‘What did she cry for?’ interrupted Sally again.
‘She cried when she was having her face washed,’ said Father, ‘for she was like some little girls I know, only instead of saying that her mother put soap in her eyes, she said salt, for of course she was washed in salt water from the sea.’
‘Oh!’ said Sally, hiding her face on Father’s shoulder, ‘oh!’
‘Well, what do you think Winkle did to her then?’ asked Father.
‘I don’t know,’ said Sally eagerly, lifting her head. ‘What did he do?’
‘Why, instead of smiling at Peri and trying to keep her cheerful and happy as any good little brother would,’ went on Father, ‘he put his head in the air and called “Whimper-cat! Whimper-cat!” and stuck his horns out at her, which for a periwinkle is just as bad as sticking his tongue out is for a child.’
‘Oh,’ said Sally, delighted with Winkle’s naughtiness, ‘oh, I wouldn’t do that, would I?’
‘No, indeed, you wouldn’t,’ replied Father. ‘Well, when Peri stopped crying, and they were both washed and dressed and their horns nicely curled, they started off. First Winkle crawled so fast that he bumped into Peri and knocked her down. Her shell was all covered with sand, and right there on the beach she had another crying spell. You might think, now, he had done enough mischief. But while his mother was brushing the sand off Peri with her horns, he gave his little sister another push that toppled her over into a pool of water.’
Sally drew a long breath. ‘Wasn’t he naughty?’ said she, giving Father’s hand a little squeeze.
‘He was,’ said Father, ‘and this last push made Mother Periwinkle very angry.