“And can’t Phronsie get the towel, Mamsie?” said Polly, over in the corner where she had seated herself with the baby till the bath should be ready, Phronsie running off on happy little feet to get the soap.
“Yes, indeed,” said Mamsie, pouring in cold water to the tub, and trying it with her hand. “Now, I do expect that baby is going to cry dreadfully, Polly,” she said with a sigh. “Well, it can’t be helped. That’s a good girl, Phronsie,” as Phronsie ran up and held out the soap, with a very important air. “Now go to the under drawer and get out a towel. Well, Polly, we’re all ready; so you may hand her to me.”
Mrs. Pepper had seated herself on a low chair by the side of the bath-tub and held out her hands.
“Oh, Mamsie!” exclaimed Polly, in dismay yet she did as she was bidden. “I thought I was going to wash her.”
“Not this time, Polly,” said her mother, kindly; “to-morrow you may. O dear me!” as she rolled the baby over on her lap, and took out a big safety-pin that seemed to have the whole duty of keeping the dirty little calico gown together. “Polly, we shall have to wrap her up in a quilt till I can wash these clothes.”
“Can’t she take some of Phronsie’s things?” said Polly, hanging over the baby in the greatest distress. “O dear me, Mamsie, can’t she?”
“She can take my clothes,” said Phronsie, poking her yellow hair in between her mother’s busy fingers and the baby, who strange to say was so overcome by all this bustle, she really forgot to cry; “I’ll go and get ’em.”
“Come back, Phronsie,” said her mother, as she clattered off. “No, probably the baby will want to go to sleep, after she’s had a good bath, and Polly and I will have a chance to wash out her clothes.”
“And I’m going to help wash ’em, too,” declared Phronsie, getting back to her mother’s chair and the scene of operations, just in time to see the Granniss baby lowered carefully into the tub.
As soon as the water touched her little thin legs, the baby took off her wide-eyed gaze from these strange folks who had so interested her, and glanced wildly off at nothing in particular, to give a loud, shrill scream and wave her pinched arms frantically about.