He looked at the windows of Mary Frances’ room.
“No sign of her yet. Well, I’ll go over to the garden now, and I’ll work hard to help her.”
He walked over to the play house garden, occasionally stopping to give an answer to a neighboring hen or rooster.
“You’re earlier than usual this morning,” crowed the rooster in the next neighbor’s yard.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo,” answered Feather Flop. “It doesn’t take much to beat you! Good-morning, though!” and walked on.
When he arrived at the vegetable garden, he fell right to work pulling weeds from between the rows of onions and peas.
When he came to the lettuce, he stopped his work.
“My,” he said. “My, doesn’t that look good! Oh, how sweet and tender that looks! I don’t believe anybody would miss a leaf or two of the little leaves inside those largest heads.”