"With my own trunk and my own ticket, and my own pocket book and my own conductor?" demanded Mary Jane, who could hardly believe what she heard.
"With your own trunk and pocket book," said Mrs. Merrill, "but I don't know about the ticket and the conductor because Dr. Smith is coming again and he will take you back with him if we will let you go and trust him to look after you on the journey. Do you think you'd like to go?"
"I don't think it, I know it!" cried Mary Jane, and she danced around the table with her kimono flying out behind her. "Can I go to-day?"
"Hardly!" laughed Mrs. Merrill. "We have to buy you some strong shoes for the country and make you some rompers to play with the chickens in and pack your trunk and, oh, a lot of things before you can go."
"Well, a lot of things won't take very long because I'll help," said Mary Jane eagerly, "see? I'll climb right up and eat my oatmeal without you telling me to—that's how I'll help."
Mr. and Mrs. Merrill both laughed and Mr. Merrill, as he rose from the table, said, "If you will eat your breakfast, just as you know you should, every morning while you are gone, I really think I'll let you go." (For, you see, Mary Jane hadn't ever liked her oatmeal.) And when Mary Jane promised solemnly that she would, he said it was all settled.
Such fun as there was after that! Alice and Mrs. Merrill sat at the table long after father left for work and they planned out just how many weeks it was till Alice could go to the country too, and how many weeks there were after that till Mr. and Mrs. Merrill could come for his vacation and how many rompers Mary Jane ought to have and how many pairs of shoes and rubbers and how big a sun hat Mary Jane needed. And then, after Alice had gone to school, Mary Jane helped her mother with the morning work so they got off very early for down town and the shopping.
And that evening, when father got home, he carried the steamer trunk down from the attic and Mary Jane began packing.
By noon of the next day, she had the trunk so full of dolls and doll clothes and teddy bears and books that it couldn't possibly shut and she hadn't put in it one single thing to wear—not a single thing!
"You seem to think that there isn't going to be anything to play with in the country," said Mr. Merrill when Mary Jane showed him her morning's work. "Must you take all your city things? I should think you would leave those here and play with grandmother's things while you are at her house."