"Aren't they lovely?" "Tiptop!" "Dandy!" "Too pretty for anything!"
And no one was more pleased than Miss Brown.
"I am afraid I can never be half so good to my neighbors as they are to me," she said, "but I'll try."
"As if you were not the nicest neighbor we ever had!" cried Louise.
"Let's give Mrs. Howard a vote of thanks," proposed Jim.
Ikey looked at him with envy. Jim always thought of the right thing.
"We ought to thank Dora too, for it was her idea," said Carl as the clapping subsided.
"I did not dream of anything so nice," said Dora, patting her little key.
"I am glad you are pleased, and I hope they will open some rusty locks," said Aunt Zélie.
"And now, if you please, we'll adjourn into the dining-room," said Miss Brown. "This is a very special occasion, you know," she added, in reply to a grave shake of the head from Mrs. Howard.