“How tidy it looks,” Laura commented.
“Yes,” Maida agreed. “That’s because the gardener has put it in perfect condition for you boys. But after this, you’ve got to take care of it yourselves. And weeds grow like—like—” She paused for a comparison.
“Like sixty!” Arthur finished it for her. “I know; I’ve weeded my aunt’s garden in Maine. Believe me it’s hot work. The thing to do is to work a little every day—that’s the only way you can keep ahead of the weeds.”
“Sure, early in the morning!” Dicky remarked.
“How did you know that, Dicky?” Maida asked curiously.
“I just happened to read it in a book,” Dicky explained.
“Now, when I tell you,” Maida went on, as one suddenly remembering the rest of her instructions, “that we shall have to go to bed at nine and get up at seven, I have told you all I have to tell you. Father’s very strict about our sleep. He says we must have ten hours. There’s one exception. Saturday night, when we can sit up until ten and Sunday morning when we can sleep until eight. Now, how would you like to go to the Magic Mirror?”
“Oh I’ve been on pins and needles every moment since we got up wanting to go to that Pond,” Rosie declared, “but then I want to see everything at once.”
“Arthur, do you know how to row a canoe?” Dicky asked.