"She's ever so much better," put in Hecla. "And she is coming home to-day, and I want to get her a lot of toys to amuse her. And I've got ninepence three-farthings of my own, and I want to get something with that all by itself, so that it would be just quite from me, you know. And Uncle John gave me a farthing and twopence and two threepennies, and a sixpence and a shilling to spend too."
The woman seemed fully to understand, and also to be much interested. She brought forward a number of fresh toys, costing exactly what Hecla wanted to give. Whether their prices really were so low as she named might be doubted. Elisabeth did doubt it, but she said nothing, and Hecla jumped with delight.
After a great deal of discussing and selecting and rejecting and counting up of pennies and farthings, the money was at last all spent; and the woman placed Hecla's purchases in a row, that she might see how nice they looked. They cost precisely three shillings, not one farthing more or less.
There was a china doll, very dainty and neat, and prettily dressed for one shilling.
There was a horse for the doll to ride, which cost sixpence—at least, that was all Hecla paid for it. And the doll really could sit sideways on the horse, though rather overpoweringly big for the size of the steed.
A chair for the doll to sit on and a table for it to use came next; and the price of these together oddly came to ninepence three-farthings. It was funny, Hecla thought, but most convenient.
"So that will be truly my very own present," she said.
There was also a minute box of dolls' tea-things, for which the woman charged threepence farthing, and a tray for the tea-things costing threepence.
A penny looking-glass and a penny hairbrush for the doll completed the array.
Hecla was crimson with excitement. She thought it was the most perfectly lovely assortment of toys that she had ever seen in her life. Nothing could have been better—except a train and some red-coated soldiers; but no doubt Ivy, being so little, would prefer these.