You’ll find five books of Aunt Phoebe’s that need new fresh covers. They are in The Happy Shop on the shelf beside the crow mail-box.
C. C.”
“What a good idea,” declared Mother. “I think I’ll have some books to cover when I get home, too, Henry.”
“But what are we going to do, Aunt Phoebe, my Magic Book is getting so thin? There aren’t many more pages in it—only about twenty. I counted. How’m I going to get another—and Henry wants one, too.”
“Oh, everybody who wants a Magic Book can very easily have one,” declared Aunt Phoebe. “Just go to some store where they do paper-hanging and ask if you can have an old sample book of last year’s styles in wall paper. The styles change almost every year. Every year the men have new books of styles. Their shop is full of them. These old ones are useless when the new ones come in and the paperhangers are glad to get rid of the old paper books. Most always, these are thrown away. Even if you lived away off in the country, there would be some town near-by where you could get a sample-book of wall paper, if you were to ask. And if any child wants one, there are more than enough pretty Magic Books in the world to go around—more than one apiece.”
“Well, I’m going to try to get one on my way home from school Monday,” said Henry. “I pass by a paperhanger’s shop. I’ve seen the books in his window, but I never knew they could be used for play before crow told Jimsi of The Happy Shop.”
“I’ll get one there when I come home, too,” Jimsi laughed.
“Me, too!” cooed Katherine, though she only understood dimly what it was they were talking about. She had been begging Mother to read her letter aloud.
“Well, you read Katherine’s letter first, Mother dear,” urged Jimsi. “I’ll wait because Katherine is so little she gets impatient. What does Katherine’s letter say?”
Then, Mother read: