"At first, the two boys looked surprised; but Milly quite coolly seated herself upon Tom's sled, tucked her little petticoats snugly about her, and sat nodding at them both.
"'Upon my word, that's cool!' cried Tom; but he harnessed himself with the rope, nevertheless, and away they started, the silver bells attached to the sled tinkling merrily. They had a grand time of it for an hour or so, until Milly suddenly remembered what Pet had said about not going up-stairs; and then she wondered what it all could mean. They finally started for the house; and when they saw their mamma standing at the dining-room window watching, Pet and Milly joined hands, and ran as fast as they could towards home: they could not tell exactly why, except that they felt like it.
"'Can Milly go up-stairs now, mamma?' asked Pet eagerly.
"Mamma assented; and Milly, wondering very much what was coming, followed her mother into a little room that had never before been used, and which was now furnished in the most beautiful manner. There was a fresh muslin curtain, looped with gay ribbons, at the window; the carpet looked as if it had just been strewn with rosebuds; the tiny bedstead, of carved wood, had the daintiest linen and crimped hangings; while there was a little bookcase in one corner, containing all kinds of pretty books; upon the table bloomed a bouquet of sweet-scented violets; and by the table was the loveliest rocking-chair imaginable, just large enough to hold a little girl of six years old. Upon the wall, in a wreath of evergreen, were written these words: 'Milly's room.'
"Milly gazed about her, feeling as if she was in a dream. Having examined all the fine furniture which was from this time to be all her own, Pet pointed to a large object in a corner, concealed by a sheet curtain.
"'What's that?' dancing about with delight.
"'Let her guess,' said Tom, putting his hand over foolish little Pet's rosy lips, to keep her from telling the important secret.
"'It's a ba-by,' gurgled Pet; but Tom put his jacket over her head, and extinguished her entirely.
"'Can you guess what it is?' asked mamma.
"'It looks like an elephant,' said Dick.