YOURS WITH ALL MY HEART 



our big lawn. We ran like little madcaps, 

 playing hide-and-go-seek in and out the 

 shrubbery. He was glossy black, with 

 pretty brown touches around his eyes, nose 

 and ears, and a brown vest and stockings, 

 and I wished him to have a fine time. 

 While we were resting a minute, to get our 

 breath, I saw that the maid had left the 

 front hall door open, and it came into my 

 little head how Skippum would like papa's 

 soft brown hat to play with. So I stole in 

 and bounded noiselessly up on to the marble 

 shelf of the hat-tree, where the hats hung on 

 long pegs, but I was not quite tall enough. 

 My weight, and my pulling at the hat, wob- 

 bled the tall hat-tree against the wall, so 

 that mamma, who was writing in her room, 

 thought she heard something below; and 

 she tiptoed to the upper hall and peeped 

 over the banister, just in time to see me suc- 

 ceed in lifting the hat from the peg, bound 

 down and out with it. She hurried back to 

 her window to see what next. I held the 

 hat out to Skippum, who grabbed it and 

 waltzed away down the big lawn with it. 

 One naughty thought had brought another, 

 - 1 bounded back to the hat-tree, and up 



43 



