But the little doctor smiled kindly at her, and went over and picked Phronsie up.
“Heyday!” he cried, swinging her as high as he could, which wasn’t much; “well, now, don’t you want to go to ride in my gig?”
But Phronsie was lost to all such charms and everything else. Polly had never told her anything that didn’t come true before, so she wailed on bitterly, until Polly, quite pale now, had told the whole story, interspersed with many reproaches for her careless speech.
“Oh, if that’s all,” said the little doctor, jubilantly, “I think I know exactly where to find a cat’s nest, Phronsie.”
“Is there a white kitty in it?” asked Phronsie, coming out of her sobs suddenly and brushing off the tears.
“Well, I don’t know about the white one,” said Dr. Fisher, racking his brains to remember if he had seen such a creature, and where. “But never mind,” as the little face fell, “there will be some other cunning kittens in the nest, probably, and they’re just waiting for some little girl who is going to be very good and not cry, and—”
“I’ll be very good and not cry,” announced Phronsie, struggling out of his arms, “and perhaps there’s a white one there.”
“Perhaps,” said the little doctor, with a merry laugh; “and now hurry up your cakes, and get ready, or Dobbin won’t wait for us much longer.”
“I’ll hurry up my cakes and get ready,” sang Phronsie. So Polly ran and picked up the old hair-brush and the yellow hair was brushed, and the two sunbonnets tied on. Then Polly, feeling very important, locked the old green door and put the key in her pocket, and with a long breath of delight ran down the path after Doctor Fisher and Phronsie. “We are really and truly going to ride in his gig,” she kept saying, over and over, to herself.
“You see,” said the little doctor, when they were at last in the depths of the roomy old gig, and Dobbin was jogging down the country road, “I thought I’d go over to Miller’s Corners this morning, because it’s such a fine day. ’Tisn’t very important, only the old lady expects me to call sometime this week.” And he was just turning off, when a man on horseback, who seemed very much in a hurry, clattered up, calling out long before he got there, “Hey, Doctor—I want you.”