"Lucy," called Ollie, "what are you doing?"
"Come here a minute," said Lucy.
Ollie went to the fence, and there she saw Chubby holding a basket full of delicious ripe strawberries. "Why, Chubby," said Ollie, "what are you going to do with those lovely berries? How good they look, don't they, Lucy?"
"Oh," said Chubby, "I must be very careful, for they do roll about so that I can hardly carry them. You may each have one, but I cannot spare more, because they are for my tea-party."
So Chubby passed the basket very carefully to the children, while each one helped herself, and then she started to walk carefully over the grass toward a seat under a big tree.
"And what is your party?" asked Lucy. "It must be a very nice one, I think, if you have such things as those to eat."
"Oh, there it is," said Chubby; and looking in the direction of her finger the children saw a table covered with a white cloth, and a pretty blue tea-set upon it.
They had evidently been very hungry when they began the feast, for not a crumb remained upon one of the plates, and three little girls were sitting there, waiting patiently for a fresh supply of good things. Ollie and Lucy watched Chubby till she set her plate of berries safely upon the table, and then, turning around, they remembered that they had only a short time to stay at the beach, and that consequently they had better not lose any more time in loitering by the way.