“Right you are, my hearties!” cried the sailor. And then Mary, looking from the window, exclaimed:
“Oh, see what I got! I was to choose the first thing that came along, and make-believe it was mine, and look! It’s a boy and a girl!”
And, as truly as I’m telling you, it was. Along down the street they were slowly walking; a boy and a girl, holding hands, and they didn’t look very happy, I’m sorry to say.
Their clothes were rather ragged, and the three little Trippertrots could see that the boy’s shoes had big holes in them, where the snow could come through, for there was snow on the ground, you know. And the girl’s stockings had holes in them, where the wind could blow through, and she had only a thin shawl over her head. And the boy had no overcoat on, only a thin, little jacket.
She Handed the Basket to the Poor Boy
“Oh, dear!” exclaimed Mary. “I—I don’t think I quite like what I picked out. You—you may have ’em, Tommy. I’ll take next choice, and maybe I’ll get a red automobile, and we can go for a make-believe ride.”
Before Tommy could answer, the sailorman said in a soft sort of voice:
“May I have that little boy and girl?—make-believe, you know; the same as you play.”
“Oh, of course,” answered Mary. “You may have them.”