Then the little boy jumped up in a hurry and put his hobby-horse in the corner and his pony lines on a hook in the closet and his tin soldiers in a straight row on the cupboard shelf.
"Now I'm ready," he said, but:—
"'Tickity, tickity, tickity tock!
Time to tidy yourself,' said the clock."
"Oh!" said the little boy, when his mother told him this; but he stood very still while she washed his hands and his rosy face and combed his curls till they were smooth and shining.
"Now I'm ready," he cried, but Mother said:—
"Why, are you going to forget your nice little blouse that you've never worn yet?"
"'Tickity, tickity, tickity tock,
Time for clean clothes, little boy,' says the clock."
Then she made haste to get the blouse out of the dresser drawer, where it had been ever since it was finished. It had a big collar and a tie, and when the little boy put it on he looked like a sailor man.
"Now I'm ready," he said, and—do you believe it?—the very next minute the door opened and in walked the little boy's father.