"I thought girls were afraid of mice," replied John.
"Well, I'm not," said Mary Jane scornfully. "Come on see 'em." And she started for the barn.
Strange to relate, they hadn't got half way across the barn yard before the big pig, the same one that had so frightened Mary Jane on her first day, ran out of his pen in the barn and made straight for them. Grandfather had been in a hurry both times he went for the train and had forgotten to lock him up, most likely. John, who wasn't any more used to creatures than Mary Jane had been, screamed and screamed at the top of his voice.
Mary Jane looked at him scornfully and, forgetting all about how she herself had felt when she first came, said, "He won't hurt you! I'll send him away!" And without a thought of fear, she waved her arms around as she had seen Grandfather do on that first day. Mrs. Pig stopped short as she had for Grandfather, and Mary Jane, delighted with the success she seemed to be having, waved and shouted till Grandfather, hearing the commotion, came running to see what the matter could be.
"Well! Well! Well!" he exclaimed when he reached the barn gate and saw what had happened. "Say I couldn't make a farmer's girl out of you, Mary Jane! I'm proud of you! Isn't she a good one, John?"
John, his eyes round with fear for himself and with admiration for his new little cousin, nodded "Yes."
After that Grandfather stayed around near where they were and helped Mary Jane show John the little pigs, Brindle Bess the cow, and then the baby mice (who soon wouldn't be babies any more, by the way) up in the loft. And of course they went across the road to see the lamb that by now was well acquainted with Mary Jane; and they played with Bob who came frisking to meet them. And last of all they showed John the brand new baby ducks.
"I'd have liked the rabbits best," said John when they had told him about the pets that were found and lost so soon the day before. "Couldn't we get them back again?"
"Maybe we could, maybe we could," said Grandfather thoughtfully. "We hadn't tried. Maybe that foolish mother took them back to where we got them. 'Twould be just like her. Let's go see."
So with a child on each side of him (just the very thing he liked best too), Grandfather and his guests went back through the cornfield and the pasture lot to where the rabbit nest had been.