“Be sure you don’t forget the yeast-cake,” her mother said, “and don’t stop to talk to any strange children, and don’t call on any of the neighbors. Don’t run, it is too hot, but don’t waste any time on the road, for I want to get my bread started as soon as I can.”
Peggy danced along the road in spite of the heat, for it was a happy thing to be alive. She had not gone far when she saw a boy coming out of a crossroad. It was Christopher Carter, and he too had a covered basket in his hand.
“Hullo!” said Peggy.
“Hullo!” said Christopher. He joined her as he spoke.
“What have you got in your basket?” Peggy asked with interest.
“Butter and eggs from the Miller farm. What have you got in yours?”
“Nothing. Mother’s sent me to the grocery store to get some things.”
“How’s the cat?” he asked.
“She’s all right, only we have to keep her shut up, for if we let her out she’d go straight to your house. I can’t think why she likes you better than us.”
“She gets lots of scraps of fish and meat, because we are such a big family; and then I suppose she likes her own old home, just as a person would.”