"This is my best dress," said Mary Jane in amazement, "it's my very best dress and my best hair ribbon and everything!"

"Well, I don't think it looks like it," said Helen, scornfully, "it hasn't a single ruffle and not one bit of lace! I guess your father must be pretty poor!"

Mary Jane looked at Helen's be-ruffled frock that was trimmed and trimmed with yards of cheap lace and then she looked at her own dress, so plain and neat with only a bit of hand embroidery for its ornament.

Then she looked at Frances' dress that was more like her own. And a queer feeling of lonesomeness--a lonesomeness that she hadn't felt since the rainy day so long ago, began to come over her.

But before she had time to think of an answer, Frances spoke up.

"Aren't you ashamed of yourself, Helen Loiter! Talking that way to Mrs. Hodges's little girl! I guess folks can dress as they please without asking you! My dress isn't fancy either and my father's got as much money as yours has, so there!"

Mary Jane looked at Frances admiringly and felt much better.

"How old are you?" continued Frances, turning her attention pointedly to Mary Jane.

"I'm five," replied Mary Jane, "how old are you?"

"I'm seven, only I'm not very big for seven so you wouldn't guess it,"

said Frances, "do you go to school?"

"No, not yet," answer Mary Jane, "but I'm going to some day."

"Of course you are, stupid!" said Helen, "everybody does! Well, I'm bigger'n you are. I'm eight and I'm in second grade! So there!" And she polished out the bottom of her dish with her spoon. "I guess your grandfather's forgotten all about getting us some more cake--I'm going to get some for myself. You two slow pokes can sit around and wait if you want to. I'll not!" And she flounced herself out of her chair and ran over to the cake table.

Left by themselves Frances and Mary Jane compared notes as little girls will. Mary Jane told her about her own home; about her friend Doris and her sister Alice and the birthday party and everything she could think of. And Frances told about her school and her garden--yes, she had one about as big as Mary Jane's--and about her pet calf.

"Father gave it to me when it was only a day old," she said, "and when it's big enough, I'm going to sell it and get money to take music lessons. Won't that be fun?"

Mary Jane thought it would; she looked admiringly at Frances and thought she was quite the most wonderful little girl she had ever met.

When Grandfather came up to them a few minutes later, he had to speak twice so busy were they with their talk. He got them each another dish of berries and then, when they were through eating that, he took them walking around the yard so they could see the lanterns and so that Mary Jane would see and be seen by all his friends. Frances seemed to know every one and that was a great help to Mary Jane who wasn't used to meeting so many people.

All too soon Grandmother announced that it was time to go home. The candles in the lanterns flickered out one by one; the housewives busied themselves with clearing up the remnants of cake and berries; the fathers (and grandfathers) carried baskets back to the cars, lit lights and made ready for the homeward journey.

Frances and Mary Jane told each other good night and Frances promised to come over and see Mary Jane very soon.

"Well, what did you think of the sociable?" asked Grandmother as they spun along home. "I saw you talking with Frances and Helen; did you like your new friends, dear?"

"I liked Frances so much," said Mary Jane, "and she's coming to see me."

Grandmother, who knew Helen much better than Grandfather did, understood in a minute. She slipped her arm around her little granddaughter and pulled her close. "So my little girl learned something as well as had a good time to-night, did she?" she whispered; "she learned how to pick out a friend. I'm glad Frances is coming to see you, dear!"

BURR HOUSES

The week after the strawberry sociable was the busiest one of Mary Jane's visit thus far. Frances came to see her twice and they became better friends each time. The Westlands lived two miles farther from the village than the Hodges did and Frances's father could easily leave her at the Hodges's home when he went into the village and get her again on his return trip. Mary Jane showed her all the interesting things she had found--the pet mice, who were getting tamer and tamer all the time; the ducks, which were losing their pretty babyness by now and were getting almost big enough to look after themselves; the lamb and the pigs and Brindle Bess.

Of course Frances was used to country sights, so she wasn't as much surprised at what she saw as Mary Jane had been when she came from the city. But she was interested and she told Mary Jane many things about the farm creatures and the fun she had had with her own pets.

Then one day Grandfather took Mary Jane to see Frances and Mary Jane had fun every minute of the two hours she was there. The Westlands kept many cows and Mary Jane saw twenty little calves--such gentle, soft-eyed little creatures that were so tame the girls could pet them and feed them all they wanted to. And chickens! Mary Jane had thought her grandmother had a good many but the Westlands had more!

"May we feed them all?" asked Mary Jane eagerly as she saw them.

"I guess Frances would be glad to have you," laughed Mrs. Westland kindly; "she has to do it so much that I'm sure she'll be glad for help at the job."

So the girls went to the bins and gathered great handfuls of corn and oats for the feast. Frances gave a peculiar call which the chickens seemed to know and immediately they came a-running, hundreds of them, so fast that Mary Jane dropped the corn she held and tried to run away.

"They won't hurt you," laughed Frances, "see? I can let them eat right out of my hand!"

Mary Jane looked and thought that if Frances was safe she would be too.

So she took some of the grain Frances handed over to her and bent down for them to eat out of her hand too. It wasn't more than a minute before she had lost every trace of fear and could let the biggest rooster gobble up his grain right out of her hand. The girls tried dropping kernels of corn on their shoes and then holding up one foot for the chickens to reach for the grain. And they tossed occasional kernels way to the outside of the feeding group and then giggled to see how quickly the greedy ones whirled around to get all they could.

Then, before it was time to go, Mrs. Westland called them in and gave them each a big gla.s.s of rich milk and a plate of fat sugar cookies to eat on the porch. Altogether Mary Jane thought she had the most fun during that visit of any visit she had ever made! And before the little girls separated, Frances had promised to come over to Mary Jane's house very soon.

The day after the call at the Westlands the postman brought a letter from Mrs. Merrill which said that Alice could come to her grandfather's in two days if that would be convenient. Grandfather was very fond of Alice; she had visited there before and he was hoping she would have a nice long stay there this summer. So, as soon as he read the letter he got out his car, took Mary Jane with him and went into the village to telegraph that Alice should come at once.

The next morning Mary Jane helped her grandmother clean the room that Alice was to have--it was just across the hall from Mary Jane's and was so quaint and cozy with its old-fashioned furniture and ruffled white curtains. Then the next day Grandmother made a great jar full of cookies; Mary Jane loved that because Grandmother let her cut out some.

They made stars and crescents and squares and some just plain round ones; and Mary Jane put the sugar and nuts over the top, too. Then they made apple pies and berry pies and a tart of each kind for Mary Jane's dinner and supper that day. Mary Jane decided then and there that she was going to be a good cook when she grew up because cooking was about the most fun of anything she had ever tried.

On the morning Alice was to come, Mary Jane got up early; dressed herself as quickly as possible and ran down the stairs. Just in the nick of time she was too, for Grandfather was ready to start to the station.

"Take me, please take me along!" she called as she heard him crank up his car.

"h.e.l.lo, p.u.s.s.y; you up?" he answered; "to be sure you may go along. Get your grandmother to give you a big piece of coffee cake to eat on the way and we'll be off."

Grandmother heard what he said and had the coffee cake ready as Mary Jane ran into the kitchen. A wonderful big piece, she cut, all full of sugary, b.u.t.tery "wells" that Mary Jane liked so much. She wrapped it in a napkin so it wouldn't get Mary Jane's dress sticky with its sweetness, threw a woolen scarf around the little girl's shoulders for the early morning air was cool and waved a good-by as they rode out of the yard.

They reached the station just as the great train pulled in and saw the conductor and porter help Alice down the steps of the car. Mary Jane thought she had never seen any one look so nice in all her life!

Grandfather set her out of the auto and she ran as fast as ever she could and threw her arms around her sister. Alice held her tight a minute and then turned to kiss her grandfather.

"So you're here all right, Blunderbuss," said Grandfather heartily, using the nickname he had given her long ago, "and you haven't lost a bit of your hair!" Alice laughed as he looked admiringly at her long golden braids.

"I haven't," she replied teasingly, "but I can't say as much for you!"

And she laughed at her grandfather's bald head.

"Such a girl! Such a girl!" exclaimed Grandfather proudly; "now I suppose I'll have to get your trunk and take you home and stand your teasing the rest of the summer!" And in mock dismay he went for the trunk the baggage man had tossed off the train.

That was the beginning of more fun for Mary Jane. First there was the house and farm which must be shown to Alice just as carefully as though she had never seen it before. Then there were all the jolly things that Alice thought of to do--Alice was always thinking up something to do, it seemed. She fixed up a saddle for the lamb and taught Mary Jane to ride. She tied tiny bells on the rabbits so they could be more easily found. She helped Mary Jane take the ducks down to the creek at the end of the pasture and turn them into the water. Mary Jane thought it perfectly wonderful that they should know how to swim--"just as though they had taken regular lessons, Grandfather," she said as she told him about it afterwards. And Alice learned how to make bread--with Mary Jane helping to turn the crank of the bread mixer so she wouldn't feel left out.

On the third day of Alice's visit Frances Westland came over to play and the three little girls went out into the front yard and wondered what they would do.

"I wish we had doll houses here like we have at home," said Mary Jane.

"I know Frances would like to play with doll houses."

"But you haven't any here," said Frances practically.

"Maybe we can get some," said Alice thoughtfully; "we ought to be able to find something to make a doll house out of. Let's hunt."

"Where'll we hunt?" asked Mary Jane.