"I don't intend that my boys shall, and I must send Daisy home if youcannot play happily together," said Aunt Jo, soberly.
At this awful threat, Demi sidled up to his sister, and Daisy hastilydried her tears, for to be separated was the worst misfortune that couldhappen to the twins.
"Nat was bad, too, and Tommy was baddest of all," observed Nan, fearingthat two of the sinners would not get their fair share of punishment.
"I am sorry," said Nat, much ashamed.
"I ain't!" bawled Tommy through the keyhole, where he was listening withall his might.
Mrs. Jo wanted very much to laugh, but kept her countenance, and saidimpressively, as she pointed to the door,
"You can go, boys, but remember, you are not to speak to or play withthe little girls till I give you leave. You don't deserve the pleasure,so I forbid it."
The ill-mannered young gentlemen hastily retired, to be receivedoutside with derision and scorn by the unrepentant Bangs, who wouldnot associate with them for at least fifteen minutes. Daisy was soonconsoled for the failure of her ball, but lamented the edict that partedher from her brother, and mourned over his short-comings in her tenderlittle heart. Nan rather enjoyed the trouble, and went about turning upher pug nose at the three, especially Tommy, who pretended not to care,and loudly proclaimed his satisfaction at being rid of those "stupidgirls." But in his secret soul he soon repented of the rash act thatcaused this banishment from the society he loved, and every hour ofseparation taught him the value of the "stupid girls."
The others gave in very soon, and longed to be friends, for now therewas no Daisy to pet and cook for them; no Nan to amuse and doctor them;and, worst of all, no Mrs. Jo to make home life pleasant and life easyfor them. To their great affliction, Mrs. Jo seemed to consider herselfone of the offended girls, for she hardly spoke to the outcasts, lookedas if she did not see them when she passed, and was always too busy nowto attend to their requests. This sudden and entire exile from favorcast a gloom over their souls, for when Mother Bhaer deserted them,their sun had set at noon-day, as it were, and they had no refuge left.
This unnatural state of things actually lasted for three days, thenthey could bear it no longer, and fearing that the eclipse might becometotal, went to Mr. Bhaer for help and counsel.
It is my private opinion that he had received instructions how to behaveif the case should be laid before him. But no one suspected it, and hegave the afflicted boys some advice, which they gratefully accepted andcarried out in the following manner:
Secluding themselves in the garret, they devoted several play-hours tothe manufacture of some mysterious machine, which took so much pastethat Asia grumbled, and the little girls wondered mightily. Nan nearlygot her inquisitive nose pinched in the door, trying to see what wasgoing on, and Daisy sat about, openly lamenting that they could notall play nicely together, and not have any dreadful secrets. Wednesdayafternoon was fine, and after a good deal of consultation about wind andweather, Nat and Tommy went off, bearing an immense flat parcel hiddenunder many newspapers. Nan nearly died with suppressed curiosity, Daisynearly cried with vexation, and both quite trembled with interest whenDemi marched into Mrs. Bhaer's room, hat in hand, and said, in thepolitest tone possible to a mortal boy of his years,
"Please, Aunt Jo, would you and the girls come out to a surprise partywe have made for you? Do it's a very nice one."
"Thank you, we will come with pleasure; only, I must take Teddy withme," replied Mrs. Bhaer, with a smile that cheered Demi like sunshineafter rain.
"We'd like to have him. The little wagon is all ready for the girls; youwon't mind walking just up to Pennyroyal Hill, will you Aunty?"
"I should like it exceedingly; but are you quite sure I shall not be inthe way?"
"Oh, no, indeed! we want you very much; and the party will be spoilt ifyou don't come," cried Demi, with great earnestness.
"Thank you kindly, sir;" and Aunt Jo made him a grand curtsey, for sheliked frolics as well as any of them.
"Now, young ladies, we must not keep them waiting; on with the hats, andlet us be off at once. I'm all impatience to know what the surprise is."
As Mrs. Bhaer spoke every one bustled about, and in five minutes thethree little girls and Teddy were packed into the "clothes-basket," asthey called the wicker wagon which Toby drew. Demi walked at the head ofthe procession, and Mrs. Jo brought up the rear, escorted by Kit. It wasa most imposing party, I assure you, for Toby had a red feather-dusterin his head, two remarkable flags waved over the carriage, Kit had ablue bow on his neck, which nearly drove him wild, Demi wore a nosegayof dandelions in his buttonhole, and Mrs. Jo carried the queer Japaneseumbrella in honor of the occasion.
The girls had little flutters of excitement all the way; and Teddy wasso charmed with the drive that he kept dropping his hat overboard, andwhen it was taken from him he prepared to tumble out himself, evidentlyfeeling that it behooved him to do something for the amusement of theparty.
When they came to the hill "nothing was to be seen but the grassblowing in the wind," as the fairy books say, and the children lookeddisappointed. But Demi said, in his most impressive manner,
"Now, you all get out and stand still, and the surprise party with comein;" with which remark he retired behind a rock, over which heads hadbeen bobbing at intervals for the last half-hour.
A short pause of intense suspense, and then Nat, Demi, and Tommy marchedforth, each bearing a new kite, which they presented to the three youngladies. Shrieks of delight arose, but were silenced by the boys, whosaid, with faces brimful of merriment, "That isn't all the surprise;"and, running behind the rock, again emerged bearing a fourth kite ofsuperb size, on which was printed, in bright yellow letters, "For MotherBhaer."
"We thought you'd like one, too, because you were angry with us, andtook the girls' part," cried all three, shaking with laughter, for thispart of the affair evidently was a surprise to Mrs. Jo.
She clapped her hands, and joined in the laugh, looking thoroughlytickled at the joke.
"Now, boys, that is regularly splendid! Who did think of it?" she asked,receiving the monster kite with as much pleasure as the little girls didtheirs.
"Uncle Fritz proposed it when we planned to make the others; he saidyou'd like it
, so we made a bouncer," answered Demi, beaming withsatisfaction at the success of the plot.
"Uncle Fritz knows what I like. Yes, these are magnificent kites, andwe were wishing we had some the other day when you were flying yours,weren't we, girls?"
"That's why we made them for you," cried Tommy, standing on his head asthe most appropriate way of expressing his emotions.
"Let us fly them," said energetic Nan.
"I don't know how," began Daisy.
"We'll show you, we want to!" cried all the boys in a burst of devotion,as Demi took Daisy's, Tommy Nan's, and Nat, with difficulty, persuadedBess to let go her little blue one.
"Aunty, if you will wait a minute, we'll pitch yours for you," saidDemi, feeling that Mrs. Bhaer's favor must not be lost again by anyneglect of theirs.
"Bless your buttons, dear, I know all about it; and here is a boy whowill toss up for me," added Mrs. Jo, as the professor peeped over therock with a face full of fun.
He came out at once, tossed up the big kite, and Mrs. Jo ran off with itin fine style, while the children stood and enjoyed the spectacle. Oneby one all the kites went up, and floated far overhead like gay birds,balancing themselves on the fresh breeze that blew steadily over thehill. Such a merry time as they had! running and shouting, sending upthe kites or pulling them down, watching their antics in the air, andfeeling them tug at the string like live creatures trying to escape.Nan was quite wild with the fun, Daisy thought the new play nearly asinteresting as dolls, and little Bess was so fond of her "boo tite,"that she would only let it go on very short flights, preferring tohold it in her lap and look at the remarkable pictures painted on it byTommy's dashing brush. Mrs. Jo enjoyed hers immensely, and it acted asif it knew who owned it, for it came tumbling down head first when leastexpected, caught on trees, nearly pitched into the river, and finallydarted away to such a height that it looked a mere speck among theclouds.
By and by every one got tired, and fastening the kite-strings to treesand fences, all sat down to rest, except Mr. Bhaer, who went off to lookat the cows, with Teddy on his shoulder.
"Did you ever have such a good time as this before?" asked Nat, as theylay about on the grass, nibbling pennyroyal like a flock of sheep.
"Not since I last flew a kite, years ago, when I was a girl," answeredMrs. Jo.
"I'd like to have known you when you were a girl, you must have been sojolly," said Nat.
"I was a naughty little girl, I am sorry to say."
"I like naughty little girls," observed Tommy, looking at Nan, who madea frightful grimace at him in return for the compliment.
"Why don't I remember you then, Aunty? Was I too young?" asked Demi.
"Rather, dear."
"I suppose my memory hadn't come then. Grandpa says that different partsof the mind unfold as we grow up, and the memory part of my mind hadn'tunfolded when you were little, so I can't remember how you looked,"explained Demi.
"Now, little Socrates, you had better keep that question for grandpa, itis beyond me," said Aunt Jo, putting on the extinguisher.
"Well, I will, he knows about those things, and you don't," returnedDemi, feeling that on the whole kites were better adapted to thecomprehension of the present company.
"Tell about the last time you flew a kite," said Nat, for Mrs. Jo hadlaughed as she spoke of it, and he thought it might be interesting.
"Oh, it was only rather funny, for I was a great girl of fifteen, andwas ashamed to be seen at such a play. So Uncle Teddy and I privatelymade our kites, and stole away to fly them. We had a capital time, andwere resting as we are now, when suddenly we heard voices, and saw aparty of young ladies and gentlemen coming back from a picnic. Teddy didnot mind, though he was rather a large boy to be playing with a kite,but I was in a great flurry, for I knew I should be sadly laughed at,and never hear the last of it, because my wild ways amused the neighborsas much as Nan's do us.
"'What shall I do?' I whispered to Teddy, as the voices drew nearer andnearer.
"'I'll show you,' he said, and whipping out his knife he cut thestrings. Away flew the kites, and when the people came up we werepicking flowers as properly as you please. They never suspected us, andwe had a grand laugh over our narrow escape."
"Were the kites lost, Aunty?" asked Daisy.
"Quite lost, but I did not care, for I made up my mind that it would bebest to wait till I was an old lady before I played with kites again;and you see I have waited," said Mrs. Jo, beginning to pull in the bigkite, for it was getting late.
"Must we go now?"
"I must, or you won't have any supper; and that sort of surprise partywould not suit you, I think, my chickens."
"Hasn't our party been a nice one?" asked Tommy, complacently.
"Splendid!" answered every one.
"Do you know why? It is because your guests have behaved themselves,and tried to make everything go well. You understand what I mean, don'tyou?"
"Yes'm," was all the boys said, but they stole a shamefaced look at oneanother, as they meekly shouldered their kites and walked home, thinkingof another party where the guests had not behaved themselves, and thingshad gone badly on account of it.