‘My Aunt Sarah?’ demanded Sally. ‘What does she say about me, Mother? What does she say about me?’
‘She is writing about your birthday,’ answered Mother. ‘She has made a funny mistake. She thinks that to-morrow is your birthday, Sally, instead of a whole month away. And she wants you to buy your own birthday present this year, because she is in the country, far away from any shop, and cannot buy it for you herself.’
Sally’s face grew very bright. A present from Aunt Sarah, and a present that she might choose her very own self! She leaned forward suddenly and placed a kiss on Mother’s chin. She was so happy she felt that she must do something to show it.
‘What shall I buy, Mother?’ asked Sally, her cheeks red with excitement. ‘What shall I choose? I want a tea-set and a doll’s piano more than anything else, but I would like a farmyard, too, with little cows and pigs and ducks like the new one Alice has, or perhaps a big bag full of marbles like Andy’s. I could shoot marbles just as well as Andy. I know I could.’
‘We will think about it,’ answered Mother. ‘There is plenty of time. It is a whole month, four long weeks, before your birthday, remember.’
‘But, Mother,’ began Sally, in great surprise, ‘but, Mother, I shan’t wait a whole month for my present, shall I? Won’t we go and buy it to-morrow? I don’t want to wait, Mother. I don’t, I don’t.’
Sally’s face was no longer bright. It had clouded over, and her under lip was thrust out as if she might be going to cry.
‘Why, Sally,’ answered Mother gently, ‘I hardly know what to say. To-morrow isn’t your birthday, you know. If you bought a present now from Aunt Sarah you wouldn’t have one when the real birthday came.’
‘Yes, I would, Mother,’ urged Sally, winking hard. ‘I would have the one I would buy to-morrow. I won’t lose it or break it or let Tippy play with it. I will be so careful. Aunt Sarah wants me to buy it to-morrow. She says so in her letter. You know she does.’
Sally gazed so anxiously up into her mother’s face that Mother thought for a moment and then said cheerfully,