On Saturday morning, she waked up knowing something nice was going to happen. Then, before her eyes were really open, she felt herself getting mother’s birthday kisses and, before those were all delivered, Alice’s birthday spats—six good big lively ones!
“Never you mind, Alice,” she promised, “just wait till it’s your birthday and you’ll get some of the hardest—”
“Don’t stop for promises,” said Mr. Merrill, coming in to deliver his spats too, “what I want is breakfast and for the life of me, I can’t get into that dining-room.”
“Oh!” cried Mary Jane rapturously, “I’ll be right out!”
“Not till you get dressed, you know,” Alice reminded her, “so do hurry!” For it was one of the rules of the Merrill household that birthdays and Christmases didn’t really begin till folks were dressed. So Mary Jane scrabbled into her clothes and gave her face and hands about the most hurry-up washing they had ever had and then rushed out to the dining-room.
And there, standing right by her chair, was the—yes, really—the very doll cart she had picked out! She was so happy that for a minute she couldn’t speak, she just stared. The next minute she was down on her knees with her arms around the whole cart—or at least as much of the cart as two six-year-old arms could get around—and she was counting over all the wonderful virtues of her gift. It surely was a cart to make any little girl proud and when Mary Jane saw her own Georgiannamore, wearing a lovely new coat (Mrs. Merrill’s gift), and a pair of really truly gloves (from Alice), and sitting up as big as life in the cart, she thought the happiest day of her life had come.
After breakfast the morning raced by on wings. Of course Mary Jane had to show the cart and doll’s clothes to Betty and they had to walk around the block to give the doll an airing. Then, just as they got back to Mary Jane’s apartment, the postman came with a box from grandpa and grandma. Betty was invited up for the fun of opening it and she was glad to come both for the fun and for the big pieces of grandmother’s candy that she got when the box was opened. Then there was the table to set and the puzzle letters to put around and everybody to dress in their best—that’s a good deal for one morning. No wonder it seemed to be an unusually short one.
At the very last minute, Mary Jane with her new white dress and pink ribbons all just as they should be, went in to the kitchen to see if she could help. And at that very minute a neighbor came in to get Mrs. Merrill’s advice about an important matter.
“Everything’s ready now,” said Mrs. Merrill, as she left the kitchen. “Only, I believe, Mary Jane, it would be a good idea for you to put that whipped cream into the ice box. We won’t make the salad till they get here and I want to keep it stiff and cold.”
Now, Mary Jane had put things in the ice box many a time. Big things and little things and spilly things and all, and there was no reason in the world why she couldn’t do it all right. No reason, except— Just as she picked up the bowl of cream, the door bell rang a long, loud peal that she was sure must be her three guests coming all at once, so she hurried and the cream jiggled in the bowl, and slid over the edge—and all down the front of her best new dress!