ge your clothes,"
exclaimed Grandmother as she heard Grandfather bring the car up to the
house. "Can you do it?"

"'Deed yes," said Mary Jane, scampering on ahead up the stairs. "I can
wash myself and you just look at the cracks. And I can put my own
dress and shoes on. I can do lots!"

"I should say you can!" exclaimed Grandmother admiringly. "You do all
you can then, dear, and I'll help John."

At one minute to nine they were all at the door ready to climb into the
car and be off.

"Did you give them their spending money?" asked Grandmother as she
helped stow the lunch into the car.

"Not yet," answered Grandfather. "I'll give it to them when they get
there."

"Listen to the man!" exclaimed Grandmother in disgust, "and make them
miss half the fun of carrying their own money. Wait a minute!" She
hurried into the house and came back in a minute with two little black
purses in her hand. "There now, children," she said as she handed a
purse to each child, "you can carry your own money. Here's two nickels
for you, Mary Jane, and two nickels for you, John. Don't lose them!"

"We won't," said Mary Jane and she clutched hers tightly in her hand,
"and may we buy anything we want?"

"Anything you want--anything!" Grandmother assured her.

"We'll be home at six," called Grandfather as he started the car and
they whisked down the drive and away.

Such a jolly drive as that was! They talked about the circus they were
to see and how they would spend their money. And whether the lion
would roar and what they should buy. And if the lady could really
truly do everything on her horse that the picture said she could and
how much ice cream cones would cost. You see Grandmother had been
right--half the fun of spending money was the holding the money
beforehand and planning how it was to be spent.

Arriving at the village where the circus was, Grandfather drove them by
the great white tents--how wonderful and mysterious they did seem
too!--and then he found a good place to leave the car and they walked
to the main street where, from the second story of an office building,
they saw the parade go by.

When the sound of the calliope was growing fainter in the distance and
the children were certain sure that every bit of the parade had gone
by, John looked away from the window and asked, "Can we go to the
circus just as soon as we eat our lunch?"

"Yes, I should think we could," answered Grandfather.

"Then le