Then there came back to Mary what she had often said about “not wanting a baby sister,” and she could scarcely believe she had ever felt like that. She was sorry to remember she had said it, only she knew she had not understood about it.
“I never thought her would be so pretty,” she said. “I never thought her would be so sweet. Oh papa, her is a lubly birfday present! When her wakes up, mayn’t I kiss her?”
“Of course you may, and hold her in your arms if you are very careful,” said her father, looking very pleased. He had been very anxious for Mary to love the baby a great deal, for sometimes “next-to-the-baby” children are rather jealous and cross at being no longer the pet and the youngest. It was a very good thing he and her mamma agreed that the baby had come as a birthday present to Mary.
The idea of holding her in her own arms was so delightful that again for a moment or two Mary felt as if she could not speak.
“And what do you two fellows think of your new sister?” said papa, turning to the boys. Leigh leant over the cradle and peered in very earnestly.
“She’s something like,” he said slowly, “something like those very tiny little ducklings,” and seeing a smile on his father’s face he went on to explain, though he grew rather red, “I don’t know what makes me think that. She looks so soft and cosy, I suppose. You know the little ducklings, papa? They’re like balls of fluffy down.”
“I don’t think she’s a bit like them,” said Artie, who in his turn had been having a good examination of the baby. “I think she’s more like a very little monkey. Do you remember that tiny monkey with a pink face, that sat on the organ in the street at grandmamma’s one day, Leigh? It was like her.”
He spoke quite gravely. He had admired the monkey very much. He did not at all mean that the new baby was not pretty, and his father’s smile grew rather comical.
“See how she scroozles up her face,” he went on; “she’s just like the monkey now. It was a very nice monkey, you know, papa.”
But Mary was not pleased. She had never seen a monkey, but there was a picture of one for the letter “M” in what she called her “animal book,” and she did not think it pretty at all.