“Maybe it’s another surprise,” exclaimed Betty Burd, who was enjoying Adele’s happiness as much as did that girl herself.
Adele’s room was brilliantly lighted, and her adorable mother and her Giant Daddy were standing in the door, waiting. Into the room the girls trooped, and Adele gave a cry of joy when she saw a bird’s-eye-maple writing-desk, on which were rose-colored blotters and a silver ink-stand and scratcher, and holders for both pen and pencil.
The card fastened to the desk read:
To “Heart’s Desire”
from
“Giant Father.”
These were the pet names which they had for each other. How Adele hugged him! And then he laughingly exclaimed, “Now put on your spectacles, for there is something else in this room for you to find.”
Adele looked about, high and low. Suddenly she spied a water-color painting in a rustic frame. It was a picture of their very own log cabin, painted when the meadow was yellow-and-white with daisies and buttercups. There were fleecy clouds over a sunny blue sky, and the woods in the background were fresh and green, and, as for the laughing brook, you could fairly see it sparkle and hear it gurgle as it danced along.
“From Mother,” a little card told her.
“Mumsie!” Adele cried. “An artist from the city painted it, didn’t he? I watched him one day when he was just beginning on the brook, and how I loved it, but I never even dreamed that I was to own it.”