nterrupted Carrots; "I won't never eat eggs. I'll
keep all mine that I get to eat, in a box, till they've growed into
chickens."

"But they're boiled when you get them," said Floss; "they wouldn't grow
into chickens when they're boiled."

Carrots sighed. "Well, never mind," he said, "go on, Floss."

"Well, then," started Floss again, "you see the nursery tea would look
so nice that Sybil would be _sure_ to ask her mamma to let her have tea
with us, even though it was the first evening. Perhaps, you know, she
would be rather _shy_, just at first, till she got to know us. So we
would be very, very kind to her, and after tea we would show her all our
things--the dolls, only--Carrots, I'm afraid the dolls are getting
rather old."

"Are they?" said Carrots, sympathisingly. "When I'm a man I'll buy you
such a _lot_ of new dolls, Floss, and Sybil, too, if she likes
dolls--does she, Floss?"

"I don't know. I should think so," said Floss. "When papa and mamma went
to see auntie, they said Sybil was like a doll herself. I suppose she
has beautiful blue eyes and long gold curls. That was a year ago; she
must be bigger now, Carrots."

"What?"

"We must get up and run about a little now. It's too cold to sit still
so long, and if we get cold, nurse won't let us come out alone again."

Up jumped Carrots on to his sturdy little legs. "I'll run, Floss," he
said.

"Floss," he began, when they stopped to take breath again, "once I saw a
little boy with a hoop. It went so nice on the sands. I wish I had a
hoop, Floss."

"I wish you had, dear," said Floss. "I'd buy you one, if I had any
money. But I haven't, and we couldn't ask mamma, because I know," and
Floss shook her head mysteriously, "I know poor mamma _hasn't any money
to spare_. I must think of a plan to get some."

Carrots kept silence for about three quarters of a minute. "Have you
thinkened, Floss?" he asked, eagerly.

"Thought," gravely said Floss, "not thinkened, what about?"

"About a plan," replied Carrots. He called it "a pan," but Floss
understood him.

"Oh, dear, no," said Floss, "not yet. Plans take a great lot of
thinking. They're real things, you see, Carrots, not like fancies about
fairies and Sybil coming."

"But when Sybil does come, that'll be real then," said Carrots.

"Of course," agreed Floss, "but fancying about it before, isn't real."

It took Carrots a little while to get this into his head. Then he began
again.

"When will you have t