Randy’s first thought was a longing to shield Prue, but she knew that her mother wished them always to come to her at once when any mischief had been done, so, a forlorn little procession of two, they walked toward the house.
CHAPTER II—AT THE BROOK
The next morning dawned bright and fair. Randy awoke and rubbed her eyes. “I believe there was something that made me uncomfortable yesterday. Wonder what it was?” thought she. “Don’t see what it could have been,” mused the girl, half awake. “I helped mother with the baking and swept the kitchen for her, because I knew I ought to, instead of reading that fairy book. Then I hunted for Prue.—Oh, that’s it! mother had to scold her, and that always makes me feel just awful.
“She was naughty, and seems ’s if she might know better than to get into such queer scrapes, though she isn’t much more than a baby.”
Here Randy turned over and looked at her little sister, who was still fast asleep. “How pretty she looks!” said Randy, half aloud. The sleeping child stirred, and thrust one chubby arm and hand under her short curls. She drew a long breath, which was half a sigh, her eyelids quivered, opened, closed, then opened wide, and she stared at Randy, who, leaning upon her elbow, was gazing at little Prue.
“Oh, Randy! what are you looking at and thinking of?” said Prue, half laughing.
“I was just thinking,” said Randy, “that when you’re asleep you don’t look as if you could ever be naughty.”
Prue stopped laughing, and, putting her arm around her sister’s neck, she said, “Oh, Randy! I never mean to, and ’most always when I’m naughty it’s when I’m trying to help. Don’t you know that time when I dropped the platter and broke it all to smash? Mother put down the towel she was wiping it with to look in the oven to see if the bread was burning. I thought I’d s’prise you and mother, and show you I’d wiped the big platter nice and dry. Just a minute before, mother said it was too big for me to handle, and that just made me want to.”
“I know it,” said Randy, “I know you mean to be good, and I do believe you can’t help doing funny things, you best little sister in all the world,” and she kissed Prue, laughing at her at the same time. “Now, do be good to-day, and, if you don’t do a naughty thing before dinner, I’ll do something splendid. I’ll have to help mother this morning, and do a lot of things. Then, of course, I’ll wipe the dinner dishes, and after that you and I will go down to that shady place by the brook, and I’ll tell you some of the stories I read in that book I found.”
“Oh, will you?” said Prue, “can you ’member them?”