CHAPTER XIII
GETTING READY
It was very interesting in the little boy’s house the next day, for the mother was getting ready for the journey and the sisters were helping. There was food to be cooked and there were clothes to be washed, and it all made a very pleasant bustle. The little boy was in the thick of it all. He thought he was helping, though perhaps the others thought differently. At any rate, he was in a state of most delightful excitement.
When it grew dark the work was all done, and the little boy went to the grandmother’s room.
“We are all ready, grandmother,” he said, “and I have been patient all the time!”
“Well, well!” said the grandmother. “Surely you deserve a reward, then. Shall I tell you a story?”
“Oh, dear little grandmother, yes!” cried the little boy. “Will it be about Reinecke?”
“Not about Reinecke, nor any of the animals you know,” said the grandmother; “it will be about