But Hal and Mab were getting a little tired now, though the race was such a short one. Gradually Hal was skating ahead.
"Oh dear! He's going to win!" thought Mab, but, just then, all of a sudden, Hal's skate glided over a twig on the ice, and down he went. "Ker-bunk-o!"
Before Mab could stop herself she had slid over the finish line.
"Oh, Mab wins! Mab has won the race!" cried her girl friends.
Poor Hal, who was not much hurt, I am glad to say, got up. He looked sorrowfully at his sister who had gone ahead of him, when he stumbled. He did want so much to win!
But Mab was a real "sportswoman," for there are such you know—even little girls.
"Hal, I didn't win!" she exclaimed, skating back to her brother, "It isn't a fair race when some one falls; is it Daddy?"
"Well, perhaps in a real big race they would count it, even if some of the skaters fell," he said. "But this time you need not count—"
"Well, I'm not going to count this!" interrupted Mab. "I don't want to win the race that way. Come on, Hal. We won't count this, and we'll race over again!"
Now I call that real good of Mab. Don't you?