"Yes," repeated Hoodie to herself, as she followed her cousin into the house, "I'll keep the little bird alvays, and I'll teach it to love me; I'll be so vezzy kind to it."
And as they entered the billiard-room where, true to her charge, faithful little Maudie was drying and warming the twins' feet by the fire, Hoodie exclaimed with great triumph—
"It's a bird, Maudie, a most bootiful bird, and I'm going to have it all for my vezzy own and keep it in a cage alvays. Cousin Magdalen is going to ask Mamma. May I go and tell her to come now quick, Cousin Magdalen?"
"No, my dear, certainly not. Your mother's busy and must not be interrupted. You may go and ask for a little milk and a bit of bread, and I'll try if I can make the little bird eat something. It's opening its mouth as if it was hungry. But no—stop, Hoodie. I was forgetting what a state you are in. Maudie, take off her shoes and stockings too—that's a kind little girl. I'll help you in a minute when I've found a safe place for the little bird. There now—that'll do beautifully," as she spoke taking the skeins of wool out of her little work-basket and putting the bird in instead and carefully closing the lid. The children looked on with great interest.
"Is him always to live in zere, Cousin Magdalen?" inquired Hec.
Magdalen was by this time employed in examining into the state of Hoodie's garments. It was rather deplorable!
"It's no good, Maudie," she exclaimed at last. "She must be thoroughly undressed, for she's damp all over. I must take her up to Martin—oh, dear, what a pity! Just when we had had such a nice morning."
"But it was a vezzy good thing I saw the little bird felling down, wasn't it?" said Hoodie complacently, as she trotted off with her cousin's hand. "And Martin won't 'cold me, 'cos it was your fault for letting me go out in the wet; wasn't it, Cousin Magdalen?" she added with great satisfaction.
Magdalen, to tell the truth, found it rather difficult to keep her temper with Hoodie just then.
"Hoodie," she said sharply. "It is not right to speak like that. You know you ran away out before I could stop you."