THE THREE DAUGHTERS OF M. DUPONT
WHEN Monsieur Dupont was a Frenchman, he had three daughters, and their names were Anne-Marie, Therèse and la p’tite Georgette. But when he became an American for a change, he called himself Mr. Dewpond, and his daughters were called Anne Mary, Terry and George.
Mrs. Dewpond (who still called herself Madame Dupont when nobody was looking) had a linen-cupboard of which she was very proud, and it was her one delight to keep it always full of the most beautiful linen. Linen fascinated her, just as kittens fascinate other people, and money fascinates my Uncle James. She was never tired of buying it, and running her fingers over it, and holding it against her cheek, and then tucking it lovingly away in her cupboard; and whenever she had a birthday, her three daughters would put all their savings together and buy her a table-cloth or a pair of dusters, so that Mrs. Dewpond should say, “My darlings, but how they are ravishing!” They loved to hear her say this.
One day Mrs. Dewpond was not very well; and then there were more days when she was no better; and first a doctor came, and then a nurse came, and then she and the nurse went away into the country together to see if that would do her any good. And all the time Mr. Dewpond went about the house saying “T’chk, t’chk, t’chk” to himself, and looking very miserable; and Anne Mary wrote to her Mother every day to say that they were all getting on all right and did want her back so badly; and Terry ended up her prayers every night with, “And may she suddenly come back to-morrow morning about half past seven, so that I can wake up and there she is”; and George kissed the door of her Mother’s empty bedroom every time she passed it, as a sort of friendly habit; and all the house called to her to come back to it.
And at last there came a day when Mr. Dewpond had a letter saying that Mrs. Dewpond was very nearly well again, and would be home again on Saturday afternoon. This was on the Monday, so they had less than a week to wait, and they were all just as happy as they could be, thinking of it.
“We must celebrate it,” said Terry solemnly.
George didn’t know what “celebrate” meant, so Anne Mary explained it to her until she did know, and then they all wondered how they should do it.