Bobby and Alice and Pink had the measles. First Bobby had taken it with a headache and a sick stomach. Then Alice had got sick with what seemed to be a cold, and at last Pink took it. She just wakened up one morning all covered with tiny red spots, and of course she knew right away that she had the measles, too.
They had all been awfully sick, but now they were better, though they still had to stay in a darkened room, which they didn’t like a bit.
“It’s the worst part of the measles,” complained Bobby bitterly. “Just like night all the time.”
“Well, then,” said Grandma, who was making them a call, “let us pretend that it is night and I will tell you a story about when I had the measles a long, long time ago.
“In those days measles was considered a necessary evil for children. That is, people thought that all children must have it one time or another, and the younger you were when you had it the less it would hurt you. All our family had had the measles except Charlie and me. We had never had the measles, and Mother was quite worried about it. She said she wouldn’t expose us on purpose, but she did wish we’d get it before we got much older and have it over with. There had been no measles epidemic in our neighborhood for several years, and this is how one came about.
“One Saturday, late in June, Father took Charlie and me to Clayville with him. We were to visit with Aunt Louisa while he attended to his business. He let us out at Aunt Louisa’s street and said when he got ready to go home he would come after us.
“Charlie and I started up the street, but neither of us had ever been there alone and all the houses looked alike to us. We couldn’t decide which was Aunt Louisa’s.
“Finally we selected one that we were sure was hers and went around to the side door and knocked. Instead of Aunt Louisa or Mettie, a little girl opened the door and told us to come in. This was queer, because Aunt Louisa had no children. But I supposed she had company and stepped into a sitting room that was so dark I could hardly see a thing at first. We sat very still for a while, and I wished that Aunt Louisa would come. In the dim light I made out a bed in one corner, but I didn’t know there was anyone in it until a boy, who had evidently been asleep, raised up his head and looked at us in surprise. And we looked at him, too, for he certainly was funny looking with his face all covered with little red spots.
“‘By, golly!’ he said. ‘What you doin’ in here?’
“I replied with dignity that we were waiting for Aunt Louisa.