on all right," the cheerful Twaddles assured her. "Now
do me--put on lots of papers, so I won't be cold."

Dot obediently wrapped papers around him till he was twice his usual
chubby size and looked very odd indeed. Then she tied several
thicknesses of the cord about him and he too was ready for the long
drive.

"We rattle when we walk," said Twaddles, "but I guess that is all
right."

They found some pictures that interested them, in the papers remaining
on the floor and they stayed in the cellar till, to their surprise,
they heard quick feet running overhead and Meg's voice in the kitchen.

"It must be noon!" said Dot, "Come on, we have to hurry."

And as they started upstairs, Norah opened the door and called down:

"Lunch is ready--are you still playing in the cellar?"

Mother Blossom and Aunt Polly were just sitting down at the dining-room
table and Meg and Bobby, who had been upstairs to wash their hands,
were in the hall, when the twins marched through the kitchen and
slipped into their chairs. That is, they tried to sit down, but
something seemed to be wrong.

"What on earth--" began Aunt Polly, staring.

"My dears! What have you been doing?" Mother Blossom gasped.

And Norah glanced in from the kitchen murmuring:

"Is it entirely crazy they are at last?" while Meg and Bobby shouted
with laughter and turned Dot and Twaddles round and round to get a good
look at them.

"What have you been doing?" Mother Blossom repeated.

"Why, we're ready for the sleigh ride," explained Twaddles. "Paper is
awfully warm, Mother. Sam said so."

"It keeps the wind out," Dot added.

"You look like bundles of waste paper," Bobby chuckled. "You'd better
not go out on the street that way, or when the trash cart comes, the
man will pick you up and throw you on top."

"I do think you have more paper than you need," said Aunt Polly gently.

And though Twaddles and Dot did not want to admit it, they had already
begun to feel that way themselves. They could not sit down with any
comfort and when Bobby ran out in the hall and brought in Dot's coat,
she found she couldn't get it on at all.

"You'll be warm enough without the paper, dears," Mother Blossom said
positively. "Plenty warm and much more comfortable. Let Bobby and Meg
help you get unwrapped and then hurry and eat lunch before it is cold."

So Bobby and Meg untied the knots in the String and the papers slipped
to the floor. The twins breathed a sigh