WHERE'S Polly?" asked Fan one snowy afternoon, as she came into the dining-room where Tom was reposing on the sofa with his boots in the air, absorbed in one of those delightful books in which boys are cast away on desert islands, where every known fruit, vegetable and flower is in its prime all the year round; or, lost in boundless forests, where the young heroes have thrilling adventures, kill impossible beasts, and, when the author's invention gives out, suddenly find their way home, laden with tiger skins, tame buffaloes and other pleasing trophies of their prowess.
"Dun no," was Tom's brief reply, for he was just escaping from an alligator of the largest size.
"Do put down that stupid book, and let's do something," said Fanny, after a listless stroll round the room.
"Hi, they've got him!" was the only answer vouchsafed by the absorbed reader.
"Where's Polly?" asked Maud, joining the party with her hands full of paper dolls all suffering for ball-dresses.
"Do get along, and don't bother me," cried Tom exasperated at the interruption.
"Then tell us where she is. I'm sure you know, for she was down here a little while ago," said Fanny.
"Up in grandma's room, maybe."
"Provoking thing! you knew it all the time, and didn't tell, just to plague us," scolded Maud.
But Tom was now under water stabbing his alligator, and took no notice of the indignant departure of the young ladies.
"Polly's always poking up in grandma's room. I don't see what fun there is in it," said Fanny as they went up stairs.
"Polly's a verwy queer girl, and gwandma pets her a gweat deal more than she does me," observed Maud, with an injured air.
"Let's peek and see what they are doing," whispered Fan, pausing at the half-open door.
Grandma was sitting before a quaint old cabinet, the doors of which stood wide open, showing glimpses of the faded relics treasured there. On a stool, at the old lady's feet, sat Polly, looking up with intent face and eager eyes, quite absorbed in the history of a high-heeled brocade shoe which lay in her lap.
"Well, my dear," grandma was saying, "she had it on the very day that Uncle Joe came in as she sat at work, and said,'Dolly, we must be married at once.''Very well, Joe,' says Aunt Dolly, and down she went to the parlor, where the minister was waiting, never stopping to change the dimity dress she wore, and was actually married with her scissors and pin-ball at her side, and her thimble on. That was in war times, 1812, my dear, and Uncle Joe was in the army, so he had to go, and he took that very little pin- ball with him. Here it is with the mark of a bullet through it, for he always said his Dolly's cushion saved his life."
"How interesting that is!" cried Polly, as she examined the faded cushion with the hole in it.
"Why, grandma, you never told me that story," said Fanny, hurrying in, finding the prospect was a pleasant one for a stormy afternoon.
"You never asked me to tell you anything, my dear, so I kept my old stories to myself," answered grandma, quietly.
"Tell some now, please. May we stay and see the funny things?" said Fan and Maud, eyeing the open cabinet with interest.
"If Polly likes; she is my company, and I am trying to entertain her, for I love to have her come," said grandma, with her old-time politeness.
"Oh, yes! do let them stay and hear the stories. I've often told them what good times we have up here, and teased them to come, but they think it's too quiet. Now, sit down, girls, and let grandma go on. You see I pick out something in the cabinet that looks interesting, and then she tells me about it," said Polly, eager to include the girls in her pleasures, and glad to get them interested in grandma's reminiscences, for Polly knew how happy it made the lonely old lady to live over her past, and to have the children round her.
"Here are three drawers that have not been opened yet; each take one, and choose something from it for me to tell about," said Madam, quite excited at the unusual interest in her treasures.
So the girls each opened a drawer and turned over the contents till they found something they wanted to know about. Maud was ready first, and holding up an oddly shaped linen bag, with a big blue F embroidered on it, demanded her story. Grandma smiled as she smoothed the old thing tenderly, and began her story with evident pleasure.
"My sister Nelly and I went to visit an aunt of ours, when we were little girls, but we didn't have a very good time, for she was extremely strict. One afternoon, when she had gone out to tea, and old Debby, the maid, was asleep in her room, we sat on the door- step, feeling homesick, and ready for any thing to amuse us.
"'What shall we do?' said Nelly.
"Just as she spoke, a ripe plum dropped bounce on the grass before us, as if answering her question. It was all the plum's fault, for if it hadn't fallen at that minute, I never should have had the thought which popped into my mischievous mind.
"'Let's have as many as we want, and plague Aunt Betsey, to pay her for being so cross,' I said, giving Nelly half the great purple plum.
"'It would be dreadful naughty,' began Nelly,'but I guess we will,' she added, as the sweet mouthful slipped down her throat.
"'Debby's asleep. Come on, then, and help me shake,' I said, getting up, eager for the fun.
"We shook and shook till we got red in the face, but not one dropped, for the tree was large, and our little arms were not strong enough to stir the boughs. Then we threw stones, but only one green and one half-ripe one came down, and my last stone broke the shed window, so there was an end of that.
"'It's as provoking as Aunt Betsey herself,' said Nelly, as we sat down, out of breath.
"'I wish the wind would come and blow'em down for us,' panted I, staring up at the plums with longing eyes.
"'If wishing would do any good, I should wish'em in my lap at once,' added Nelly.
"'You might as well wish'em in your mouth and done with it, if you are too lazy to pick'em up. If the ladder wasn't too heavy we could try that,' said I, determined to have them.
"'You know we can't stir it, so what is the use of talking about it? You proposed getting the plums, now let's see you do it,' answered Nelly, rather crossly, for she had bitten the green plum, and it puckered her mouth.
"'Wait a minute, and you will see me do it,' cried I, as a new thought came into my naughty head.
"'What are you taking your shoes and socks off for? You can't climb the tree, Fan.' "'Don't ask questions, but be ready to pick'em up when they fall, Miss Lazybones.' "With this mysterious speech I pattered into the house bare-footed and full of my plan. Up stairs I went to a window opening on the shed roof. Out I got, and creeping carefully along till I came near the tree, I stood up, and suddenly crowed like the little rooster. Nelly looked up, and stared, and laughed, and clapped her hands when she saw what I was going to do.
"'I'm afraid you'll slip and get hurt.' "'Don't care if I do; I'll have those plums if I break my neck doing it,' and half sliding, half walking I went down the sloping roof, till the boughs of the tree were within my reach.
"Hurrah!" cried Nelly, dancing down below, as my first shake sent a dozen plums rattling round her.
"Hurrah!" cried I, letting go one branch and trying to reach another. But as I did so my foot slipped, I tried to catch something to hold by, but found nothing, and with a cry, down I fell, like a very big plum on the grass below.
"Fortunately the shed was low, the grass was thick and the tree broke my fall, but I got a bad bump and a terrible shaking. Nelly thought I was killed, and began to cry with her mouth full. But I picked myself up in a minute, for I was used to such tumbles; and didn't mind the pain half as much as the loss of the plums.
"'Hush! Debby will hear and spoil all the fun. I said I'd get'em and I have. See what lots have come down with me.' "So there had, for my fall shook the tree almost as much as it did me, and the green and purple fruit lay all about us.
"By the time the bump on my forehead had swelled as big as a nut, our aprons were half full, and we sat down to enjoy ourselves. But we didn't. O dear, no! for many of the plums were not ripe, some were hurt by the birds, some crushed in falling, and many as hard as stones. Nelly got stung by a wasp, my head began to ache, and we sat looking at one another rather dismally, when Nelly had a bright idea.
"'Let's cook'em, then they'll be good, and we can put some away in our little pails for to-morrow.' "'That will be splendid! There's a fire in the kitchen, Debby always leaves the kettle on, and we can use her saucepan, and I know where the sugar is, and we'll have a grand time.' "In we went, and fell to work very quietly. It was a large, open fire- place, with the coals nicely covered up, and the big kettle simmering on the hook. We raked open the fire, put on the saucepan, and in it the best of our plums, with water enough to spoil them. But we didn't know that, and felt very important as we sat waiting for it to boil, each armed with a big spoon, while the sugar box stood between us ready to be used.
"How slow they were,