“But, dearies all,” she went on, “you mustn’t take such an attitude toward Miss Larkin; she’s good and kind and will look after you nicely till I return.”
“Larkin, Larkin,
All the time a-barkin’,”
chanted King, pinching his mother’s lips together, so she couldn’t reprimand him.
The whole tale of the Maynard children’s tribulations may be told in a few words.
Mrs. Maynard’s health was not quite up to its usual standard, and her husband had decided to take her for a short Southern trip. They would be absent from home about six weeks, and Miss Larkin, a friend of Mrs. Maynard’s, was to come and take care of the household of four children.
Now, though the little Maynards were perhaps more inclined to mischief than model children ought to be, they were a loving and affectionate little brood, and, moreover, they truly tried to correct their faults as pointed out to them by their parents.
The fundamental principle of Mr. and Mrs. Maynard’s training was common-sense, and this, added to deep parental love, made their discipline both wise and kind.
Mrs. Maynard, herself, had some doubts of Miss Larkin’s ability to manage the children tactfully, but there was no one else to ask to stay with them, and they could not be left entirely in charge of the servants, trusted and tried though they were.
But it was only for six weeks, anyway, and as Mr. Maynard said, they couldn’t become thorough-going reprobates in that short time.