!" begged Cricket, turning over the soft gold curls. "It's
just exactly like Kenneth's and Helen's, isn't it? And mamma's hair
isn't very much darker, now, is it? What a shame you had to cut it!"

"Indeed it was. I was so proud of their lovely hair, and they were such
lovely children, everybody said. They were little things. Auntie Jean
was nearly five, and your mamma was three. I was visiting my sister in
Philadelphia with them both. It was in May, but it was very warm. The
children were still in the habit of taking an afternoon nap. One day
they were put to bed, as usual, about two o'clock, and my sister and
myself went down-town for some shopping. I had a new nursemaid, whom I
left in charge, of course. But she was careless, I suppose, and probably
went down-stairs to gossip with the other servants.

"Presently the children woke up, and as they found there was no one with
them, they slipped off the bed by themselves. They were entirely
undressed and in their little night-clothes, with bare feet. They ran
around up-stairs for a while, and then, finding nobody about, they ran
down-stairs. The front door stood ajar, so out they slipped, and
pattered away down the street. They were always independent children,
and not a bit afraid of anything, so when they found they were out all
alone by themselves, they decided to go and 'see uncle.' They had been
taken to his office down-town several times. My sister lived in what was
then a very quiet part of Philadelphia, and near their home were several
vacant lots. The children strayed in here to pick some grasses and
weeds, which they thought were flowers.

"Unfortunately, a lot of burdocks grew there, and, of course, the
children picked them, and stuck them together, with great delight.
Probably some of them got caught accidentally in the hair of one of
them, for, as far as we could make out from their story afterwards, they
twisted them in each other's curls, till there was just a mat of burs,
all over their heads. Then, of course, when they tried to take them out,
they only made matters worse, so they gave it up and trotted on.
Presently they came to a grocery store, where all sorts of things stood
outside of the door.

"Strawberries were in the market, so these little wretches instantly
plunged both hands into a box of them, and stuffed them into their
mouths. Next they sat themselves down in a corner made by some big
boxes, and quietly helped themselves to a box of strawb