all it beginning to be good
to tell Martin you don't care to please her one bit."

"Can't please ev'ybody," said Hoodie, with a toss of her shaggy head;
"takes such a long time."

"But speaking that way to Martin doesn't please _me_," persisted
Magdalen.

"Very well zen, I won't," said Hoodie, with unusual amiability. "I'll
give Martin a kiss if you like. Only you must have the story ready the
minute moment Maudie's done her letsons--will zou?"

"Yes," said Magdalen, "it'll be quite ready."

So Hoodie went off triumphantly in Martin's arms, things looking so
promising that by the time they reached the nursery, the two were the
best of friends.

And, "what a nice little young lady you might be, Miss Hoodie," said
Martin, encouragingly, "if you was always good."

* * * * *

Magdalen was ready for the children as she had promised. It was such a
mild beautiful day, though only April, that she got leave to take them
out-of-doors for the story-telling, and in a favourite corner, sunny yet
sheltered, they settled their little camp-stools in a circle round her
and prepared to listen.

"Only," said wise Maudie, "if Hec and Duke get very tired they may run
about a little, mayn't they, Cousin Magdalen?"

"If even they get a _little_ tired they may run about," said her
godmother. "But I don't think they will. It is a sort of nonsense story,
not clever enough to tire any of you."

"What's it called, please?" said Maudie.

"I'm not sure that it has a name," said Magdalen, "but if you'd rather
it had one, we'll call it 'The Chintz Curtains.'"

"Please begin then, and say it in very little words for Hec and Duke to
understand, won't you?"

Magdalen nodded her head, and began.

"Once," she said, "once there was a little girl."

"That's how my story began," said Hoodie, with the funny twinkle in her
eyes again.

"Never mind, _don't_ interrumpt," said Maudie.

"Well," Magdalen went on, "this little girl had no brothers or sisters,
and though her father and mother were very kind to her she was sometimes
rather lonely. And she often wished for other children to play with her.
It happened one winter that she got ill--I am not sure what the illness
was--measles, or something like that, it wasn't anything very, very bad,
but still she was ill enough to be several days quite in bed, and
several more partly in bed, and even after that a good many more before
she could get up early to breakfa