“Well, come home to dinner with me,” said Mr. Pebble, and he gave three little taps on the rock.
All at once it opened and before Ray knew it he was inside. A tiny fat woman with a crowd of children tugging at her skirts, came up and greeted Mr. Pebble. The little Pebbles skipped and hopped about, cutting up all sorts of capers. It was all so funny that Ray was laughing all the time and Mr. and Mrs. Pebble and all the little Pebbles laughed too.
“How about the coal, my dear,” said Mrs. Pebble suddenly; “did you get any this morning?”
“Oh, yes,” replied her husband, “I have been very busy.”
“Well, I hope you will get a good supply, because I think it is going to be a hard winter. Don’t you think so, Ray?”
“I don’t see what you want coal for,” said Ray; “inside a big rock I should think it would be nice and warm.”
“So it would be, my dear,” returned Mrs. Pebble; “but there are two great cracks in this house and they let in all the cold air. Why, last winter Tommy Pebble had the measles.”
“Which is Tommy?” asked Ray, looking around at the brood of Pebbles.
“I’m Tommy,” shouted a pompous little fellow standing on his tiptoes and throwing out his chest.
“Well, you needn’t feel so stiff about it,” said Ray, “you’re not the only Pebble;” whereupon Mr. and Mrs. Pebble and all the children except Tommy roared with laughter.