Alice sometimes helped her mother work in the kitchen, and Maggie thought she did the same, but I don't think her help amounted to much. Master Jimmy loved to work, also. But his work made more work for older folks. So his father thought one day, when he came home and found the young beets and parsnips all pulled out of their beds in the garden.
"Who did that?" said he to the children.
"I did, papa," said little James.
"And what did you do that for?"
"I was working in the garden!" was the little fellow's reply.
He thought he was helping his papa. What do you think?
The children had a very good place to play in, for the garden was large, and there was a good sized plot of grass; and, besides, not very far from the house there was a grove of beautiful maple-trees, under the shade of which they sometimes had a picnic.
But when it rained they could not play in the garden, or on the grass, or under the trees. They had to stay in the house.
Then it was that the garret was used. It was a good place to play in on a rainy day in summer. In winter it was too cold.
At such times the children took some of their good toys with them from the nursery, and used them with the old toys in the garret. And though they could not go out doors, they had fine fun and frolic under the roof of the house, and made noise enough to frighten all the mice away, if there had been any there.