“Little Sister” used to make everybody love her who came near her. The grown-up people would always want to take her right up in their laps, and the little children loved to have her come up with her flowing silken hair and put her arms around them and kiss them.
When she went out with her sled in winter time, the gentlemen used to want to pull her, and the little boys would always drag her sled up hill again after a slide.
This was because she was so kind and sweet, and had such polite ways.
Little Sister used to love to go and see some puppets which were exhibited at a Punch-and-Judy show near where she lived.
The men used to stand under a great overspreading elm tree and work their puppets there, but there were so many people around the show that she could not see it plainly. Betsey, her nurse, used to hold her up, but still Little Sister couldn’t see it all.
On Little Sister’s fourth birthday, when she came down into the dining-room at breakfast time, what should she see over in one corner of the room but a puppet stand, with six puppets. First of all there was Punch, and then there was Judy; then there was the Doctor and the Judge, and the Policeman and Sheriff.
She was delighted. “Where did this come from?” she asked.
Then her papa told her that he had had the stand made for her, and had bought the puppets as a birthday present.
These puppets he worked with his thumb and fingers.
“Oh! what nubney nitten puppets!” said Little Sister, and off she ran to show them to her mamma.