d holly added their
colors to the holiday cheer. Red Christmas bells hung everywhere.

"My goodness, I never passed such a day in my life," Maida said that
night at dinner. She was telling it all to Granny, who had been away
on mysterious business of her own. "It's been like a beehive here
ever since eight o'clock this morning. If we'd each of us had an
extra pair of hands at our knees and another at our waists, perhaps
we could have begun to wait on all the people."

"Sure 'twas no more than you deserved for being such busy little
bees," Granny approved.

"The only trouble was," Maida went on smilingly, "that they liked
everything so much that they could not decide which they wanted
most. Of course, the boys preferred Arthur's carvings and the girls
Rosie's candy. But it was hard to say who liked Dicky's things the
best."

Granny twinkled with delight. She had never told Maida, but she did
not need to tell her, that Dicky was her favorite.

"And then the grown people who came, Granny! First Arthur's father
on his way to work, then Mrs. Lathrop and Laura--they bought loads of
things, and Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Doyle and even Mr. Flanagan bought a
hockey-stick. He said," Maida dimpled with delight, "he said he
bought it to use on Arthur and Rosie if they ever hooked jack again.
Poor Miss Allison bought one of Arthur's 'cats'--what do you suppose
for?"

Granny had no idea.

"To wind her wool on. Then Billy came at the last minute and bought
everything that was left. And just think, Granny, there was a crowd
of little boys and girls who had stood about watching all day
without any money to spend and Billy divided among them all the
things he bought. Guess how much money they made!"

Granny guessed three sums, and each time Maida said, triumphantly,
"More!" At last Granny had to give it up.

"Arthur made five dollars and thirty cents. Dicky made three dollars
and eighty-seven cents. Rosie made two dollars and seventy cents."

After dinner that night, Maida accompanied Rosie and Dicky on the
Christmas-shopping expedition.

They went first to a big dry goods store with Dicky. They helped
Dicky to pick out a fur collar for his mother from a counter marked
conspicuously $2.98. The one they selected was of gray and brown
fur. It was Maida's opinion that it was sable and chinchilla mixed.

Dicky's face shone with delight when at last he tucked the big round
box safely under his arm. "Just think, I've been planning to