Milly and Olly

ens

Table of

they are sleeping. They mus

y to the kitchen after the breakfast things, and found the children still fast as

aking her very gently, "Milly,

muttered something about "whist

t Milly's eyes did try very hard to open-"What is it

y are! Come and look, Nana! There, past those trees-don't you see the mountains? And there is father walk

to jump out of bed half asleep, and then sit a long time on the floor waking up. Nurse and Milly alw

eepy voice, "I'm going right up the m

him up and kissing him, "perhaps your little legs won't fi

ins," said Olly stoutly; "mountains aren't a b

d Milly, thoughtfully, pulling on her stockings. "You didn'

children when they were staying there were put to sleep at the top, and Olly us

k his obstina

it's a bit like

their dressing, and presently there stood as fresh a pair of morning children as anyone could wish to see, with rosy cheeks, and smooth ha

ly there was no fireplace in it. The real kitchen opened out of it at one side, and through the door came a smell of coffee and toast that made the children feel as hungry as little

and grass which was nearly all moss, and so soft that no cushion could be softer. In the distance they could hear a little splish-splash among the trees, which came, Milly supposed, from the river mother had told t

d took them to the dining-room to find father and mother. Mr. and Mrs. Norton were reading letters whe

she can't come over to us to-day, but will we all come over to

s mother's knee and half-strangling her with his strong littl

a little bit of Ravensnest first. Whic

, "she had a big white cap, and she told me stories.

other, does she keep saying, 'Don't do that;' 'Go

nd Olly couldn't bear. They believed that she couldn't say anything else except "Don't!" and

she's obliged, but when she does say it little boys have to mind. When I was a little girl I thoug

ly. Don't you know those beautiful card dolls you hav

ittle girls and two little boys. And each of the children had two paper dresses and two hats, one for best

ly one of the little boys has his head broken off. Do y

w, children, father says he will take you out while I go and speak to cook. Olly, how do you t

ied Olly, pointing to a plate of tiny red-spotted fis

ink we'll try for some plain mutton for you, even if we have to catch the sheep on the mountains ourselv

each holding one of father's hands, and chattering away to him as if their little tongues would never stop. What a hot day it was going to be! The sky overhead was deep blue, with scarcely

ast week tell mother that it always rained in the m

n here. Sometimes it rains and rains as if the sky were coming down and all the world we

f the path what do you think they found? Why, a chattering sparkling river, running along over hundreds and thousands of brown and green pebbles, so fast that it seemed to be trying to catch the birds as they skimmed across it. The children had never seen

this morning, when you little sleepyheads were in bed, I got up and came down

ths in the river too. Do ask Nana-do, father! We can have our bathing thi

ery very early. But you won't like it quite as much as you think. Rivers are very cold to

rrupted Milly, "we coul

let us splash in our bath, father, she says it mak

alling? Let's go and fetch her, and then we'll go and see Uncle Richard's farm, where the milk you had for

r watching for them with a basket on her arm

did you get those r

er, and gardener's two little children. They live in that cottage over there, across the broo

and there was another river, but such a tiny river, Milly could almost jump across it, and it was tumbling and leaping

running on to a little bridge that had been bu

u've done. But I can't have you calling this a river, Olly. These baby ri

a very shy small boy, with blue eyes and straggling yellow hair, and a face that might have been pretty if you could have seen it properly. But Charlie seemed to have made up his mind that nobody ever should see it properly. However often his mother might wash him, and she was a tidy woman, who liked t

. Norton to the little g

ithout taking her fin

at. Do you know when

d been creeping behind Bessie to get out of Olly's way; for Olly, who always wanted to make friends,

away, Olly, and don't tease Charlie if he doesn't want to shake hands

said

let you and Charlie come down to tea with Miss Mill

hyer and shyer, and eating up

then," said

" said Milly, soft

t her, but didn

little fists. This made Olly rather cross, and he began to try with all his strength to make Charlie kiss him, when suddenly Charlie got away from him, and running to a pile o

s Mrs. Norton took his hand to lead him away. "I wa

he farm if you stay climbing here. And you wouldn'

arlie," said Olly, pouti

t of doors all day long, climbing and poking about. I daresay he can do

all pleased that Charlie, who was smaller than he was, a

got a Nana always lookin

oking as if he didn't understand how the

ng after him. What would you be like, do you think, Olly, if I had to do all the housework, and

e of Olly's picture-books; but I am sure you must have heard about him already, and must have seen the picture of him with his bushy hair, an

d Milly. "Do they always say Naw and Yis in this

of talking sounds odd and queer at first, Milly, but when you get used to i

kitchen-garden made on the mountain side, so that when they looked down from the gate they could see the chimneys of Ravensnest just below them. Inside there were all ki

n a discontented voice, as if it must be somebody's f

heir summer begins a little later than ours does, and so everything gets pushed on a little. But there will be plenty by-and-by. And s

le to touch the sky if we got up to the top of that one, mother?" and he poin

ong the clouds, and it would seem like a white fog all ro

ery wide at the idea o

can't touch the

ame mountain, and carry it to Willingham with us. Then we'll put it down in the middle of the garden, and the

hunched-up house, with a number of sheds on one side of it and a kitchen-garden in front. This was Uncle Richard's farm; a very tiny farm, where a man called John Backhouse lived, with his wife and two little girls and a baby-boy. Except just in the hay-time, John Backhouse had no men to help him, and he and his wife had to do all the work, to look after the sheep, and the cows, the pigs, the horse, and the

baby in her arms sucking a great crust of brown bread, and when Mr. and Mrs. Norton had shaken hands with her-"I'm sure, ma'am, I'm very pleased to see you here," said Mrs. Backhouse. "John told me you were come (only Mrs. Backhouse said 'coom'),

Norton. "Mine have been looking

, unless they're in the c

ut still Milly and Olly could see nothing but a big ch

hem," said Mrs. Backhouse, pointing to the tree. "And won't you come in,

ouse, and the children went hand-in-hand d

rl sewing had a sensible, sober face; as for the other, she could not have looked sober if she had tried for a week of Sundays. It made you laugh only to look at Tiza. From the top of her curly head to the soles of her skipping little feet, she was the sauciest, merriest, noisiest creature. It was she who was always playing tricks on the cows and the horse, and the big shee

g up into the tree, "will you come

hy face to shake hands; but Tiza, instead of coming down, only cli

morning," said Becky. "We thought maybe we'd see you in the

sked Olly, looking hard up into

oked down at his feet very much astonished, and saw a bu

ran here and there picking them up, and every now and then trying to throw them back at Tiza

ybe she won't speak to you for two or three days. And if you run

come to tea with us this afternoo

said Becky, "but she doesn't lik

No, not yet. We're going to-morrow when we go to A

over the ste

know what they are. Can we

st close by your house. Does your

and her. She said "doos" and "oop," and "knaw," and "jist," and "la-ike," but it sounded qu

less it's very warm. We paddle when we go to the sea, and some da

iver," said Becky, looking ver

h in the nursery like

b on Saturday nights. I don't mind it but Tiza doesn't like it a bit. Sometimes sh

ly. "Olly and I have one every morning. Mother says

t him," said Becky

you when you come to tea. But there's mother calling

, and didn't think it was all fun that Tiza should always hit him and he should

like that. Tiza, are you coming down? I am goi

y out all by your

p at nights; and mother says he won't go to sleep

l puzzled. It must be

inting to Olly, "come up this aft

aid Milly; "wh

m a big girl I shall learn how to milk

a farm," said Mil

hat to say to this, so sh

e. Olly set out to run after her as fast as he could run, but he came bang up against hi

atting his head; "she's a rough girl, always at some trick

"Her mother lets her do such a lot of things-nurse the baby, and c

going right," said Mrs. Norton; "but I think you had better wait a little

and all the way home she kept saying to herself, "If I could only turn into a l