loor; then Mary Jane held the rolled
up part while John pulled it open. They didn't have it half unrolled
before both children exclaimed, "A circus! It's a circus.
Grandfather! Are we going to a circus?"

"Shouldn't wonder a bit," said Grandfather indifferently as he took
another piece of toast; "shouldn't wonder a bit. That is, of course,"
he added with marked politeness, "unless you don't care to go."

"You _know_ we care to go," laughed Mary Jane and she jumped up and
gave him a big bear hug. "You know we just want to go the mostest of
anything in the world, we do!"

"Then we'll go!" said Grandfather and he stopped his teasing and told
them all about his plans. "We'll start about nine o'clock so we'll
have plenty of time because we have to drive about fifteen miles and
get our lunch and--"

"And see the parade," interrupted John.

"Oh, yes, we see the parade before lunch, you're right," laughed
Grandfather. "I see there's going to be nothing skipped in this day.
Then we want to see all the animals and get good seats and everything."

"Then we'd better start right now," suggested Mary Jane.

"Dear me, no, not for two hours yet!" exclaimed Grandfather. "That's
the reason I got you that poster. See? It's all rolled up again. Now
I'll help you unroll it so you can look at it while you wait for the
time to start."

Grandmother helped too, and the big poster picture was unrolled and a
chair set on each end of it to hold it open. Then Mary Jane and John
could walk around and see it well. It was a picture of the parade and
showed camels and lions in cages and elephants and clowns and pretty
ladies and everything and of course it was most interesting to look at.
But it wasn't so interesting that the children forgot to look at the
clock--indeed, no! They watched and watched and watched and finally
the clock said, "Eight!"

"Now then," said Mary Jane, "that's all I'm going to look. Let's roll
it up and get ready. Maybe we can help Grandmother."

They found a good many interesting things to do. Grandmother had
decided that they had better take their lunch with them and eat it in
the car because the town where the circus was to be was small and there
might be no good place for them to eat.

John got the lunch box from the storeroom and Mary Jane helped wrap
sandwiches and chicken and cake in oiled paper; and by quarter of nine
everything was ready.

"Fifteen minutes to wash hands and faces and chan