who had to mind just what Mother Harriet said ! First Harriet tied an apron on Father — I mean, on '^ Polly." Then she said : — "Now, Polly, if you are a good little girl and help me clear the table and wash the dishes, I know where there is something very nice that Mrs. Robert- son made for a good child." " Oh, I '11 be awful good," said Polly, in a little squeaky voice, very differ- ent from Father's big, deep, everyday ' voice. ^1 ABOUT HARRIET Then Polly began to work so briskly that Mother Harriet said: — "Take care, Polly! You '11 be drop- ping the dishes and smashing them if you hurry so." Then Polly worked so slowly and made-believebe so anxious and solemn that Harriet giggled at Polly's funny actions. In fact, before the work was done and the game was over, Harriet laughed so much she could hardly stand. When they went back into the sit- ting-room she said to Mother : — "Daddy's a very jokish man, isn't he. Mother?" "Indeed he is," said Mother. "I think he's only half-grown up, in spite of his size, don't you ? " Now there was a quiet hour while Harriet played with her dolls, and Father and Mother read their books. S8 WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY Then there was a Sunday School hour when Father told Harriet Bible stories, about Joseph and his coat of many col- ors, about Daniel in the lion's den, about the little shepherd boy who slew the big giant, and best of all about the Baby in the manger on the first Christ- mas Day. After the stories there was music. Mother played beautifully on the piano and Father had a fine deep voice. Har- riet had a pretty voice, too, so they sang, "Watchman, tell us of the night," and " Now the day is over," and others of Harriet's favorite hymns. Then Harriet and her Father took turns choosing what Mother was to play for them. First Harriet chose the " Spring Song," because it made her think of fairies dancing on the soft green grass of early spring. Then Father asked for the " Funeral March," 59 ABOUT HARRIET that reminded one of a slow, solemn procession and a whole nation weep- ing for the loss of one of its great men. Then Harriet chose "To a wild rose," so delicate, so sweet, like the dainty flower that grows along country roads in June. After the music it was supper-time. Sunday-night supper was fun, too. They did not set the table in the din- ing-room. They went into the kitchen and had a picnic supper. Sometimes they played they were gypsies. Some- times they were Indians. Sometimes they were the Pilgrims just landed in America, before there were houses to live in. They always toasted bread with the toasting-fork, but they made- believe the bread was bear meat or deer meat which Father, the hunter, had brought home from the woods. And the jam was wild honey which they had 6i WHAT SHE DID ON SUNDAY found stored by the bees in a hollow tree; and the fruit was berries picked from bushes near their camp. Oh, how good everything tasted with all these make-believe names ! Soon after supper Harriet was quite sleepy enough to go to bed. But first she gave Father "bushels of kisses," because she said it would be so long before he could be at home again all day to do nice, jolly things for Mother and Harriet. And almost as soon as her head touched her pillow the sandman came and Harriet was sound asleep. So this is the end of the Third Story about Harriet and what she did on Sunday. what Harriet did on Monday IV THIS IS THE FOURTH STORY ABOUT HARRIET IT TELLS WHAT SHE DID ON MONDAY When Harriet woke on Monday morning she did not see any gay little sunbeam dancing across her crib. In- stead, her room was darkened by tiny streams of water which the gray rain clouds were pouring down upon her window panes. Harriet hopped out of bed at once and ran to the front window, saying 6s ABOUT HARRIET to herself, "I wonder if Dicky has on his new raincoat and rubber boots this morning." Dicky was a little neighbor who lived across the street. He had had his fifth birthday on the very day that Harriet was four years old. His present had been a rainy-day suit. There were rubber boots, a broad-brimmed rub- ber hat, and a rubber coat. So Dicky loved a pouring rain when he could splash through the rivers in the gut- ters ; and Harriet loved to watch Dicky's fun. This morning no Dicky was in sight. The wet, shiny street was almost empty except for the baker's cart across the way. The baker's driver was just com- ing out of the basement where he had been leaving warm rolls for Dicky's breakfast, and when the driver jumped into his seat the poor wet horse started 66 WHAT SHE DID ON MONDAY up as it he were in a hurry to get home to his dry stable. Then Harriet hurried back to dress and eat her breakfast in time to be at the window when the children would all be passing on their way to school. It was fun to watch the umbrellas bob- bing along with all sorts of feet walk- ing under them. Harriet always im- agined that she was looking down upon lots of queer little wonderland creatures, who had feet and legs, but no bodies, and whose heads were um- brellas. After a while all the children were in school, and all the grown people were in their trains and trolleys or in their offices beginning the day's work, and the street was again deserted. Harriet pressed her face against the window pane hoping to see something interesting. But it was n't an interest- 67 ABOUT HARRIET ing street. It was not at all like the country, where one sees great shady trees, and fields of daisies and butter- cups; where birdies sing their lovely songs and bushy-tailed squirrels frisk along stone walls ; where little boys and girls have brooks to wade and loads of hay to ride upon and big barns to play in. Harriet's Father had lived in country like that when he was a boy. 68 WHAT SHE DID ON MONDAY And Harriet's Mother had lived in a little city, not a big one. In that little city every family had a whole house v^ith an upstairs and downstairs and a yard, and the children could plant flowers and keep chickens and rabbits in their yards, and eat plums and grapes and pears from their own trees and vines. The street down which Harriet was gazing seemed all made of stone and brick. There was a row of trees along each sidewalk, but the trees were not as high as the houses; and there were oh! such tiny squares of grass within the iron fences. And from one corner of the street up to the next corner it looked as if there were two long, long, high brick walls, trimmed with stone, and in each of these brick walls there were many, many windows, and near the ground were many doors with 69 ABOUT HARRIET short flights of steps leading down to the sidewalks. Behind those brick walls lived ever so many families. Some lived on the first floor, some on the second floor, some on the third, and some way up on the fourth floor. Harriet and her Father and Mother lived on the sec- ond floor. They called their home an "apartment" or "flat." Just as Harriet was turning away from the window she heard a shrill whistle out in the kitchen. She knew what that meant. James, the janitor 70 WHAT SHE DID ON MONDAY down in the basement, was whistling for the rubbish to be sent down on the dumb waiter. Out in the country people burn their own rubbish or feed some of the table leavings to the pigs or chickens. But in the city the janitor collects the waste from each apartment, then great carts come along the streets and carry the stuff away. The dumb waiter is Hke a big box with two shelves for holding things, and it travels up to the top of the 71 ABOUT HARRIET house or down to the basement when the janitor pulls a rope. . As Harriet's Mother was putting a bundle of old newspapers upon the dumb waiter, the doorbell rang and another sort of whistle was heard down in the hall at the street door. "Oh, there 's the postman," said Harriet. " May I go down to get the letters, Mother? " "You can't reach the mail box, dear," said Mother. " I '11 be ready in a minute." Again the bell rang and the post- man whistled again, so Mother said: — " Run to the door, honey. Evi- dently the postman has something that will not go into the box." So Harriet opened the door of the apartment and the postman called up: — " Package for Miss Harriet Rob- 72 WHAT SHE DID ON MONDAY ertson. Any young lady of that name up there ? " And Harriet went down the stairs as fast as her short legs would carry her, for this was the nice funny post- man who seemed a little like Santa Claus, he so often brought parcels for Harriet in his bag. Down in the vestibule Miss Doug- las had just taken the letters out ot her mail box and was locking the box with its httle key. When she saw Harriet she said : — IZ ABOUT HARRIET "Good morning, dear. Don't you think a rainy day like this is a good day for an afternoon tea-party?" '>V 7" „ ^t««/ .^.^^ ^1^,„ ,„„„,-?rf? J 'J!^IIVERSITY OF RNIA LIBRARY Jl W*' i¥jrf«!Pi»«>,^