Of course the Overall Boys were suddenly very hungry. And how they enjoyed the bread and butter and wild strawberries and cream which Gretel's mother served to them!
After the tea party was over, Gretel showed them yards and yards of lace she was making
After the tea party was over, Gretel showed them the lace which she was making. There were yards and yards of it. The boys thought it was wonderful to see Gretel move the bobbins of thread so quickly over the big pillow, and never make mistakes in the pattern.
"I have been making lace ever since I was five years old," said Gretel. "I sell enough lace every summer to pay for all of my clothes."
"Oh, Gretel, will you sell some to us?" asked Joe. "We don't wear lace ourselves, but the Sunbonnet Babies do. They would love to wear some of your lace."
"And I should love to have them wear it. Of course I will sell you some," said Gretel.
Then the boys chose some of the very prettiest lace Gretel had made, and bought it for the Sunbonnet Babies.
"Now I want to show you where my bees live," said Gretel. And she led the boys up the hill behind her house where, under some great trees, was a row of tiny chalets.
"This is my bee village," she said. "Each bee family has a little chalet of its own. The bees fly all over our alp, gathering nectar from the flowers. Sometimes they fly very far away, hunting for more flowers, but they always come back again, bringing their baskets full of nectar.