“Just as soon as the envelopes come back we can begin to address from mother’s big book, can’t we?” asked Norma.
“If there’s only one book, how can all of this crowd read it at the same time and then write down the names?” demanded Dot Starr.
“Why, we won’t have to do that work,” added Mrs. Wells. “There’s a firm in the city that addresses envelopes for a dollar a thousand.”
“Another fine hint! I’m sure I’d rather pay my share than risk Dot’s ruining dozens of envelopes with ink,” laughed Mrs. Starr, patting Dot on the hand.
“We wouldn’t want to write ’em in here, because the snow would freeze our fingers so the ink would spatter all over,” said Dot, ludicrously.
“Yes, I suppose these lovely covers would be speckled black by the time the Blue Birds completed, say, fifty thousand addresses,” laughed Aunt Selina.
“I would vote against Edith’s writing—I fear the person would never get the letter—it would go straight to the Dead Letter Office,” said Mrs. Wilson, pulling Edith’s curls.
As everyone knew how Edith hated writing and never could write a legible hand, a laugh went up, in which Edith joined heartily.
So the Blue Birds were spared the arduous task of copying thousands of names.
“I have heard that these large addressing bureaus prefer to employ children—I wonder why?”