At first there was the patter of light feet and a subdued murmur of voices,
but after a while scarcely a sound could be heard. Thus passed two hours,
or more, and at last Mrs. Allis sent Mary to see what they were about. Mary
reported that they were playing very pleasantly together, and seemed very
happy.
"But what can they be doing, Mary?"
"Oh, they have a whole regiment of ragbabies, besides the kittens, for
scholars. Susie says they are playing school."
At last it was tea-time, and, when the girls had eaten their supper, their
mother called them to her.
"Oh, mother! mother! we have had such a nice time."
"Softly, softly, children," said Mr. Allis; "be careful, or you will make
your mother sick again."
"Are you better now, mother?" said little Susie, going softly towards her
bed.
"Yes, my dear child, I am much better, and you two little girls have helped
to make me so."
"We, mother?" said Susie, while her black eyes sparkled at the thought. "I
wonder how _we_ could make you better, when we have been all the while at
play up-stairs."
"I can guess how," said Annie. "Mother means we didn't make any noise:
don't you, mother?"
"Not just that, or rather a good deal more than that; but first tell me
_what_ you played up-stairs."
"Oh, it was so pleasant: wasn't it? Why, mother, don't you think, we played
school; and first I let Susie be teacher, and then she let me; and we
played I was a little girl come to school, and by-and-by, when we got tired
of that, we got out the dolls, Bessie and Jessie, and the pussy, and then
we made three more little girls out of our sun-bonnets and Susie's pink
apron, and then we both played teacher, like Miss Jackson and Miss Williams
in the academy where we used to live, you know.
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