“But you can have hens without being a farmer’s daughter,” said Royal.
“How?” said Lucy.
“Why, you and I could buy some hens with our own money, if mother would let us; and then I could make a coop.”
“Well,” said Lucy, “I mean to go and ask her this very minute.”
“No; stop,” said Royal. “That won’t do any good. She will tell you to ask father, and then he won’t believe that we can make a coop, and he won’t want to take the trouble to have one made for us, and so he will say no. I’ll tell you what we must do. We must make the coop first, and then, when it is all ready, we can ask father if we may buy some hens.”
“Well,” said Lucy, in a tone of great satisfaction, “let us go and make it now.”
“But you can’t help make it, Lucy. I shall have to make it myself, all alone; and so the hens must be mine.”
Lucy did not like the plan of giving up all the hens to Royal; but Royal insisted upon it that he should have to do all the work, and, of course, that he must have the hens himself. At last, Lucy said that, if he did not let her have a share, she should not stay with him, but should go into the house.
But Royal did not like at all to stay and work alone. He tried to get Lucy to remain, and at last he said that, if she would, he would make her a garden in the corner,—a beautiful garden, full of flowers.