“Oh, you look just like the pictures of little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother!”
“Do I, my dear?” asked the old lady. “Well, if I’m the grandmother, the lumbago in my back must be the wolf. Not a real wolf,” she added. “Just make believe, you know.”
“I know,” said Freddie. “I was playing I was a lion up in the attic.”
“And I was an elephant,” explained Flossie. “And I got my foot caught in a chair and I couldn’t get it out!”
“Well, you’re all right now,” said the old lady, with a smile. “Be good children now, for you’ll have to help Nan and Bert keep house until I get better. It’s a sad time.”
“Oh, we like it,” laughed Freddie. “We can stay at home and don’t have to go to school.”
“You say somebody lost his mule?” asked Mrs. Pry. “That’s too bad! The mule was lost in the storm, I expect.”
Flossie and Freddie looked at each other wonderingly, and then at Bert. They were not quite so used to the misunderstandings of the old lady as were Bert and Nan. So Bert, before his brother and sister should laugh at Mrs. Pry, made haste to say:
“They didn’t say anything about a mule, Aunt Sallie. Freddie said he was glad there wasn’t any school!”
“Oh, school! Yes! Well, there’s no sense in going to school when its such a bad storm. But I guess it will soon stop!”