d think of it?" she asked,
receiving the monster kite with as much pleasure as the little girls did
theirs.

"Uncle Fritz proposed it when we planned to make the others; he said
you'd like it, so we made a bouncer," answered Demi, beaming with
satisfaction at the success of the plot.

"Uncle Fritz knows what I like. Yes, these are magnificent kites, and
we 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 as
the 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, persuaded
Bess to let go her little blue one.

"Aunty, if you will wait a minute, we'll pitch yours for you," said
Demi, feeling that Mrs. Bhaer's favor must not be lost again by any
neglect of theirs.

"Bless your buttons, dear, I know all about it; and here is a boy who
will toss up for me," added Mrs. Jo, as the professor peeped over the
rock with a face full of fun.

He came out at once, tossed up the big kite, and Mrs. Jo ran off with it
in fine style, while the children stood and enjoyed the spectacle. One
by one all the kites went up, and floated far overhead like gay birds,
balancing themselves on the fresh breeze that blew steadily over the
hill. Such a merry time as they had! running and shouting, sending up
the kites or pulling them down, watching their antics in the air, and
feeling them tug at the string like live creatures trying to escape.
Nan was quite wild with the fun, Daisy thought the new play nearly as
interesting as dolls, and little Bess was so fond of her "boo tite,"
that she would only let it go on very short flights, preferring to
hold it in her lap and look at the remarkable pictures painted on it by
Tommy's dashing brush. Mrs. Jo enjoyed hers immensely, and it acted as
if it knew who owned it, for it came tumbling down head first when least
expected, caught on trees, nearly pitched into the river, and finally
darted away to such a height that it looked a mere speck among the
clouds.

By and by every one got tired, and fastening the kite-strings to trees
and fences, all sat down to rest, except Mr. Bhaer, who went off to look
at the cows, with Teddy on his shoulder.

"Did you ever have such a good time as this be