Brothers and sisters

BROTHERS AND SISTERS
BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN
ILLUSTRATED BY ETHEL C. BROWN
BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY The Riverside Press, Cambridge 1906
COPYRIGHT 1906 BY ABBIE FARWELL BROWN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published September 1906
For permission to reprint the several chapters of this volume thanks are due to The Churchman ,—“The Garden of Live Flowers,” “April Fool,” “The Dark Room,” “The Pieced Baby,” “The Alarm;” to The Congregationalist ,—“The Japanese Shop,” “Brothers and Sisters;” to Good Housekeeping ,—“Buried Treasure;” and to The Kindergarten Review ,—“The Christmas Cat.”
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
IT was the day before the day before Christmas, and there came a big snowstorm, so that Kenneth and Rose were shut up in the house. Now that was a very hard thing to bear, for as every one knows, the last two days before Christmas are the longest, slowest days in the whole year. But if one has to stay in the house and just think , it seems as though the time would never go by.
If it had been a pleasant day they could have gone out of doors to skate, or to coast, or to play any number of jolly games which they now remembered sadly. Perhaps they would have gone to their cousin Charlie’s house, which was in the next block but one beyond theirs. Perhaps their papa would have taken them down town for a last look at the Christmas shops, and the wonderful toys, some of which they hoped Santa Claus would remember to bring to the Thornton house. There were ever so many nice things which they could have done to make the time pass away, if only it had been a pleasant day. But now there seemed nothing in the world to do.
Kenneth and Rose wandered dismally about the house. They peeped into the play-room, where the toys were lying about looking very lonely, as though they would say,—
“O Kenneth! Do come and play with us. Please, Rosie, don’t go away and leave us all alone!”
But Kenneth and Rose were tired of all the old toys, they had played with them so many, many times. They hoped that Santa would bring them some new ones on Christmas morning, if Christmas morning would ever, ever come!